What's it like to ride the Baja Divide? Joe Hayden One Day of Your Trip

Ever wanted to ride the Baja Divide? Well this week, listener Joe Hayden lets us know what it was like during one day of his trip doing exactly that. Joe is still out there riding the Baja Divide - having started his journey in Canada, crossed through the US on the GDMBR and is now in Mexico. A great adventure indeed. Check out Joe's progress via his instagram - @joe__hayden

Now what's the best thing about taking a bike adventure - listen to the answers of previous guests Sheelagh Daly and Helen Dainty as they share their stories.  You can also check out their previous episodes on the podcast here:

Sheelagh Daly
Helen Dainty

Let me know what you think the best thing about a bike adventure is - send me an email or message me on instagram - @seektravelride

Lastly - if you want to help out the show be sure to check out our show sponsors Old Man Mountain via our dedicated link - www.oldmanmountain.com/seektravelride it lets them know that you heard about them from the podcast and and helps me out a lot! 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:24

Hello everyone, it's Bella here, host of the show. Welcoming you to another midweek mini episode of Seek Travel Ride. Today I'm going to be featuring listener Joe Hayden, and he's going to be sharing one day of his trip cycling on the Baja Divide. Before we hear from Joe, I just want to say a huge thank you to all of you who have been following and listening to the show. You've helped me turn the Seek Travel Ride community into a truly global one, and I want to keep the ball rolling on that. The best way you can help me at Seek Travel Ride out is to actually share the podcast with your friends. Whether you've got a family member or a good friend who's into bike adventures, chances are they're probably going to be really stoked to hear some episodes of the podcast as well. So spread the love around, go into your podcast player, share your favourite episode to them, and let's see how much bigger we can grow the Seek Travel Ride community. Okay, now it's time to listen to Joe tell us about one day of his trip on the Baja Divide.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Hello, I'm Joe, and I'm originally from Wylop or Fremantle in Western Australia. And I thought I'd give you a little insight into my day. I'm on a seven-month bikepacking tour through North America and then so Mexico, Canada, and the US. And then I'm also going to New Zealand. My day today, I'm currently cycling the Baja Divide and I've been in Mexico a week. I've been riding the section of the Baja Divide between Punto Colonet and Vicente Cadero. And I'm up in the mountains. This morning I woke up after a bit of a rough night. I think it's good to talk about. I read an article by Miles Arba from Bitepacking.com earlier in the week with him talking about his experience of bitepacking and Crohn's disease. And I empathize with that. I've had gut issues for many years, and last night was one of those nights where it kept me up and uncomfortable. But I woke up before sunrise to an icy tent, packed up my gear, and had a big long climb up a big mountain. I think it was a thousand meters of climbing over 30 kilometers. So it was very slow going but stunning in this beautiful valley. Didn't see anyone with the exception of on a random track coming across three men in camouflage with guns, which I think there's fear and worry about foreigners travelling in Mexico, but I very much feel that you need to give people the benefit of the doubt. And so these three guys were just out hunting, and with uh some very broken Spanish and some very broken English, we managed to um communicate about what was going on, uh where I'd been and where I was from. They offered me water, which is always very appreciated. Yeah, and I continued on with my day. I love touring in Mexico because there are so many great places for food. So I stopped in um at a small ranch, Rancho El Coyote for burritos, which were absolutely delicious to keep me fueled for the rest of my ride. And tonight I'm camped at a ranch, Rancho Melling, and just had a beautiful day. Beautiful day riding. The riding conditions are amazing, but the tracks are difficult and challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. Beautiful views, beautiful sunsets, and lovely people. I really enjoy being in Mexico and being a little bit more off the beaten path. It's not like riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which I did earlier in my trip where there's a lot of people. It's remote and I'm early in the season. I think more people will travel later on in the season. But it's so beautiful, it's great riding, and I'm so happy to be out here challenging myself and rewarding myself with amazing camping, great experiences with people, and wonderful food. Off-road bike touring has really won my heart. It's so rewarding. The challenges you face, both in the terrain, how chunky it can be, how slow it can be, the hike a bike sections, the descents that have you fearing a little bit for your life as you're barreling down these chunky descents, really have you wondering. But the reward is always so worth it. And I'm very excited to see what the rest of the Baja Divide has to offer. But yeah, that was my day. A week into Mexico and a beautiful day's riding, even though I only cycled 40 kilometers. But hey, when you're up late at night, sometimes you just gotta listen to your body and rest. But yeah, that was my day.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

Thank you so much, Joe, for sharing your day with us there. I've heard so much about the Baja divide. I've interviewed a few guests who've taken that journey as well, but I sort of reflected that I know little about it myself. It was lovely to hear just what your day was like there, despite being sick the night before, and I love the wisdom you took in taking an easy day, just listening to your body, doing what you needed to do to get through that day. I especially love that you had that great interaction with those strangers, you had some great moments there, and of course, yay for good food, I've heard some amazing things about the fresh food in Mexico. So it's good to know that despite some stomach issues, it didn't put you off trying some of great local cuisine there. Listeners, Joe has sent me through some amazing photos from this day on the Baja Divide. So if you're on Instagram, I will be sharing them there. Be sure to check them out. Now I am continuing also to share responses from previous guests to my question what the best thing about a bike adventure is. I've been doing this as part of our hundredth episode celebration. We released episode 100 just a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to ask my previous guests what they thought the best thing about a bike adventure is. I've been stoked to receive all of these replies, and here's a couple that I am including today. The first one is from guest Sheila Daly. Her bike adventure took her all across Europe. She's from Canada, and here's her response.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

Hey Bella, it's Sheila Daly. Congratulations on a hundred episodes. That is so wonderful. Thank you for bringing us so many people's incredible stories. They're so inspiring and informative, and just super grateful. Thank you. And in terms of picking the best thing about taking a bike adventure, which is so hard to hone in on just one, but I think what stands out to me in this moment is the best thing about taking a bike adventure is the challenge, and the fact that the challenge can be whatever you want it to be, whatever you need it to be in that moment or that season of your life. That it could be challenging yourself to bike further than you ever have before, as you know, an overnighter, or it could be challenging yourself to go on, you know, a longer ride than maybe you've done in a while, because maybe you know you've been out of it for a bit. And then it can be as expansive as going to a totally new place and challenging yourself to meet new people and explore new cultures and maybe even go somewhere super remote and really become self-reliant. It can be big, it can be little, we can challenge ourselves in all kinds of different ways. And I think bike adventure makes that possible. And no matter what the adventure is, I feel like we're always going to come back having learned more about ourselves and what we're capable of. And that's pretty cool. So thank you again. And man, gotta get on another bike adventure.

SPEAKER_03 8:55

Sheila, thank you so much for your super kind words there about the podcast. And I absolutely loved your answer there. It really actually took me right back to your guest interview, the idea of setting out for a challenge, seeing what was possible for you. And I love that this formed your answer about what the best thing about a bike adventure is. I'm definitely keeping my eyes out on you to see where your next bike adventure takes you. I'm totally there with you as well, Sheila. My goodness, do I need a bike adventure in my life right now? Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Okay, listeners, the next guest is Helen Dainty, aka Hells on Wheels. Let's listen to what Hells has to say about what the best thing about a bike adventure is.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Hello. The best thing about taking a bike adventure, I was gonna say, is the autonomy. Just the freedom to go where I want at a pace I want, stopping when I want. However, uh, you're not completely autonomous because obviously circumstances get in the way, and sometimes you end up getting stuck when you have mechanical or you have to change your route because of a war, or you are slowed down because of a pandemic. So, yeah, I don't have a clear answer. The best thing about taking a bike adventure is the autonomy, but also the adventures you have along the way when circumstances intervene, and some of them turn out to be the best part of the trip. So, to clarify, the best part of a trip is the autonomy, but also the side trips you end up on when fate intervenes.

SPEAKER_03 10:30

Thank you so much, Hells. Oh, I really enjoyed that response, and I love the way that you managed to find two best things about a bike adventure. I really agree with you there as well. The autonomy that a bike adventure gives you is such an awesome thing to be able to gift ourselves really when we go out on these journeys. But if it's anything I've learnt, it is really these moments of serendipity with the unplanned that comes with the bike adventures that I think you're speaking of there right at the end. And I absolutely love that element of your answer. Thank you so much for sharing your response with us here. Listeners, if you want to let me know what you think the best thing about a bike adventure is, by all means get in touch with me. You can send me an email, podcast at seek travelride.com, or the easiest way on social media to interact with me is actually via Instagram. A handle there is at SeekTravelride. Send me a DM or tag me in a post or story and tell me what do you think the best thing about a bike adventure is. Okay, up to that part of the show where I want to extend a big warm thank you to my Seek Travel Ride super fans who have once again bought me some virtual coffees, shown the podcast some love, and have kept me caffeinated for another week of great episodes. This week I would like to thank Lindy who said, Love your work, keep the adventures coming. Thank you so much, Lindy. I have so many great guest stories to keep sharing with you, so keep your eyes peeled on all of our future episodes to come. And I hope that you're listening to each of these episodes, fueling some inspiration and wonderlust for your own bike adventures as well. Thanks so much for supporting me here on Seek Travel Ride. I've also had yet another anonymous buy me a coffee donor. Someone bought me a coffee and they said, Love your work and inspiration. I value your content and it's my go-to podcast. Thank you so much, someone, I don't know who you are, but I loved reading your message and thank you for buying me some coffees. And lastly, I have Liam O'Brien who said, Dear Bella, I just binged almost all of your episodes during an epic three-month Copenhagen to Madrid tour. I was actually on a sabbatical for my professor job, but I did visit about collaborators along the way. Anyway, I found your guests so relatable and inspirational. Now I'm back home in Canada and I can't wait to go out again. Well, thank you so much, Liam, for showing me some love there and buying me some coffees. I was super stoked to tag along on your journey virtually there with the podcast in your ears as you went along on your trip. And I'm super keen to see where your next bike adventures take you. Please do me a favor, keep in touch and let me know where you end up journeying. Thank you for supporting the show. Now, listeners, if you too would like to show me some love here on Seek Travel Ride and support the show, I have included a link to my Buy Me a Coffee page in the show notes. Buy me a virtual coffee, send me a message about what you love about the podcast, and let's keep it rolling. Until the next episode, I'm Bella Malloy. Thanks for listening to the video.