"Baja,anyone?"

[Guest Roadslayer]

OK. So I didn't take my Guzzi. But I did see one. Really.

 

Posted below is a site for our trip to Baja,Mexico from about September 25th to October 25th.

The 'little lady' and I trailered our bikes from Washington State to Jamul,California. Leaving our vehicle there we crossed into Mexico at Tecate' and spent maybe 25 days riding to Cabo San Lucas and back. "Cheers" Roadslayer

 

http://p209.ezboard.com/ftherollingcrowmot...opicID=11.topic

[Steve G.]

I'm going this Februrary, 5 of us, and we are all pumped. I'm about to look at your pictures.

Ciao, Steve

[Martin Barrett]

Looked good ,( though my screen wasn't wide enough. )

[Guest Roadslayer]

I'm going this Februrary, 5 of us, and we are all pumped. I'm about to look at your pictures.

Ciao, Steve

 

So,Steve G; Did you get a chance to view my pics? Lemme' know if I can be of any assistance. "Cheers" Roadslayer

[Steve G.]

Hi Roadslayer,

Yes your pictures are way cool!!

I've got to tell you a bit of a story. Last Thursday, our local club meeting [british] we got a member's neighbour to come in with a picture presentation of his latest Baja tour, in early Oct. this year. He's been going down for yrs. This guy's a real bushwacker, considering not only the pavement, but the graded roads off limits, prefering to find and use the "tracks", not found on any map, basically animal tracks. When we told him our plan to go using airhead and oilhead GS's, he scoffed, saying we'd never make it.

Now I've done my share of off-roading, currently using a CR500 to play in the mud. I realise a GS is no dirt bike, and we have no intention of going the 'rough track' routes like him. But I think a competant rider can go in there. For example, he scoffed big time when I told him our intentionof heading into Mike's Sky Ranch, and Coco's. Sand is the tricky one, but I've done this stuff, I've been into Florence Dunes. Most of us are pretty good riders, but a couple nebiees to gravel. Are we being to over ambitious?

I noted some of your equipement. Are those Sidi Discoveries? What about your tire choice? And I also noticed your flip up street helmet. What are your thoughts on that? I was also thinking of bringing a fishing rod, I hear shore casting can get you small halibut and stuff.

He also threw this bandito scare at us, around Ensenada outskirts, and Tijuana. We will be 7. We won't be packing, except for a knife. Safety in numbers, or just keep your street smarts?

What kind of effects can we expect from the big Hurricane that went through there? I here Mulege got hit good.

Thanks man.

Ciao, Steve

[Guzzirider]

Great pictures- looks like a fantastic ride!

 

I was in Cabo San Lucas when the hurricane hit recently- the roads were damaged and I saw a few houses where the locals were cleaning up mud from them, but apart from that it did not seem too bad.

 

I was in a deep sleep when the hurricane hit (after a stag do around all the harbour bars) and missed all the fuss.

 

Had to drink tequila from a big plastic bottle with a dead decomposing rattlesnake- there were scales and bits of flesh floating in it.

 

 

Guy

[Guest Roadslayer]

attn. Steve G. It'd be a pleasure to help you out. First,I've had plenty of experience with load mouth asshole 'know it alls'. I see at least one per trip.

Yes,a big GS is no MX bike. But you're taking the dirt roads and 1200 miles of pavement to Cabo. Right? No problem,then. Yes they would be a handful in the sand. That's why I ride a puny 650. With your CR500 experience you'll learn 'real quick.' Just take it easy. And you have buddies to help you pick it up,as you probably will go down. Just don't get hurt as it's a long ride out.

Mikes Sky Ranch had the most sand. Maybe a mile total. And a stream at the end of the 20 mile road.

I've done Baja twice on dirt and Copper Canyon once. Ten years ago I bought a $45 Chang Shing cheapie for the stern and a expensive Dunlop for the front. I'm on my second pair. They are motocross tyres as I figure it's more important to stay upright on the dirt and just ride a little slower on the pavement. They have 4000 miles of pavement on them and are 50% worn. At Mike's, the hardcore dirt boys couldn't believe I got so many miles out of $40 tires. My wifes F650 has way expensive Continentals on it and we've been side by side and hers are worn the same.

Yes.We bought SIDIS 10 years ago. They feel like wearing tennis shoes.

My helmet is a Shoie flip up. We ride sportbikes all over North America and a flip up is the only way to go. Get one that has a single thumb button to open. Not all do. You can talk,smoke ,drink and buy gas without taking it off.

Don't know much about fishing except everybody does it down there.

And forget 'packing.' It's not the fucking U.S. They have military check points periodically and if you get caught with a 'heater',use it to blow your brains out before they do.

The Mexican people are about the sweetest I've met anywhere. They go out of their way to be generous and helpful. Please be that way too as you are an embassador from the great British Columbia. Right? And forget that shit about fucking Banditos. Ain't no such thing. I've been all over Mexico and then some and if you just use common sence(sp) you'll be fine. You're in much greater danger in the fucking U.S.

Don't ride at night.Aminals Stay out of Tijuana. It's a big city. And say Buenos Dias and Gracios to everybody,always,all the time. Anything else,jis let me know.

 

"Cheers" Roadslayer.

 

Oh. The hurricane is long gone. The roads are being rebuilt and besides. You don't need roads anyway. You're on dirtbikes,aren't you?

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

The Mexican people are about the sweetest I've met anywhere. They go out of their way to be generous and helpful. Please be that way too as you are an embassador from the great British Columbia. Right? And forget that shit about fucking Banditos. Ain't no such thing. I've been all over Mexico and then some and if you just use common sence(sp) you'll be fine. You're in much greater danger in the fucking U.S.

 

I second that motion. I havn't been everywhere in Mexico but I have worked there for about 5 monthes total in several parts of the country and I never felt in danger (except in Juarez and that is a world separate from Mexico).

 

The people I met were genuinely friendly and curious as to why I was there and I made a lot of friends from government officials to the folk living in mountain villages.

 

The children are the most spectacular part of Mexico. I would land the helicopter in a soccer field to drop off fire crews and as i was waiting it seemed that dozens of children would appear from nowhere. Within half an hour some of there family would come and it soon seemed like a picnic rather than a job.

 

I wouldn't have missed it for anything!!

[Steve G.]

Thanks for the info Roadslayer and Jim. I will probably be asking you about more stuff Roadslayer, as I enjoy a steep learning curve about stuff I focus on. Heck, I'm even starting a quick spanish night school thing, as I really want to try to communicate to these people with more than sign language.

I've been to Mexico 4 times. First was in 1976, when Grampa took a bunch of us grandkids to Tucson, Arizona, and we spent a day in Nogales. Next was 1978, when 3 of us teenagers piled into a van in the winter and drove down to get a sunburn, walking across at Tijuana for a day. That was a friggin' eye opener, we got into a bar brawl, and got chased a mile back to the border by 15 guys. Next was Cabo San Lucas in 1987, when it was still somewhat of a fishing village, 2 wks there, good times, but some weird close calls. I was jogging along the highway [i know pretty stupid] 1/4 mile out of town [near the old concrete plant], and by accident I herded some cows onto the highway. A big Kenworth with massive 'Roo" bars smashed into one, and it flew right at me, landing 2 ft away. The last time down was Puerto Vallarta in 2004. Real good time, we kids took Mom down. Did everything. Fished for Tuna. My brother and I rented bikes, and headed east up into the hills, 20 miles in, only to be stopped by a pickup truck load of guys. They didn't want us to go any further, but we couldn't understand further, so when they drove past, we stopped the bikes, and my brother walked up the top of the hill. He stopped, and ran back very fast, yelling to fire the bikes. Seems they were hearding the season's allotment of Brahma bulls down into Vallarta for bull fight season, and they were running down the road toward us!!! Once my brother & I were walking the back streets of Vallarta, and came across a construction site, and felt like pitching in, so asked for a shovel and asked where they wanted to dig. Lived through my first Hurricane [Kenda], which was absolutely fucking wild!!! Vallarta's transit system, old school buses from the U.S. & Canada, is just great fun. Once we took the wrong route, and found our tourista asses 40 miles out of town in a little dirt road village at 10:00pm. Well, we bought some beers from the store, and as most of the village turned up to see who we were, one guy with rough english told us another bus in an hour, so we sat in the centre of the village and talked to everyone, translated through the guy.

 

To be honest, the Bandito thing is the only thing that had me thinking, to stay away from Tijuana is a no brainer. I have driven through the military check points, and I feel you should be nervous about them only if yes, you are packing, and secondly, if you have drugs. The only form of authority I can think of that would offer trouble would be the traffic police.

So which border crossing would you think is best?

Where do you park your car/truck while riding bike down there?

My BMW has tubless tires/rims. Some guys are thinking about putting tubes in them. I'm thinking about bringing my tubeless tire repair kit, and 3 of us will have tiny air compressors. What are your thoughts?

We are wanting to do the odd campout. Would you say avoid this, or just camp at privately owned camgrounds? What about those great palapas? Are they all private?

And what would you bring as far as money? U.S. cash, Mexican Pesos?

Have you heard about any hot springs that could be visited, wild or private?

Ciao, Steve

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

I have driven through the military check points, and I feel you should be nervous about them only if yes, you are packing, and secondly, if you have drugs. The only form of authority I can think of that would offer trouble would be the traffic police.

 

And what would you bring as far as money? U.S. cash, Mexican Pesos?

 

 

Don't worry about the military. They seldom have bullets for their guns. They respond well to an authoritative voice as well so never act meek around them.

 

On the other hand the PJF (Policía Judicial Federal) handle narcotics and other serious crime - they are like the FBI. I had 3 PJF narcoticos waving MP5's at me for about 15 minutes (I couldn't remember Spanish for the life of me) before they figured out we were firefighting and not hauling drugs. It ended up with a photo session with me wearing a Narcoticos cap and holding an MP5. That's when I figured out that not only were the guns loaded but there was one up the spout and the safety was off. That was a reality check!

 

As for the traffic police be careful as well. If they catch you then you can be guilty until proven innocent. If you give them the slip and get a lawyer you can prove your innocence and not be guilty. It doesn't happen a lot but we only stopped once and the cop tried to take our passports and we actually had to rip them from his hands and dash off. After that we never stopped. We didn't try to outrun them either. We just never stopped and they never bothered us.

 

Take US dollars as well as peso's. Cash will help you more places then credit cards but you don't need lots unless you are worried about breakdowns. Interac and credit cards work lots of places as well so it is easy to replenish cash.

 

The best places to eat are the small shops and roadside stands with the biggest lineups. The food is fresh and popularity means good food.

 

The worst places to eat are any restaurant that looks American or serves American style food. These places usually have appalling conditions in the kitchens and the food can be dangerous. I checked in the kitchen of the Holiday Inn in Toluca and there was a side of beef that was green with maggots and flies hanging there. Never again.

 

Eat Mexican cheese. Lots. Some people contend it is a binder (for you know what) but I found that they have some fantastic cheeses in Mexico.

 

Wish I was going with you after writing all this.

 

Cheers

Jim

 

Edit; Just checked wikipedia and the PJF is now the Agencia Federal de Investigación. Replaced in 2002 due to corruption.

 

Go figure.

[Guest Roadslayer]

attn. Guzzirider; Thanks for the post. We got there just after the hurricanes and hard plenty of stories. But yours is a riot. You probably saw my Margarita with the bug in it.

Yep! Mexico. My kinda' place. Where you can stand on a street corner, chuggin' Tequila from a plastic jug with a pickled snake in it. 'MMMmm,MMMMmmm!...

 

And 'Helicopter Jim. That story about the children brings tears to my eyes. I tell people stories like that and all these idiots up hear want to know about is the Banditos.

 

Steve G. Your trips to Mexico sound typical. Lots of misunderstandings due to culture and language.'No problemo.' After all. 'It's Mexico', as their starting to say now.

My first trip to Mexico was in '93. Solo on a sportbike to Cabo,the mainland and home. My second day there was when I figured out the Bandito thing was mostly bullshit. It comes from an entire generation groing up on the Frito Bandito and Speedy Gonzolas. Remember?

Then I learned my spanish nouns by drawing stick men in the dirt. You need to know,beef.chicken,pork,fish,beer,water,toilet.I that order. Then ,left and right. For directions. Then one through ten. And don't worry about the check points. Learn, adonde' viene'. And,adonde' va'. Where have you been? And where are you going? And, alberrto. Open. They may want you to open your bag. By the way,I've ridden Mexico 5 times and the soldiers are as curious as anybody.

I always cross at Tecate'. The road forks there so you can go south,east or west. Plus it's just a little bitty ol' place.

Twice we parked at 'Diamond Jacks' RV Park in Jamul,Ca. In '96 and last month. 'GOOGLE' RV parks in Jamul and give him a call. Jamul is nothing more then an intersection so stop at the Real Estate office on the left and ask for final directions. You're getting close.

Yes,take your tire patch kit. Don't know about the tube/tubeless thing. Ask around. I have tubes in my Chinese cheapies.

Camping? Yuck! I'm so fucking old I quit camping 10 years ago. All I want now is an air conditioned room with a shower,pool and a bar to slam as many Margaritas as humanly possible. However,camp grounds are everywhere and lots of people do it. Mostly car people,though as they spend all day in their air conditioned car and like to rough it at night for 'ambiance' or something.

Money? Cross the border with $500 in cash and go to the bank and get $400 in pesos and keep the $100US for so called,emergencies. What ever that is. ATMs' are everywhere too. Some places still don't take plastic so be ready.

Don't know much about hot springs as I was looking for cold springs. Seems I heard of them somewhere in my travel book. I'll research that.

And take two different maps. That way you get more information. Take your travel book. And an english/spanish dictionary.

Stay out of the 'gringo' restaurants. You know. McDonalds,yada,yada,yada,ad infinitum. And stop at the little roadside 'Mom and Pops'. Those poor people are going the way of the dinosaur as Baja is rapidly becoming little Hollywood for the 'newly yuppie traveler.' You said you went to Cabo in '78? I rode there in '93. It's like fucking Las Vegas now. A horror show. If you do,stay at the Siesta Suites and say 'hi' to Alex. Google it. Pool. Margaritas and the best Italian food you'll ever have. I mean it.

 

"Cheers" Roadslayer

[Guest Roadslayer]

attn. Steve G. Take a spare clutch and brake lever. We've done that for years and lo' and behold if we didn't need one this time. The 'little lady' wadded up her F650 and broke the clutch lever on the way to Mikes' Sky Ranch. Yes. Sand. The bike was still rideable so the next day was 'fix the lever' day. Now we'll have the 'redesigned' lever welded back together and thrown in the tool kit for next time.

 

"Cheers" Roadslayer

[Steve G.]

Awesome, great info guys.

Any other info, I'm all ears.

What kind of weather you think we'll hit in February? When I was in Cabo in late November, it was really nice, actually, kind of cool, like 60degF at night, and 75-80degF daytime. Nice though, no clouds, just like, well,,,,, a desert!

Ciao, Steve

[Guest Roadslayer]

attn. Steve G. I can only guess what the weather will be like in Feb. I do know they have 'winter'. We were there in November '96. and they had ice,,,yes,,,,ice in the passes. And the north end was Seattle weather. It didn't get warm until Loreto. I'll never do that again. I like 'hot' to play in. Cabo is probably 'nice' year round. Spring and fall is the best time to go. However,late September and October is the humid time,we found out, and the 'off' season. Thought I was going to die.

And speaking of dying. Take a Cool Vest. Joe Rocket sells them for about $60US. I discovered them about 5 years ago and now I can't live without it. Anything over about 85F and out it comes. And I dunk my helmet in water too. One thing about Cool Vests,though. They don't work in the humid climates,we found out.

 

"Cheers" Roadslayer

[Steve G.]

attn. Steve G. I can only guess what the weather will be like in Feb. I do know they have 'winter'. We were there in November '96. and they had ice,,,yes,,,,ice in the passes. And the north end was Seattle weather. It didn't get warm until Loreto. I'll never do that again. I like 'hot' to play in. Cabo is probably 'nice' year round. Spring and fall is the best time to go. However,late September and October is the humid time,we found out, and the 'off' season. Thought I was going to die.

And speaking of dying. Take a Cool Vest. Joe Rocket sells them for about $60US. I discovered them about 5 years ago and now I can't live without it. Anything over about 85F and out it comes. And I dunk my helmet in water too. One thing about Cool Vests,though. They don't work in the humid climates,we found out.

 

"Cheers" Roadslayer

Yup I know what you mean. I was recently talking to the salesman at the big BMW dealer in Seattle [Rides West, talking about Sidi Disco's actually] and Baja. He went last year, and hit snow coming back north near the U.S. border!! He said he froze his ass. I guess there's no guarantees.

Unlike yourself, I can handle the heat, but cold makes me nervous.

Ciao, Steve