Baja Bound 2023 (Part 8)

This entry is part 8 of 23 in the series Baja Bound 2023

April 12, 2023

By Simon J. Lau

Today, I had my first road spill. I was on my way to San Javier Mission, the second oldest mission in Baja. There were several modest water crossings, this being one of the smaller ones, and the last one before reaching the mission. Unfortunately, as I was crossing, I didn’t see the algae in the water until it was too late. By then, I lost control. As I spun out and fell to the ground, I felt a very deep sense of fear. When I stopped sliding, I found myself pinned under my bike.

I struggled to free myself. After much effort, I was able to slide the bike off my boot. Fortunately, I was wearing ample safety gear, and only walked away with modest scrapes and bruises to my elbow (the slide ate through a portion of my jacket). The fall didn’t deter me from visiting the mission, but I did have to limp my way there.

I’d consider myself lucky. This was a low-speed crash, and my safety gear did what it was made to do. However, I’m still shaken. I promised Jean that I’d make it back to her in one piece, and I intend to keep that promise.

I’ll be spending the next day nursing my wounds and digesting what happened. I’m still new to motorcycling, and clearly, I have a lot to learn. My goal here is to learn from these mistakes and to get better.

That said, I can’t end this all gloom and doom. Here are photos of Carnello, the restaurant owner’s dog, and me at dinner together.