Baja Observatorio

2 or 3 day Adventure motorcycle ride


About the ride

This is a great scenic ride down the coast of Baja and then into the mountains.  The ride is best done in 3 days and this allows you to spend a relaxed day at the top of the mountains where you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. The ride can be done in two days if you want to rush and just ride.  This is one of the classic rides with great windy roads.

The ride starts at the Tijuana and San Diego border and returns through Tecate.

Day 1 Riders stay at Rancho El Coyote Meling

Day 2 It's recommended that you take a relaxed day and travel to the National Astronomical Observatory.

Also that day, you might want to enjoy a little ranch life.

The following day you have some dirt road options for your travel home.

This is a great way to decide if you want to spend more time in Baja.


Self Guided Trail

This ride is designed to be a self guided adventure. Riders install a custom GPS microSD Card into their Garmin GPS unit. The routes are then displayed as the rider travels along.  Navigation is made easy.  Riders can choose to follow along at times or can choose among hard and easy options.  Or riders can simply choose to ride off the routes and return to them later.  For many, this allows them to just experience the trail without the burden of getting lost.


Do this ride yourself:  Purchase Rider Packet and GPS microSD Card for this ride


Note: A Full Rider Packet consists of printed ride descriptions and paper ride maps and a custom GPS microSD card for your Garmin or BMW GPS unit.

Baja Observatorio Choice (Scroll Down Menu)

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Notes:  I suggest you plan and order early.  Normally I ship within a week.  But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps.  And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup GPS in the event of unforeseen circumstances.


 Ride Details

 I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy! 

Rider Maps: Baja Observatorio

View the ride maps

OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.

I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride.  At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool.  If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail.  I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!


Legend:  

The Blue lines are MAIN routes

The Red lines are Harder routes

The Green lines are Easy options

The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints

Note: If you really like to study the rude open the map file below and turn on only one days ride at a time to understand what is going on.

FAQ's


Q: What bikes are good for this ride?

A: Large adventure bikes can work well and street bikes too.  The routes have options suited for both types of bikes.


Q: What gas distance range should my bike have?

A: I would suggest that on some days you carry enough fuel to make 200 miles due to the fact that sometimes the route can have issues and it is good to have a little margin.


Q: What is the total distance of this ride?

A: The ride is 881 miles. The average ride day is 220 miles. 


Q: Do I need a Passport?

A: Yes, you will be crossing the US and Mexican borders; both countries require passports.


Q: What are motel room arrangements?

A: TBD. See details in full rider packet.


Q: How does the ride navigation work?

This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own.  You are responsible for your own riding.  You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit.  People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together.  You are not encouraged to ride alone.  You are responsible for your own riding and yourself. 

 (see my ride Navigation Video)

 

Q: How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?

I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden.  I take the best from all my rides and make new ones. 

(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)

 

Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin GPS?

A: Buy one, you need it. We will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks.

(See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)


Q: Is the riding really on my own?

A: Yes, but we recommend you ride with a friend, or a new friend.


Q: Do I need insurance?

A: Yes, you must carry proof of medical insurance and liability insurance for yourself/motorcycle.


Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?

A:  Yes. The riding has easy route choices and is mostly scenic.


Are you right for this ride?

When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help?  You should be in the more likely to offer help camp.  This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help.  Additionally there is all the normal stuff: come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.