Afry 1 Posted December 11, 2012 My first trip to Mikes with Escondido BMW group ride, Earl Thigpen (former Baja quad champ) and Rick were our fearless leaders and showed us a great time. Bikes ranged from CRF250x to GS1200 tankers and my KTM 950 SE was somewhere in between. 24 of us rode to Rancho Santa Veronica for the first night getting there at dark. As luck would have it there was a tequila vendor with 2 hot young ladies serving free shots all night - damnn it! Food was great but the tequila was better!! Rode Compadre Trail to Mikes on day one with one of the newer guys on 1200's popping his cherry on the sandy sections but overall everyone did pretty well. Lunch at a remote field after trying to keep up with Earl on his Crf450x had my speedo hitting 75 and I was still losing ground. After lunch tried to keep up with Earl and Rick (who was on a 1200) and once again lost ground as they motored away. They told us longest fuel run was under a 100 miles so at 138 I ran out but thanks to Fuzzy Nugs DR tanker I refueled and made the last 5 miles to the Pemex station. Got to Mikes for good drinks, food and new friends and was glad to see we had heaters in the rooms!! Had tasty steaks and watched Marquez knock the crap out of Pacquiao before Mike shut down the generator for the night. Ride home was more of the same great stuff with lunch at a remote palapa near a stream crossing. We split from the group there and high tailed it to the border with dreams of the B1K as we rode the last leg.[/color] Great trip - highly recommend it if you have never been down there before - having the chase truck make it less stressful if you have a mechanical or need fuel and our hosts from Escondido BMW were excellent in making sure everyone had a good time and helped when needed. Thanks to the Esco BMW crew! Tequila girls!! ! Rancho Santa Veronica ] She's purdy... ] Break time! ] Lunch time ] Mikes (fuzzy shot - must have been the tequila) ] On the wall at Mikes....lol ] Fuzzy Nugs, Rick, Dan and I waiting for the rest of the crew to catch up ] Either a Mexican cat about to become an illegal immigrant or an American cat sneaking home after a long night out.... "] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crusty Posted December 11, 2012 Looks fun, but waiting for one with smaller faster bikes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkug 147 Posted December 11, 2012 Glad everyone had a good time-quite an experence on big bikes.Did you go past Laguna Hanson or passed due to the sand potential ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Afry 1 Posted December 11, 2012 Tried to go to LH but group issues ruled it out as we were getting short on time after waiting for over an hour for a missing group. Next time..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driss 0 Posted December 11, 2012 We did head down there me and Diego on Saturday left Escondido at 10:30am and we got there as the BMW group was rolling in around 03:30pm to 04:00pm I must say Ken and I think it was commented during the evening that this was a group that had the most novice dirt riders on the r1200GS and GSA but they were fast as the group got to Mike earlier than they ever made it Rick and Earl said.We took Compadre trail to Laguna Hanson and went the front way to Mike's the BMW group went the back way, coming back we just went Ochos and from there the Compadre I was home at 02:00pm and we left after the BMW group left Mike's around 09:30, Diego didn't take the new Honda but he used his BMW HP2 and boy was he fast on it after changing the tires to TKC80's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CalNub 0 Posted December 11, 2012 that looks like such a great trip. glad everyone had a good time. did you bring back any tequila? i've heard Agavia reposado is particularly smooth... :coolio:/> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driss 0 Posted December 11, 2012 1355198740[/url]' post='139403']Tried to go to LH but group issues ruled it out as we were getting short on time after waiting for over an hour for a missing group. Next time..... Afry, Did you guys meet on the way back the BMW group that was heading to Mike's for the night on the Compadre trail? I think they were 10 to 12 guys, we stopped and chatted with them for half an hour me and Diego they are heading to La Paz via san felipe, coco's corner then crossing to main land then to Mazatlan then turning back north crossing to the USA somewhere in Texas then back to California. These guys were mostly from the west coast but two guys were from Alaska.There was a guy on an old street Triumph with no knobbies with them and boy these guys had the bikes loaded like they were moving to Mexico. Amazing group on a trip old school type with no scheduling and navigation with no GPS, Diego had to remind some of them as they were talking to him about his HP2 to loose the air from there tires because they were running 30psi to 35psi in the sand when we met them. But they were experienced travelers it seems and they were on a mission to go thru anything with what they have no matter what. They did tell us that police in Tecate pulled all of them saying they all went thru a stop but they argued with them and didn't pay them any money. One of the riders said to me how is it possible when we are so many following eachother my reply was this is Mexico and everyone needs pesos to feed his family. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Afry 1 Posted December 11, 2012 1355200625[/url]' post='139411']that looks like such a great trip. glad everyone had a good time. did you bring back any tequila? i've heard Agavia reposado is particularly smooth... /> Lol, no room in the bags this trip, had to pack for three days - I learned to never put gear in a case truck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Afry 1 Posted December 11, 2012 1355201741[/url]' post='139414']1355198740[/url]' post='139403']Tried to go to LH but group issues ruled it out as we were getting short on time after waiting for over an hour for a missing group. Next time..... Afry, Did you guys meet on the way back the BMW group that was heading to Mike's for the night on the Compadre trail? I think they were 10 to 12 guys, we stopped and chatted with them for half an hour me and Diego they are heading to La Paz via san felipe, coco's corner then crossing to main land then to Mazatlan then turning back north crossing to the USA somewhere in Texas then back to California. These guys were mostly from the west coast but two guys were from Alaska.There was a guy on an old street Triumph with no knobbies with them and boy these guys had the bikes loaded like they were moving to Mexico. Amazing group on a trip old school type with no scheduling and navigation with no GPS, Diego had to remind some of them as they were talking to him about his HP2 to loose the air from there tires because they were running 30psi to 35psi in the sand when we met them. But they were experienced travelers it seems and they were on a mission to go thru anything with what they have no matter what. They did tell us that police in Tecate pulled all of them saying they all went thru a stop but they argued with them and didn't pay them any money. One of the riders said to me how is it possible when we are so many following eachother my reply was this is Mexico and everyone needs pesos to feed his family. That must have been the Moto Quest group that passed by when we stopped at the palapa, we also ran into the Mexican local on the Chinese made Japanese (Honda) knock off. It was nice to met you and look forward to future rides. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driss 0 Posted December 11, 2012 That must have been the Moto Quest group that passed by when we stopped at the palapa, we also ran into the Mexican local on the Chinese made Japanese (Honda) knock off. It was nice to met you and look forward to future rides. Thank you it was really nice meeting you also and we need to ride I am thinking to head south before the end of year using my GSA two days in two days out to Loretto. With stops for sightseeing along the way. No camping as I want to pack very light and concentrate on the views.i have been down there many times so I am experienced and know the roads my Spanish is not bad neither as I am fluent in French and they are same Latin is Latin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FuzzyNugs 0 Posted December 11, 2012 This is the trip that finally forced me to get a passport and it was well worth the cost. My first trip to Baja couldn't have gone better, and I can't wait to go back. Rick and the other guys at BMW did a great job in setting up this ride and then successfully herding our group of loose moto-cattle. At times lost, but the group always seemed to return together around a beer and some laughs. Door to door from Oceanside I logged 491 miles with zero bike issues and no offs. Props to the guys on the bigger bikes that not only took a few spills, but kept up a pretty good pace. Enough story time, here is my album of pictures: http://imgur.com/a/oU0xD Below are just a few. What better welcome to Mexico than dos chicas bonitas with free shots of tequila. First nights accommodation at Rancho Santa Veronica. The fast bikes. The BMW's. Nice little water crossing just before the palapa. The only way to end the day at Mike's Sky Rancho. Leaving Mike's Sky Rancho Sunday morning. 270 miles from home. Lunch on Saturday. Glad to have skipped past this mess. Great group of folks and everyone just seemed to love riding. I will definitely be going back as I'm sure that was only a small sliver of what Baja has to offer. A multi-day camping trip could be epic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
