gpsKevin Adventure Rides

Baja Lucky Explorer Rally

November 1 – 10, 2024

9 Day Explorer Rally along the entire length of Baja California

The Baja Lucky Explorer Rally is a 9 day adventure motorcycle ride from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas and back. Riders will be staying in hotels and there will be a support van following us during the adventure. Riders will be riding together in small groups and will need to keep track of each other. Riders have option for dirt or paved routes.

The time has come to join these fantastic Baja adventures

"Everytime we say no to a ride that is one less ride in life"

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 temps in the seventies and eighties. The ideal time to travel in Baja is from late September to mid-June.

About this ride

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

This ride is adventure bike oriented meaning there will be a lot of back paved roads and some nicer dirt roads. Not much tough stuff. There will be scenic easier options.

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 2,092 miles.

The average ride day is 230 miles with one day as high as 330 miles. Southbound route is 1,026 miles and Northbound route is 1,066 miles

Yes, the North and Southbound routes are quite different. You will get to see Baja from both sides.

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

We will have one small support van. Riders can throw one small personal (carryon style) 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.

Experienced riders only. Intermediate and advanced riders only.

Is this route right for you?

This route is not good for beginners; you should be very experienced in backcountry travel and prepared for any difficulty or failures. This route includes options: both easier and harder routes. As an example for those wanting to avoid river crossings, we have added workaround route options. For those just tired and wanting to end the day early, we have added easy paved shortcuts. And for those tough guys wanting more, we have added some challenging routes.

Route Choices: Don't put yourself in a bad spot. gpsKevin route maps always include route options. We recognize that weather and conditions can change. We design these adventures with multiple routes in different colors. The main adventure route is colored Blue, then there are easier and harder options, Green and Red, respectively. This allows riders to choose their own level of adventure appropriate for their own skill and desires. We don't want to put you into a challenging spot without options; we let you make the choice.

There are both dirt or paved options on the ride

Ride Details

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

Ride Description LER 2024

Ride Signup info: Best Baja Adventure Bike ride of the year.

The cost to join this 9 day ride is $1,795. 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.

Now taking signups: You can now reserve your spot on this ride by leaving a $400 Deposit (Ride limit is 24 riders)

$400 Deposit

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

Note:

Riders must make 50% payment by July 13th, 2024.

Riders must make full payment by September 7th, 2024.

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

Ride Yodas

Master Yoda gpsKevin

Support Yoda Shawn

Yoda Roberto

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

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 2,092 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: Every time 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.