Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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• ~mRI )EL~ Baja Bound Mexico Trail Ride itting around the bar in Santo I:: T o m a s , it gradually became cl e ar to one and all t ha t the theme of this p a rtic u la r four -day-Iong , lates p ri ngtime Me x ic an trai lride would be o ne of pu re , una dult e ra te d hedonism. Gr ante d , Mexico 's status as a s pri ng break pa rty meca m a kes it a co m mo n de stinatio n for g ri ngos bent o n se lf-ind u lgence, b ut o u r in te nt w a s no t a si m ple orgy of tequila an d de bauchery . True, as ou r r oj co l l e c t ive epi p hany hit , each f.!Jj of us in that cantina was perched in front of an enormous ma rgarita and a plate of ta c os , but such was the severity of our gluttony that we knew that no amount of mere Mexican food, alco hol or hell -raising would succeed in quenching it. All three ingredients were certainly necessary , but the main course was epic trail -riding - 16 JUL Y 26 , 2000' C U c I e and lots of it. Our grins already stretched between both ears , behind which we had just cleaned the dust from only the first day in the saddle, and already we were serious ly discuss ing ho w we m ig ht increase our e njoyment of day number two. It marked the beg inn ing of a cycle , each day ending on a h igher note than the last, but with the participants even more determined to make the next one better ye t. By the fourth and final day, we had achieved trail-riding nirvana. neVIl's T HESET·UP Like any you ng off-road enthusi ast, I used to dream of racing in Baja . While trail -riding in the Southern Cali fornia desert, I woul d freq ue ntly make believe I was on the Mexican penn in sula, bombing thro ug h the saguaro a t a buck and change, a nd s liding into a pit to hand off m y bik e with th e le ad . As luc k wo u ld ha ve it, my safety-c on s cio us pa re n ts stee red m y com pe titio n endeavors more towar d e nduro , so my Mexican ra c ing was li mited to the Tecate Enduro just sout h of the border, but I still kept my goal of contesting the famous Baja Mille - until Danny Hamel died . I had always known that the event was dangerous , but knowing that the best desert racer in the world lost his life compet ing in it soured my Just a bunch of guys having fun in Mexico: The gang pose s in a pair o f row boats on day two by the sh ipwreck n ea r the tow n of Colon e L (No t p ictured-Chris " Luc e rtol a " J o n num) a p peti te a n d shatte red my d re a m . Mexic o and motorcycles, I concl uded, s ho uldn't mix. Even tually, I traveled the leng th of Baja b y a uto mob ile, a nd I re c e ntly s pent two yea rs living on th e ma inland - tw o expe rie nces that we re overwhelm ingly positive. In fact, as I tra ve le d a ro und the country, I found myself looking out of car and bus windows at the passing countryside, picking o ut good trails and entertaining t houghts that were remarkably simila r to those of my childhood. So it wa s that when Mariana Graph ics P.R. guru Tim Clark called to invite me on an informal industry ride hosted by Baja Bound tour guide/desertracing ace Tim Morton , I found myself accepting. Racing in Baja is