Baja LER 21

Discover the Baja California Peninsula

April 10th-18th 2021

Here is a blog from Steve about the ride: Baja Real Story & Ride Video from Steve

Adventure Bike ride Starting from San Diego wandering down Baja

The Baja California Peninsula stretches southward from the US border for nearly 800 miles. The deep blue Pacific Ocean surrounds it on the west and the emerald green waters of the Gulf of California wrap it on the east. Along Baja's 2,000+ miles of coast are deserted coves with pristine beaches and picturesque fishing villages. At the southern tip of Baja, at Cabo San Lucas, the Pacific and the Gulf of California meet. Rugged mountains go down the spine of the peninsula, creating some of the most spectacular riding spots in the world. The Baja climate varies from the cool climate similar to Southern California in the northwest, semi-arid mountainous regions in the interior, and semi-tropical areas along the southeastern coast. Baja is geographically isolated from the rest of Mexico which graces the area with unique varieties of plants found no place else on earth. The giant cordón cacti, cirio, and date palms that the Jesuits planted in the 17th century, and the mangrove thickets are just a few of the varieties found in Baja. The temperature can vary from summer highs topping 100°F to balmy winter temperatures in the seventies and eighties. The ideal time to travel in Baja is from late September to mid-June.

About this ride

This year I have decided to not to make the push to the tip and back. The ride will only go about 3/4 of the way down and then we will return on the other side of the peninsula.

The ride days will have shorter main routes but have much more option so the we can explore the stuff we often pass by.

We will even spend 2 days in Catavina to enable exploration of the remote region.

This year we will avoid the tourist spots like La Paz and Cabo, that means we will only be staying in small towns and several remote places. You cannot rely on phone and internet, and as we often see there sometimes in not electricity. And and I can't even promise you hot water. We call this fun.

The ride is basically designed for adventure bike with good riders, there are plenty of options, for easy and tough stuff, enough option that if you come on a dual sport bike you will also fine a lot of enjoyment.

The ride will focus on seeing Baja and experiencing the local culture and people!

The days can be long, sometimes 8 to 10 hours of riding.

We will be staying in nicer motels each day.

9 days total riding with a total distance of 2,000 miles

The average ride day is 230 miles.

Riders will need to carry most of their gear on their bikes.

We will have one small support van to help in the event of a bike failure. Riders can throw one small personal bag into the van.

All riding is on your own, but everyone hooks up and rides with a friend or a new friend or me.

This will be a spectacular ride, I am excited for this adventure.

The ride will include motels each night and will have a small support van to carry some gear.

It is a one week, "9 day" adventure ride to Cabo and back

Experienced riders only

Intermediate and advanced riders only

I will be riding my Yamaha Tenere 700

Ride Booklet Baja PE 21

Ride Signup info:

This is a big deal, serious fun ride and only prior experienced riders are welcome. That is part of our great team harmony. If you are new to my rides you should start by joining one of my other open rides and get to know some of us. If you are a great rider and would like to be considered directly for this ride you can send me an email and I will give you consideration. Sorry to do this but great riders are key to great rides. And I simply may not know you. Let's get that fixed. If you don't know me or have not been on any of my other rides, then send me an email and introduce yourself. l will try to help answer your questions and help determine if the ride is right for you: kevin@gpskevinadventurerides.com. If you have received an invitation from Roberto or Marco please signup below and welcome.

Want to rent a bike for this ride? I have a good friend in Tijuana (Marco) who will rent you a BMW

Check him out at: BAJA GS Moto Rentals

What is cool about this: If you rent from Marco you can fly into San Diego and he will pick you up at the airport take you to Mexico and set you up and bring you to the start of the ride. He only has 4 BMW's to rent so make your arrangements soon.

and FYI: Marco will be on this ride as a ride Yoda!

If you want my help here send me an email. or contact Marco directly: info@bajagsmotorentals.com

The cost to join this 9 day ride is $1,495. This covers your lodging for the 9 nights during the ride and the cost of the support truck and driver. Hotel rooms are double occupancy. This also covers your ride packets which include custom Garmin GPS maps on a micro SD card and printed ride maps and descriptions.

Sorry the ride is full, but I often get cancellations, so add your name to the Waiting list and you can still possible join.

Rider Waiting List BAJA PE 21

After your signup riders will receive an email from me with further ride information and instructions.

Note: Riders must make full payment by March 13th, 2021

Riders will receive ride packets in the mail one week before the ride.

Refund Policy

Do not sign up for this ride unless you are serious about coming. I take your signup very seriously and start planning for you the minute you sign up. If you need to cancel up to one month prior to the ride start date I will give you a full refund but I will keep $100 to cover the planning work. Sorry but I make non refundable commitments myself so it gets hard for me. "I hate this world of non refundable deals myself." If you need to cancel within one month of the ride I cannot give a refund unless I can find a replacement rider. In the case of finding a replacement rider, I will gladly give you the full refund minus the $100 to cover the planning work. In the event of ride cancellation, you will be given a full refund.

Ride Details

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

Ride Yoda's

Sidebar: We are very pleased to have two fantastic Yoda ride supporters this year, Yoda Greg the Wizard and Yoda Marco from Tijuana, both have contributed a lot to make this a great adventure.

Questions about this ride contact: Yoda gpsKevin: kevin@gpskevinadventurerides.com

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: Small and large adventure bikes can work well. 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 2,096 miles. The average ride day is 230 miles. Southbound route is 1,026 miles and Northbound route is 1,066 miles

Q: Do I need a Passport?

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

Q: What are motel room arrangements?

A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.

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 everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.

Q: Will I do this ride again next year?

A: No, sorry, I hardly ever repeat rides as I love to develop and discover new places and rides each season. And I have a long dream list of rides now. So this is likely the only time for this ride. Remember: Everytime we say no to a ride that is one less ride in life

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: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.

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.

Video from prior year's ride from Marco