Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128623
one thing , I re as on e d , but I should be s a fe e nough on a n in no cent trai l ride . THE ITINERARY Since I've spo iled the ending in m y le ad , you al rea dy know that o ur party ended th is trip e na more d with Baja, bu t ma ny from o ur group ha d a lready loved it go ing in. In fa ct , th e two Tim s we re gree t e d by th e lo c a ls as o ld frie nds - Cla rk in S anto Tomas , a nd Morton at day thre e 's e nd in Mike 's Sky Ra nch o . It seems the pa ir was so p arti a l to th e p enn insula that they were both married south of the border (not to each other). Another old friend of Baja is Larry Roeseler, who has raced (and wo n) in Mexico for so m any years that you 'd thin k he 'd be s ick of th e place. Not so. Ti ed up o n day one with ob ligat ions with hi s tru ck-ra cing s p o n so r Toyota , L.R. wa s for ced to miss our 135-mile jaunt from Te cate 's Rancho Santa Veron ica to Santo Tomas (via some trails once used in th e Te c ate End uro). But he and bu d d y Br uce Anderson ma de a red -e ye trip a nd di d the s ame route on day two be fore the res t of our party had e at en br e a k fast. They'd m ake good Mar ines. It had str uck m e on da y one how qui ckl y a n d eas ily o ne 's lif e c a n tra nsform from America n ra t ra c e to Me xic a n tra il ra ce. After work ing fo r the first three days of the wee k , I had b een p ic k ed up a t daw n by Pa rts Unl im ited ' s Mike Ga rrett , and a few h ours later we were on the trai l (a po te ntia l d el a y a t the bo rde r d ue to my Cy cl e N ews t es t b ik e la c k in g o rt h o dox re g is t ra t ion p ap e rs wa s (Above) Just a few hours north, you'd be thrown in jail, and possibly crucified, for riding on the beach. In Mexico, you can do so for miles on end with no ramifications other than an adrenaline rush. (Right) Coming down the mountain: Larry Roeseler descends a volcano near San Quintin on day three. Minutes later, he and se ve ral othe rs t ried (u nsuc cessf ully) to rid e ba ck up. a vo ide d b y dis pens ing info rmatio n on whic h exhaust s yste m the Mex ican offic ia l shou ld bu y for his Yamaha sport bike). Once we 'd been jo ined by L.R. a nd Bruce , we he ad ed ou t of S a nt o Tomas - a tiny 'Burg best known for its roadside zoo - for the 140 -m ile s econd da y, much of wh ich follow ed the SCORE r a ce co u r se. Aft er a morn ing mix-up c a used a brief delay (w h ic h we spen t w a tc h in g impre ss e d - as a pair of horses pr oc reate d) we paralle lled miles of be autifu l coas tline and rode through the town s of Eren d ira and Co lonet to our lun ch sto p at Chuey 's resta ura nt (day one's luc h had be en served by Baja B ound n e ar O j os Neg ros) . Fr o m lun ch , it was ba ck o ut to th e c oast, where we stopped for a n improm ptu freestyle cl iff-j u mpi ng e xh ib ition b y L.R. be for e m a kin g our way towards the thre e vo lca noes , wit hi n s igh t o f wh ich we laid our hea ds that n ight in the Ol d Mill hote l a nd restau rant in the fishing village of Sa n Qu intin . Da y thr ee star te d with a climb up o ne of th e a fore ment ione d volc an o es fo r a p anora mi c v ie w of th e ocea n a nd s ur roundin g a rea , follo we d by a steep d ro p down th e other side . Tha t eye. e n e '"' s 'JULY 26,2000 17