Discover the Baja California Peninsula
November 4th-13th 2022
Ride is complete now here are the PICTURES
Adventure Bike ride from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas and back
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
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 2,096 miles.
The average ride day is 230 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 most of their gear on their bikes.
We will have one small support van. 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.
Experienced riders only. Intermediate and advanced riders only.
Ride Signup info: Best Baja Adventure Bike ride of the year.
The cost to join this 9 day ride is $1,595. 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
Checkout View Cart
After your signup riders will receive an email from me with further ride information and instructions.
Note: Riders must make full payment by September 4th, 2022
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 you will lose your money unless I can find a replacement rider. If I find a replacement rider 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."
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 here.
Ride Details
I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy!
Master Yoda gpsKevin
Yoda Greg
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
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: 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.
Video from last years ride from Marco