At some point we will go back and explain the motorcycles and how we got them. But for now we will just skip all of that.

To date we have been using the little Sachs MadAss 125 motos to go around town. Most trips have been 5 mile legs or less and always under 30 miles an hour. But this weekend we wanted to head a bit out of La Paz and see some of the more remote beaches and just get some more riding experience in general.

We set our targets on La Balandra Beach which is about 40 miles round trip from where we are. The biggest stressor was getting back on the bike after the crash on the malecon. That coupled with the prospect of open roads and higher 40-50mph speeds, had us both a bit nervous.

The little bikes are more scooter than motorcycle and excel in the city. But we were unsure how they would handle a longer trip.

We set out around 8 am, and in La Paz time, on a weekend, that’s super early. There was no traffic and the roads were clear. As you leave the city of town the road drops to two lanes, climbs up the side of a hill, and gets very curvy and very steep. I could imagine the guys on sportbikes loving these roads, but I was stressed a bit the entire ride. One ‘mod’ that was working against was the knobby tires. There are fun in the dirt but it definitely makes for a ‘squishier’ road feel in corners and at higher speeds. As for power, at some points the bike was definitely straining under my beer guzzling body, but Pat was zipping along with no problem whatsoever, dropping me on the hills. But Pat did say he felt like his bike was going to explode. All fears aside we made it just fine.

The beach itself is breathtaking. The water is about 2-3 feet deep all the way across the lagoon. There weren’t many people around and so we had a lot of the place to ourselves. We felt bad for not bringing Syncro, but we still haven’t figured out a good way to bring him on the motos.

Definitely worth the trip.

     

The ride back was ten times less stressful and our confidence is building fast. But I definitely prefer zipping around town… at least for now.

– RandallB3