Baja Divide: Mulegé to Ciudad Constitución

We’re back at it on the bikes – this time ~1600 miles on gravel as we traverse Mexico’s Baja Penninsula from San Diego, CA to San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur.

Day 29 – 0 Miles

After a long push into Mulegé, we were more than ready to take a day off of riding. We were thrilled that we lucked into a great place at Clementine’s that had a full kitchen and free on-site laundry. We spent the day lounging, eating, doing chores, and resupplying for the next big stretch.

Day 30 – 56.2 miles / +4230 ft gain

We left Mulegé after dawdling a bit drinking hot coffee and hit the highway. This section of the actual Baja Divide Route encourages you to hire an unsuspecting fisherman to take you across Bahía Concepción to ride off pavement and rejoin the highway later. Alternatively, you can take the highway out of town. Not wanting to mess with the unknown boat project and expense, we decided to opt for the highway and headed south. The riding was a rollercoaster series of hills that continuously took us adjacent to several beautiful beaches. This combined with mellow traffic felt like we made a good choice. In the late afternoon, we met back up with the route and turned west on a gravel road back into the mountains.

Day 31 – 50.7 miles / +5251 ft gain

We began before sunrise on slow grind mostly uphill. The hours ticked faster than the miles were accumulating. After cresting a small pass, we looked down into what I dubbed Monument Valley of the Baja. After our descent, we wound into a tiny town to refill our water. We were starting to realize we weren’t moving as fast as expected as we looked into our food bags. Our dwindling supply of pesos wasn’t going to help us remedy the situation as most of these tiny tiendas don’t accept cards. With a little more water, we pushed on – literally – as we climbed out of the valley.

The following hours were spent between 4-5 mph as we baked under the Mexican sun alternating pushing through sand or rock filled roads with intermittent riding and climbing. In the late afternoon, we descended into a valley surprised to see a grove of palm trees. As we entered the tiny town of San Jose de Comondu, we relished in the cool air and shade of the palms. We went to the local tienda for water and to see what if any other snacks might be available and watched the local young boys playing with their bikes trying to clear a small jump made in the mud. We refilled, grabbed some extra peanuts, and kept moving. Another steep ascent brought us out of the oasis and back into the arid desert through a herd of goats. We scanned the area for a suitable camp as the sun was fading and lucked into a sandy spot amidst a continuous pile of lava rock. We set up camp and went to bed as the stars shown brilliantly above.

Day 32 – 40.6 miles / +3181 ft gain

We started riding before sunrise and continued our slow go. We pushed up a wicked ascent filled with loose rocks as mid-morning approached. Sean’s bike needed some immediate attention as the brakes seemed to continously engage. We stopped so he could diagnose the issue and replace the brake pads, thankfully having the skills, parts, and tools to fix the issue. By this time, we knew we weren’t going to make it to Constitución with the resupply we planned and began to determine we needed to ride 20 miles off-route to the town of Loreto. We weren’t thrilled to add 40 miles to our ride, but as the decision was made, we both felt relief from the pace we’d been trying to push. Almost instantly we additionally noticed how beautiful our surroundings were and were glad to feel like we could enjoy them again.

After lunch, we found our turn – left to Loreto or right to continue towards Constitución. We turned left and headed off route, thankful for pavement and moving faster than 5 mph.

The off-route ride was a series of ascents and descents until we hit a final pass with the Sea of Cortez far in the distance. From this point, we cascaded over 2000 ft in about 15 miles with a roller coaster type finish that brought us into town. It was a stunning ride that left us a little anxious for the uphill version the following morning.

In the city, we were pleased to find a comfy hostel with kitchen access and a full grocery store nearby. We were actually quite charmed by the city and had an unexpected and enjoyable evening.

Day 33 – 54.2 miles / +4200 ft gain

We left town a little hesitantly as we could’ve easily enjoyed a day off. We left at 7:00 to retrace the 20 miles and rejoin the route with a proper resupply. As we began our ascent, we were quickly reminded that this is the type 2 fun we enjoy – a slow, steady uphill ride in a gorgeous setting. The miles ticked by as we continued uphill, distracted by the beauty of the canyon and the shrinking Sea of Cortez in the background.

It took us about two and a half hours to rejoin the route and an additional 20 minutes to roll into the tiny tourist town of San Javier, another Spanish mission site. We didn’t really need much, but decided to check out the store in town and were shocked to find a well stocked mini mart. I dared ask – acepta tarjetas? (do you accept cards?) to which the attendant said Sí.

So we actually didn’t have to go to Loreto. And could’ve resupplied here. Oof.

We were both a little stunned but agreed that we had enjoyed our detour to Loreto. Que será, será.

We had some coffee at a little restaurant and resumed our ride which turned back to gravel and away from the tourist zone. The route turned pretty rideable at a reasonable pace as we cruised into the desert.

Day 34 – 53.3 miles / +662 ft gain

Our morning ride was pretty cruisy (a rarity) as we headed towards the city. As we gently descended, we noticed the temperature gain. By mid morning, we were baking under the sun. The views were pretty meh as we neared our first little town of Ley Federal de Aguas Numero Uno, a real name of a real town. We headed to a local park to have a second breakfast.

After a bit of loitering, we resumed riding. Our guide indicated “winding through citrus groves” which was true for about 1 mile out of 25. The other miles were sandy and washboarded which provided a pretty meh ride, but surely enough, we made it to Ciudad Constitución at last. We meandered to a cheap room by a big grocery store, stoked to find a microwave. Sometimes it’s the little things.

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Mulegé to Ciudad Constitución

• 5 Days of Riding + 1 0 Mile Day
• 255 Miles Ridden
• 51 ave miles / day (without zero day)
• 42.5 ave miles / day (with zero day)
• +17,524 ft Elevation gain
• 3504 Ave elevation gain / day (without zero)

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Total Stats

• 30 Days Riding + 4 0-Mile Days
• 1372.9 miles ridden
• 45.7 miles / day average (without 0s)
• 40.3 miles / day average (with 0s)
• +84,500 ft elevation gain
• +2816 ft gain / day average (without 0s)