Run for the Boarder

This morning I made the "run for the boarder" into the USA.

Yesterday was just a boring ride North on a Mexican highway through increasingly less desert like country - becoming irrigated and populated.
I decided to stop about 30km from the boarder and found a place to camp after some seeking and a $5 bribe to a local property guard.

Then, this morning I got up early and rode to the boarder in Tijuana.
The roads to San Diago are well marked but, all of a sudden, I found myself at the USA crossing point and then I was in the States with almost no formalities at all.
This was not what I had expected and I figured I needed to check my motorbike out of Mexico formally or there would be trouble next time I wanted to go back... So, I parked the bike at a fast food stop near the boarder and walked back over to Mexico to hand in the papers.
First problem was to find the Mexican customs station which took me about 15 minutes.
Then I had to find someone to try to talk to, but the place doesn't open till 8am and I was there a bit early. So, after a half hour sitting around, I decided that the office was not going to open on time (it was already 8:15am - but hey, it is Mexico, so no surprise there!). So then I went and found someone official looking to talk to.
Then the next problem was that they wont sign the bike out unless they actually see the bike leave the country! I would have to walk back to the USA, get the bike, cross back into Mexico, wait in a lineup and then check the bike out with the Mexican boarder people taking pictures of the bike as I did so!!!!
Well, that all seemed like a bit too much trouble for me!
So I asked what happens if I just leave... They said that If I ever wanted to come back into Mexico with another vehicle and the same passport, I would not be able to do it...hmmm
So I looked at my passport, and it expires in a year, and I figure I wont be back before then, so I decided to leave it at that and just head North.

So If I do want to go back to Mexico with a vehicle it will now have to be with a different passport number - which is what it will be - Hopefully this is a good plan, or else I'll have more of a struggle next time - but that's next time :).