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/141060
Diablo Cycle Ranch . A Place to Ride With Great Beer Too.· J acres 01 grassy m ead o w, oak-studded pasture land , sm o oth fir e roads, cob by d esert , and beautiful smoo th to jagged granit e fo rmations sticking o ut of th e ground all combine t o p rovi de th e room and ch allenge fo r every type of activity we could dream up - fro m mo to cro ss to o bserved trials. T he acreage is more th an m o st peop le can co n tem p late an d never feel crowded in Baja. We were unable to ride the en tire ran ch in two d ay s. T he area is o n the high plateau o f ce n tral Baja w ith a surprisingly high subsurface wa te r table that supports lush vegetation and larg e trees. Artesian wells water the .ran ch . At the entran ce t o th e ranch are small herds of sheep an d pi gs. A herd o f semi -wild horses seemed to c oe xist very nicel y with o ur silen ced d esert rigs and MXers. So und to o go od to be true ? It did t o us until we tri ed it. It's one o f th e few p laces w e've ever ridden th at w as . - .;J V .iI' .' • J Th is is abou t th e mo st desolate spot you'll fin d at D iablo Cyc lEi Ranch - t he Am er ican border. No by Joh n Huetter & Dave Sch oonmaker ~lace to ride in California an ymore , right ? Well , th at 's not quite true. There is Baja Califo rnia, th e northern most state 0 1 the Uni ted States of the Republic o f Mexico . But th ere's also still this latent, irrational fear in a lot o f Am eri ca ns , especial ly those with families, about riding and traveling in Mexico. We were recently invited to preview an area fo r b ik e rid ing that has go t to be the an swer to a d ir t ri de r 's d re am s. 3 8 0 0 better in reality than it wa s described to us in words . The place is Diablo C ycle Ranc h , 16 .5 miles eas t of Tecat e o n Mexic o National High way 2. Tum le ft at Can ad a d el Sol (It 's marked.) and fo llo w the gra ded di rt road fo r about a mile and a h alf to a small ran ch h o use wit h wh ite-p ainted fen ces . A mo to cro ss tr ack of significa nt propo rti on s is go in g in and the re's n o hassle wi th th e lan d sinc e the co -p ar tn e r is a very nice Mexican gen tlern an and it's his ranc h. Th e northern ed ge o f th e ran ch is actually the U.S ..Mexico b order . The w ho le environmen t is peaceful and co nduci ve to hard , th oughtful ridin g between sips of ,cerveza. It 's o ne of th e few places where picnickers and b ike rs seemed to happily coexist on esse n t ially the same grounds. Smiles ar e exchanged ins t ead o f frown s. We hope it can last. It 's o pen for b usiness May 3 0, p ossibly even fo r Me morial Day Weekend . The cost is mu ch less than you think for b ike rid in g and cam p in g. It's 30 min u tes fro m San Diego. If y o u go once, you'll go back. T he re 's just one th in g y o u should be wa rned about before going to Diablo Cycle R an ch . Look o ut an d be wary of: th e pi gsn ak e , t he feared Blac k Lizar d of Baja and, especially, t he fe rocio us a ttack shee p. Very me an c ritters, those she ep. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • • RANCHO EL D IABLO Memorial Day Wee kend Specia l Invitational fo r Trials . a nd Dirt Riders. $1.50 per bi ke all weekend long. Fami lies and camping FREE . Bee r and beverages available at Rancho. Also Artesian Well water. EL D IAB LO CYC LE RESORT for info call (7 14 ) 637 ·9 213·Bob Zad y (7 14) 284·7095·Vic Connaway This is just a minute segment o f th e tree infest ed , ideal camping land at the Ranch . .. .... ~: .~. : : .... l it ;" ut'. "'I• ..I r .,,~ ~ . • ... 1 11 1" 11 " l lt ' fi t · "" '" " '" 0.. '" M en "" LC > ::;: '" '" :i: w z w ...J C) >C)