Monday, September 9, 2013
Monday, November 21, 2011
Baja 1000 2011
Another trip to the crime ridden, Cartel infested, violent place we call Baja.
This place is SCARY!!!!!
Each morning we nervously ate breakfast hoping it would not be our last.
The Baja "new bees" Dusty and Bob were a little extra nervous, as you can see.
We had to ride fast to avoid all the serious trouble that surrounded us.
The Cartel must be giving Poblanos some kick backs because they built a new patio complete with a roof over it and additional seating.
We headed west, with hopes that we could find a place we felt safe.
All we could find was Coyote Cals.
We made due.
Herd nothing but sad stories of ill-fated baja adventures gone wrong that night.
Some how we made it through the night and were relieved to see the sunrise.
Bob and I hit the road......... figured its a lot harder to hit a moving target.
Some one cut this poor ladies head off, turned her into a guitar case, and threw her in the ocean. I think I herd about this on the news a few weeks ago.
On top of all the drug violence, there is always the ever-present Chupacabra to worry about.
We figured it would be better to stay out of the hills and stick to the coast for our own safety.
The beach provided good traction and high speeds for a quick get away if needed.
At times evasive maneuvers had to be taken to avoid capture!!!!!!
I cant believe we could even be hungry after all that drama,
but some how we managed to put tacos in our bellies and smiles on our faces.
Watch out Dusty! Those are the guys that kidnap Americans and hold them for ransom.
Even while watching the race it was hard to relax.
Bob managed to clear his mind of all the trouble for a few seconds and snap this awesome pic.
Its true, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset like this any where..........
but for some reason they are just a little sweeter in Baja!
Even if that stupid cow did attack you...... with no warning.......
at night...... in the dark....... knocking you off your bike ..........
on your last day riding in Baja ...... 2 mins from the truck.........
getting you all scraped up..... bending your radiator.......
with its head........ at least it went down too!
I told you. This place is SCARY!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
2010 Baja 1000
Torsten and I packed up our bikes and headed for San Felipe to start pre-running
Had a great place to stay - Jim was kind enough to let us stay in his casita
Jim thanks a ton we couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. It was great!!!!!
The things you find in Mexico... We call this the 'Zonkey', a white donkey spray painted to look like a zeebra.
Thanks to Potts for letting us stay in his garage in La Bufadora. Our roommate, (his Trophy truck) kept us protected.
Registration at the San Nicolas the day before the race
Always a crazy day down at Tech and Contingency
We had a great race. Torsten started the race and got us up to 2nd place in our class in the first 80 miles. We stayed in 2nd until we handed the bike off, around mile 400.
You have got to read the full written account!
Torsten did a great write up.
We also need to thank:
Jim Davis at CocaCola for keeping us hydrated.
We truly appreciate all the help!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
2009 Baja 1000
Matt, Mike, Marc, Torsten, and I set out from Flagstaff on Sunday around noon. Mike introduced us to Lenny Burger, in Glendale (which I highly recommend for piling on calories before a long week of riding). Around Yuma we had a minor set back.... we ran out of gas. I was about to jump on the bike and head down the Hwy to the nearest gas station when.......
...a helpful officer pulled up. He said he didn't want me to ride on the Hwy but he would give me a ride to the gas station and back. And just like that things were off to a great start. Stopped in El Centro to top off with gas and calories at the In and Out Burger, then headed towards the border.
We met up with Brad and stayed just outside of Tecate on the US side of the border at a Cal Fire station. We hung out with the on duty crew and watched the football game on TV. Then went to bed early....
...we woke up early and headed across the border. Made a few wrong turns and after a much needed potty stop we were on our way to Ojos Negros to start the day.
Unloading the bikes and getting ready for the first ride of the trip is one of my favorite parts of the trip. All the months of waiting and weeks of anticipation are finally over.
Every one geared up and Marc, Brad, Tor, and I headed off to RM80 where Mike and Matt would meet us with the Truck.
Classic Ojos picture heading down the long straight road from Hwy 3.
This first section was fast and fun. Smooth roads to a sandy wash, then through a small silt section and up to some rocky hills then finaly back to some sandy burmed fast turny roads. Tor and Brad each got a pinch flat which we fixed at RM 80 then headed to RM 100.
We had to meet up with the truck at RM100 to fill up with gas. Marks bike only got about 50 to 60 miles a tank so we had to pack a little gas in gatorade bottles to be sure he made it.
Up and over the summit. It is one of the rougher rides down there but it has become one of my favorite sections.
The view from the top is great and there is no one around for 100 miles in any direction. From here the riding gets fast and fun again. Down this rocky section to a sand wash and then desert roads with whoops until you hit the dry lake bed.
Wide open on the lake bed. We finished our day here, and a good day it was. Except for the grimlin Tor found at the end of the day in his bike's electrical system. We headed to San Felipe that night and filled up on tacos. Then headed to the beach for a quiet night of camping.
We worked on Tor's bike the next morning but to no avail. Brad, Marc, and I headed out to ride the San Felipe loop. About half way through the ride Marc had a sudden departure from his bike. He broke the gatorade bottle he had full of gas in his backpack and his throttle perch and cable as well. There was no way possible to get a chase truck back there and no decent roads for 40 miles in any direction. We managed to do a little rigging with some tape and bailing wire..... no joke.... and the throttle held the rest of the trip probably another 200-300 miles. It was really a work of art that had to be seen to be appreciated.
Even with the fixed throttle and riding easy Marc still ran out of gas.... along with 2 other riders not in our group all around the same spot. Brad and I made it to the trailer and loaded up with extra gas. While we were fueling up a guy came up and asked if I would ride him back into the wash 4 miles to his bike that was out of gas. Ridding double in a deep whooped sand wash is not the funnest thing to do, but it was the right thing to do... its all about karma down in baja. So after riding the guy back to Marcs location and filling up a KTM and two Hondas with gas we all made it back to the chase trucks.
We still had half the loop to cover. We were unsure of Marc's bike and Brad wanted a brake so he let Tor borrow his bike for the next section. I will never ride that section again. 40 miles of deep rock whoops followed by a few miles of smooth sand and back to 10 miles of deep classic San Felipe sand whoops. It was nice to get back to camp an a few plates full of tacos.
The next morning Tor and I road from San Felipe to Mike's Sky Ranch turn off. Met up with the chase truck and then Marc, Brad and I head out from Valley Trinidad to the coast. We almost had a major mix up when Brad who was just a little behind got tricked into turning onto the course by some little kids instead of continuing on the road into town to get gas. Marc and I went into town got gas. Filled up a 2 liter bottle for Brad and got back on the course to catch up with Brad. Luckily Brad had some good sense and when things didnt seem right he just stopped and waited. We bumped into him 4 mile from the road and the rest of the ride was great. We road up the coast and all the way to the camp ground in Ensenada.
The chase crew.... Matt, Mike, and Tor had their own little adventure that day. You never know what you are going to run into in baja. They ran into a wildland fire.
They were driving down the road and were flagged down by a local. He said.... in not so many words..... the fire is coming towards my house can you get the firefighters in the next town. Matt was not sure they need to drive all the way to the next town to find some competent firefighters so he took IC and did a quick walk around and "hazard assessment"...LOL... He asked the man if he had any tools or shovels, and he was presented with a wheel barrow full of tools. They grabbed tools and gave some orders to the other people around to dig line around the fire and knocked down the hot spots. The guy was convinced that they had saved his house from burning down and made sure they knew how happy he was. We no longer have to worry about a place to stay in that area of baja. They were told that we were welcome there anytime we were down there.
After an eventfull day for all of us nothing sounded better that Plablanos Tacos..... The best Tacos in Ensenada. I think I had 10 or 12 that night.
The next day was contingency. I hate contingency... enough said.
Of course Tor was able to fix his bike once he got his hands on a few parts and by Thursday morning Tor and Marc were off to the cost instead of contingency.... lucky dogs.
They had a great day of riding with no problems.......except they both got a little sick the next day. Thats what you get when you go have fun riding and send your buddies to contingency to suffer in downtown Ensenada... Karma... baja style.
Race day. The car didn't race due to engine trouble the night before......
We scored some great seats at the Red Bull Jump. On top of the Ensenada Fire Truck. Best seats in the wash.
Watched the cars and trucks go by. Got some food and headed to the cost.
Got there in time to watch the 1x bike come through and all the others vehicles through out the night and the next day. Had a nice relaxing day at the beach. Marc, Matt, Jesse, and I rode the bikes to Santo Tomas that afternoon and then we headed back to the campground for some Tacos and a nice warm Jacuzzi.
We got a good nights sleep and packed up in the morning and headed home. With the exception of not getting to race the car it was a great trip. One of the best we have had. Can't wait till the Baja 500 in May/June.
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