Baja 500 Weekend Ride Report

[jawhitmoyer 0]

My uncle trucked down his 350 EXC and my brother's 500 EXC Friday morning from Fresno, arriving at my house just before noon. We needed install Tubliss in my bro's front wheel, a new seat and 4 gallon tank. We got the Tubliss installed very quickly, but decided it was too risky to do the tank because we wouldn't have time to test it. My brother rode his GS down from Monterey that morning, and arrived literally two mins within his planned arrival, so things were looking good.

We parked and unloaded in Tecate, and crossed the border around 3.00pm. We headed south and picked up the dirt about 8 miles down the highway. We were headed to Rancho Santa Vernonica, where I had booked a room online. We had a nice ride over, but nothing special. When we checked into the hotel, they told us we only have two beds, so someone's going to have to share...uh, I don't think so. I had noted in the reservation we were three adults, and also called to confirm. My Spanish paid off, and we were able to "upgrade" to a room with three beds for $10.

My uncle was a little tired, so my brother and I took off to see if we could find an interesting place to watch part of the race. We rode down the Compadre Hwy to RM65, where we found a nice group guys who were settled in for a night of partying...boom box, three coolers of beer, firewood, etc. We didn't like the spot from a viewing POV, but it was starting to get dark, so we headed back to the hotel. We pulled in right at dark...BTW, the KTM headlight with tinted goggles is useless.

Over dinner at Hacienda Santa Veronica we decided we'd rather ride that sit and watch the race, so we made a plan to head for Valle T where we would see if we could get a room. We headed out around 7am, and did the usual roads to Ramona's for gas and breakfast, and then down to Santa Catarina to Hwy 3 to Valle T. Nice riding, not too much traffic, and the dust wasn't awful.

We arrived at Valle T around 2pm, and I stopped to chat with a course marshal. He told me 32 bikes had been through, but no trucks. We were at RM300, so we knew the trucks would be coming soon. We got a room at Hotel Del Valle with three beds for $60, and it was awesome. Nice and new, electricity (unlike Mike's) and air conditioning! We changed into shorts and walked to a taco shop on the main drag to eat, drink and wait for the first trophy truck. We didn't have to wait long before McMillan came through, where he had a 10 min gap on the next truck. A few more came through, and then a mix of quads and Class 8 trucks...the quad guys must have been in Hell racing with the TT's!

The Galindo TT changed drivers right in front of us, so we got to chat with the guys who'd just driven 300 miles. They'd hit a tree and lost the front plastic and bumper. They said going down La Rumorosa was insane as the road was only 2 inches wider than the truck. But my favorite comment they made was the lack of a front bumper kept them ramming slower vehicles...the quads came to mind again.

Race traffic was limited to 35mph through town, so we jumped on the bikes (no helmets, shorts and tennis shoes...gotta love Mexico) and rode a mile to where they could get back up to speed. See pics for a little taste of what we saw.

After hearing race traffic all nite, we got up at 6.30am and headed north on the highway to Ojos. My brother had to be back in Monterey that night, so we picked a route that would get us back to the truck around 2pm. Those 50 miles were boring and COLD, but they went by quickly enough. As we pulled into the Pemex a Class 8 truck came flying by...we think he had 30 mins max to make it, but I didn't remember his number to check if he did. Regardless, they had one long night.

Birria and coffee in Ojos, and then back to Santa Veronica for beers before heading over to Tecate. We took the road west from there, but we missed a turn and ended up on the highway to Ensenada at Las Palmas. We had a 20 mile ride on the highway, but at least we were making good time. Got through the border in 5 minutes, got the bikes loaded, and were on the road at 1.45pm...15 mins ahead of schedule, which is pretty amazing for Baja.

One note of interest: we rode up a little trail that was pretty rocky and rutted out, and I ended up falling when I dabbed a foot into a rut. Being 5-9, that happens a lot, but it gave me an excuse to buy a Rekluse, which arrives tomorrow. My uncle has one, and he just ripped up the trail, and assures me I would have, too.

I am planning to do an overnighter to ride the entire course in a couple of weeks if it's not too hot. I'll post when I figure out my details in case anyone wants to join me.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Someone please PM me on how to get my pic's to rotate correctly and/or upload to My Media. Argh!

[Reximus 10]

Goofy and I watched bikes/quads from the first real turn on rumorosa...it was insane. Knew if we didn't get out before we heard helicopters we'd be committed on that road. Sounds like you guys had a blast.

[Pat760 0]

Looks like you had another awesome Baja adventure, Thanks for the ride report, still trying to get the Anza to Idyllwild and back to Anza loop tracks for you.

[Mikey777 44]

Really interested in how you like the Rekluse once you get it installed. Keep us posted.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Well, I discovered slop in the rubber bumpers, but one in San Diego had them. I did get installed in the better part of last evening. I didn't have a 27mm socket, so trip to Home Depot took 45 mins. Otherwise it was smooth.

The PITA is the clutch slave. I bled and bled like their instructions but couldn't get clutch pressure. Then it dawned on me I could use my vacuum brake bleeder and had better than new pressure in three mins. Best $28 purchase from harbor freight for a bleeder.

I have to take the clutch apart once the bumpers come in, but I think it's ok to do the adjustment and break in as is. Should be tomorrow.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Looks like you had another awesome Baja adventure, Thanks for the ride report, still trying to get the Anza to Idyllwild and back to Anza loop tracks for you.

[jawhitmoyer 0]

Kewl.