We managed to get up a bit earlier and were out by around 7:30. We’d heard of ‘la cuesta del infierno‘ (the hill of hell) and wanted not to be sweltering when we got there. Towns in Baja like to be in valleys and so the descent we had enjoyed on the way into town the night before was evened out by a small climb just outside of town. The main issue with it was that they were doing construction and so the road was stripped of all it’s asphalt, making for a bouncy ascent.
Mike was riding sluggishly. 90 minutes in we stopped at a little place to get some water, and there was a couple from the US driving down to Cabo in their pickup truck. Mike got talking to them and they offered him a lift to Santa Rosalia which he accepted. He’d apparently not got a decent night’s sleep the night before. Taking a ride would give him a chance to get something back in his legs for the riding ahead.
As Mike headed off, I jumped on my bike and rode away. I’d been riding closer to Mike’s pace for the previous couple of days and it was enjoyable to be able to ride faster. That change in pace, amplified by Mike carrying all my bags, made for a good day’s riding. For the majority of the day I headed along with Volcan de las Tres Virgenes looming ahead of me. It’s the only historically active volcano in Baja, although claims that it erupted back in the 18th century are not backed up by science.
Near the coast I came across la cuesta del infierno, and knew that my climbing for the day was over. The talk that we’d heard of big climbing on the road is true, but only if you’re heading from Santa Rosalia to San Ignacio. The climbing that I had, was mainly gentle, but the descents, especially at the end, were steep. Going down la cuesta, I learnt that when my bike is not fully laden it’s very squirrelly. A couple of times when I got to 40 km/h, a speed I never have any issues with, the bike started shaking strongly and, it at least felt like, I was pretty close to coming off.
I got into town and found Mike relaxing, updating his blog, and after cleaning up we headed into town to explore, and have a cerveza or three. It was a fine end to a lovely day of riding.
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