DSBC Baja 2009 THE JOURNEY BEGINS JAN 29

tomcycle

Past President DSBC 2004 -2018
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Feb 15 2006

It was nice sleeping in my own bed again;)

Long trip home with all sorts of holdups to slow the trip down

Picking up Darrens bike in Ensenada

Taking the Tecate Border Xing

Stopping at Fat Ivars Rib Rack for his world famous ribs, a regular stop for us

Dunsmur (foot of new snow) Then again in Shasta, Yreka and the Syskyou Pass.
I didnt bring chains this year.:shoot:

LeftSanto Tomas Mexicoat 6 am Feb 13/2009

Arrived SurreyB.C 9:00 pm Feb 14/2009

38 Hours

Tom





 

beaver steve

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Nuther epic journey...good to see.

Where is this Fat Ivars Rib Rack...need a good place to stop on the way to the dez.

BS
 

greenlake

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I may as well quitriding now, cause I can't see it getting any better than this. Not only where the riding conditions perfect, the group couldn't have been any better. Everyone had the same ajenda, ride all day, eat like a pig, have a couple of pops, sleep then ride all day again.

This is how she looked before 2 weeks of total abuse!



This is where we left the bus in Santo Thomas. Conditions where perfect and leaving the bus in a reasonably secure area.



Less than 5k into the ride and Greg decided to remove his counter sprocket on the highway. 10 minutes later, all is well and we're heading south again.



Here we are at one of our first of many team meeting, Momma Espinossas, (forgive the many spelling errors that will be in this post



Here is the chairman doing what he does best, (throwing @#!&^% on KTM's)



Guy comming to a high speed intersection in the cacti.



Leedam, Claude and I have a male bonding experience in the middle of nowhere. Next time I think we need the girls at the turning point. (just a thought).



Them are some big ass cactus!



Claude, Leedam, Guy and Darren enjoying just being there.



Fish and shrimp taco's at Scorpion Bay, it doesn't get any better.



Quick gas stop in the fishing village, plus a can of octane boost for the high strung bikes, and off we go



A visit with the local youth group, hand out candy and toys, a quick wheelie by those who can and of into the horizon. Notice the cool kid in the front, if you zoom in, you can see those are my daughters Minni Mouse sunglasses



Tom was able to find some shade to eat his apple. This was before General Montezuma came to visit him. (You can tell by the smile on his face).



Another well deserved team meeting. This time it's at Hotel California in Todas Santos. One of many must see towns in the Baja.



Not as swank as Hotel California but every bit as good in Contitution.



The beach run into Todas Santos was a blast but the KTM is still mad at me for putting her through it.



Four amigo's in Scorpion Bay.



I had to take this picture so I could remeber one of the hottest days of my life. Riding deep sand for the first time and climatising to the baja heat all in the same day.



Gregg trying to get Tom a little dusty



Oil change and wrenching day in Cabo



Tom wondering how such a small pipe can cause so much heat



Departure morning from Cabo. A night at the office, shower and laundry, clean the bikes, now lets go screw it all up again. Yee-Hah



Back on the road, heading for La Paz via Los Barrillos



Another team meeting, ceviche and fish taco's, sounds familiar but never gets boring.



Leedam taking it all in



Tom has had his meeting with General Montezuma. It is quite obvious who won.



Claude hanging out in his new favorite spot



Doug, trying to dump out some of that excess gas he was carrying.



Leedam, with the Sea of Cortez behind him



The only other riders we happened to meet where from Kaslo. I love the smell of orange in the morning!



Leedam, flat tracking through the desert. Looks like he's having a blast.



It was somewhere close to this town, I realizedI had a serious issue with my bike.



Here is Claude fixing my serious issue. My front wheel bearing was non-existent. A few wraps of nylon strapping, covered with electrical tape got me 140km of highway riding at 70kph. I think Claude has applied for the patent



My new Mexican friends took me 20km to the highway so I could test the new balero.



New bearings bussed up from La Paz. Note to self,metric bearings are tough to find in the Baja, be sure to bring them with you.



More fun in the Baja



Leedam heading for the horizon.





Team DSBC trying to find Coco.



This was the team meeting of all team meetings, with our honorary team member Coco at the famous Coco's Cormer



We thought we could drink Coco dry, apparently not.



Stopping on the road to decide if we are comming or going. Not really sure, we forged on



Epic riding all day!



The final day of riding and it just keeps getting better. If you don't know which way to go, the cow will point you there.





Two hours to get to the bus, or we could take this other trail........

8 hours later we roll into Santo Thomas in the dark! Oh what fun it was



"If we follow the game trail through the wash, it will take us to the road back to the bus". Are you sure about that Tom?



SIGN ME UP FOR NEXT YEAR!!

I sure hope my family understands:clap:

 

JavaJude

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Dave

Excellent ride report and photos :clap:Thanks for sharing.

-Judy-
 

wjm

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You guys rock! :tup:I watched your ride with great interest, thanks for the reports.:spl:[/b]



Bill
 

tomcycle

Past President DSBC 2004 -2018
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More photos from the trip

Note the road in the distance, lots of these kind of views



El Arco, on our way to Bahia LA, old mine. If you come by this watch out for the BEEZ









This is on the Green Door Trail, just South of Bahia of LA, this little guy is just waiting to give you a flat or for you to make a mistake, you will note how close it is to the track. this goes on for miles and miles. What doesnt kill us will hurt a lot



Cool roads on the Green Door Trail





Greg in front of a cactus, big ones



Gas Stop, look at the cool decals he has one the side window:tup:



OH NOOOOOO another flat





TEAM ORANGE



Gas station closedin San Ignacio, niceAmerican gave me a couple of litres to get on my way


Baja Trucking dont want to run into this guy at night




meeting with the locals to find a place that could fix the honda




Dave the trailer queen




These guys were riding toPanama, the guy on the honda wanted me to listen to his engine to determine what was wrong with it. turned out to be a loose skid plate, he was pretty happy.





Honda bearing gone



Darren finally fixes his own flat, watch you tongue





Thats all the pictures for me. The camera packed it in, little too much dust. Lost more pictures in the photogallery

http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/showgallery.php?cat=789&password=&page=







 
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grotox

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really enjoyed the report,great action photos,i checked in 3 times a day as i presume many of us did chained to our desks,did you have fun or was it boring?achh
 

greenlake

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Grotox,

I've given it a lot of thought, and can't figure out how it could have been any better!

If you haven't done it, it is a must do! If you have done it, then it should be a do over:ss:
 
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grotox

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greenlake wrote:
Grotex,

I've given it a lot of thought, and can't figure out how it could have been any better!

If you haven't done it, it is a must do! If you have done it, then it should be a do over:ss:
greanlake,to answer & further confuse the issue,no,no,yes,yes,yes....it would be better if it were longer,binderdundat sorta & repeat yes please.....grotex?????,my pompose ass envisioned me as being the Ghost Rider Of the bla bla bla,and now youv've turned me into some kind of cheap imitation rainproof coating,that does it... i'm changing my name to king alfred blogsalot,please call me your honor & don't call me late for din dins.
 

DRuZer

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Yep, in another week or so I should be able to think about work again...

Apparently I'm not the only one!

What I know for sure is it was one hellufa good time. Great company, optimal conditions (verry little dust, just a little water to make it interesting), and lots a dirt n rocks n sand and some absolutely amazing routes!

First day in the dirt, and the little dot is Leedham making a break for the Pacific First an impression of the vastness of the place. This was taken near the Valle de los Curios.


I don't know what the significance of this was, but it was built just above the high water line without mortar. Valle de los Curios.


Some of the fine establishments that we graced:
Mar de Cortez, Cabo



Mama Espanosa's, El Rosario


La Gardenia (sp?), La Paz. Salt water pool!


La Hacienda, Mulaje


We found a little water 'n mud on the way to Coco's Corner. Nice sandy bottom, not to deep.


Then the water got a little deeper....



and a little deeper....



Official boot gauge confirms depth! Lucky the Husky's air intake is on the other side! Notice how clean she looks.



Probably the most scenic route we had was crossing the Sierra San Pedro.
Some of the strange flora and fauna on the way to the pass.



Here's a view from the top. We're on our way to beyond the horizon by sundown, and its about 1:30. We just had an encounter with some local (armed) gauchos who tried to shake us down!



Down the hill and around a few corners, we're blessed by some sweet grassy twin track


Finally into and out of a steep wash





S'more cool roads:
The first shot is of one from Trinidad to near Santo Tomas, on our last day, had to be one of the best. Fantastic surface, lots of twisty undulations (I looked it up and its good!)


Ohters:





It wasn't all easy going. this was a nasty rock section on a generally tough road. Heck, if it was easy, everyone would do it! Between Mulaje and Loreto, but of course, not the direct route...


every once in a while, someone (or two!) would get caught unawares on a sandy road and get swallowed up in a dreaded POWDER KEG!
Heres Doug powering out of one



No matter how fast Claude went, he couldn't escape the paparatzi. Rumor has it that Leedham was spying on the KTM pilot for old team red 1x himself.
I captured this intrigue on the pacific coast by a little lagoon full of fish and pelicans eating fish.


Here's the gang on what turned out to be probably our easiest day, and another favorite ride. The route from Todos Santos to del Cabo was made very interesting by Darren and Tom taking us on a great route through the mountains.




Ain't this a purdy sight? Das tanker posing at the south end of the green door trail. The beemer worked perfectly, but had a little trouble with tourtech stuff. The chain guide pretzeled on its first brush with a rock, the taillight bit broke off, taking with it the right signal light, and the the broken/lost bash plate mounting bolts had to be replaced with nylon webbing. Gotta get a better windshield mount too. Sure missed it when we had to put some highway miles on in the cold and dark!

Thanks Kaslo guys (we met in La Paz) for telling us about the green door trail!! Hope to see a bit of a ride report of your adventures!


Sunrise at San Filipe (over the Sea of Cortez), the start of our last day.


Wow, what a trip. I think I feel a tear coming on, knowing its over for another year...

Guy
 

greenlake

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grotox wrote:
greenlake wrote:
Grotex,

I've given it a lot of thought, and can't figure out how it could have been any better!

If you haven't done it, it is a must do! If you have done it, then it should be a do over:ss:
greanlake,to answer & further confuse the issue,no,no,yes,yes,yes....it would be better if it were longer,binderdundat sorta & repeat yes please.....grotex?????,my pompose a** envisioned me as being the Ghost Rider Of the bla bla bla,and now youv've turned me into some kind of cheap imitation rainproof coating,that does it... i'm changing my name to king alfred blogsalot,please call me your honor & don't call me late for din dins.
WOW, It was a typo, no harm intended.
 
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grotox

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greenlake wrote:
grotox wrote:
greenlake wrote:
Grotex,

I've given it a lot of thought, and can't figure out how it could have been any better!

If you haven't done it, it is a must do! If you have done it, then it should be a do over:ss:
greanlake,to answer & further confuse the issue,no,no,yes,yes,yes....it would be better if it were longer,binderdundat sorta & repeat yes please.....grotex?????,my pompose a** envisioned me as being the Ghost Rider Of the bla bla bla,and now youv've turned me into some kind of cheap imitation rainproof coating,that does it... i'm changing my name to king alfred blogsalot,please call me your honor & don't call me late for din dins.
WOW, It was a typo, no harm intended.
greenlake,none taken,on the contrary,a great opportunity for his royal highness to rant on someone elses thread....at your service,your "humble" & loyal servant,sir alexander francis blogsalot
 
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Wow!!!!! Fantastic ride reports everyone. Thank you for raising my spirits too.:hb:Cannot wait to get back down there.

Can you enlighten us a little more on the "shakedown" with armed gouchos? Pissed off farmers or what? How did you deal with it?

Awesome pics everyone. Thanks again.

troutman
 

Rambocycle

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1Baja_2009137-med.jpg


This is a picture for the Archives of History!!

Darren fixing his own flat!!

 

Rambocycle

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Most awesome ride report and pictures!! :clap::clap::clap:so next year. I am going...even if I go on my own. I can't stand it any longer! I won't be riding with you guys, but I will probably be meeting you somewhere on the road!!

Thanks a lot guys !!:hb::hb::hb:
 

greenlake

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PaulBurke wrote:
Do any of you have a few GPS waypoints or trackfiles of the Green Door Trail?

Paul,

The Green Door Trail is after El Arco on the way to Bahia de Los Angeles. It takes you to a small Rancho called San Pedro. The entrance is hard to find but lies at about 113deg 9min and 28 deg 27min. If you don't take the trail you have a long high speed rocky road into San Rafael and around to L.A. PM me for more details, or Tom might have the waypoint for the entrance. Have a great trip if I don't talk to you. Who's all in on your group?

Dave
 

TE610

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I have a Garmin track from ElArco, over the Green Door trail to LA Bay. I'll PM you on Monday for a email address to send it to. (My PM is disabled onmy home computer, not sure why).

Watch out for the speed control tank traps the locals have dug into the roadjust South of LA Bay.
 

PaulBurke

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greenlake wrote:
PaulBurke wrote:
Do any of you have a few GPS waypoints or trackfiles of the Green Door Trail?

Paul,

The Green Door Trail is after El Arco on the way to Bahia de Los Angeles. It takes you to a small Rancho called San Pedro. The entrance is hard to find but lies at about 113deg 9min and 28 deg 27min. If you don't take the trail you have a long high speed rocky road into San Rafael and around to L.A. PM me for more details, or Tom might have the waypoint for the entrance. Have a great trip if I don't talk to you. Who's all in on your group?

Dave

Thanks Dave, I have the track now. :D

The group is 5 of us: Me (d0gwater on advrider) and my brother Steve, plus 3 other ADVRIDER dudes Chris (cmwoodys/HWSNBN) and Ross(dunno?) from North Carolina & Bruce (gaspipe) from Tennessee.

We don't have many days down there, so we'll see where we get. We're meeting up with the Yanks on Saturday night in San Felipe - should be fun. I'll take lotsa pics and do a RR when I back.

I'm also looking for the "Nichols' 22 Day Trail" track as well as "Window Rock Trail" if anyone has it?

Would like to have ridden some of the routes out of San Felipe, but pre-running for the SF250 starts this weekend, so are will be really busy.

:hb:
 
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