The TT250 Baja Plan

Whoa, it looks like we’re up to eight riders for our TT250 Baja ride!  I guess it’s time to start posting a few details.

Pre-Ride Dinner

We’re going to meet the night before at the plant for a pre-ride dinner.   That will be at 5:00 p.m. on the 26th.  We’ll bring in the food and we’ll talk about the route, the ride details, and whatever else you want to discuss.

The Route

We’re going to stick mostly to surface streets, although in some areas it make may sense to get on the freeway for a little while (we’ll talk about it when everybody gets together).

Our ride will be four days, starting at 8:00 a.m. on the 27th.    Day 1 will take us along Route 66 to Oak Glen.   We’ll turn south toward Banning and pick up a glorious mountain road to Idyllwild.   From there we’ll meander south through Riverside County, and then we’ll mosey on down through San Diego County to Tecate.   We’ll cross the border that night, have a Mexican dinner in Tecate, and spend the night there.

Here’s what Day 1 looks like…

Day 2 will be a great ride through the Rumarosa grade as we roughly parallel the US border (but on the Mexican side) along Mexico 2.   We’ll skirt around the southwestern edge of Mexicali to pick up Mexico 5, and from there we’ll motor on in to San Felipe…

At that point, it’s up to our group what we’d like to do with the rest of the day.   Highway 5 continues south along stunning coastal Sea of Cortez views.  Some of us may opt to just hang out on the beach and swim.   There are dirt roads in the area.  Like I said, it’s up to you.

Day 3 will have us leaving San Felipe heading back up Mexico 5 for a bit, and then we’ll turn west on Mexico 3.  That’s an awesome ride through the northern Baja mountains with magnificent views and lots of photo ops.  We’ll ride right into the center of Ensenada, and then turn northeast as Mexico 3 heads back up toward Tecate.  That’s a great stretch, too.  It’s called the Ruta Vinacola, and it goes directly through Mexico’s northern Baja wine country.   We’ll stop at one of the vineyards, and we’ll stop at Naranjo’s for a great lunch.   We’ll spend that evening in Tecate.

Day 4 is the run home, and it will be mostly the same as the Day 1 ride, except it will be a bit more direct.  It will have lots of photo ops, especially on the stretch through San Diego county’s mountains just north of the border.

Budget

I’ve had a few folks ask me how much money they’ll need.   Hey, that’s variable, depending on what you want to eat, whether you share a room, and a whole bunch of other things.   Gas in Mexico is slightly more expensive than it is here in the US.   Hotels in San Felipe are somewhere around $100 a night; Tecate is a little less.   I’m going to bring $500 with me and I’ll probably have some left over.

Spares

You’ll be responsible for your bike; I’m not bringing extra spare parts for you and we won’t have a chase vehicle.  Here’s what I bring with me on my big rides:

• The bike’s tool kit.
• A spare tube, tire irons, a patch kit, and a tire pump.   We sell the electric air pumps at CSC; you might want to give us a call if you want one.  We sell the tire irons, too.
• A few extra tools (I’ll do a subsequent blog post on what I carry in my tool kit).
• A spare clutch cable and a spare throttle cable.  I probably should leave those at home.   I’ve carried them for years and never needed either.
• An extra quart of oil.  I don’t know how much oil the TT250 will use because I haven’t done any long rides on mine yet.  I know from the Baja ride I did on the CSC 150 (which uses a similar CG-type engine) that it used a little oil.
• Chain lube (or, you could just use motor oil on the chain, which is what we did on the China ride).

Clothes

Most people bring way to much stuff on these rides.   We’re going to be on the road for three nights.  My advice is to travel light.  I’m bringing a change of underwear, a sweatshirt (it can get cold), my normal riding gear, and my rain gear.

Passport

You should bring your passport with you (if you want to get back into the US).

Alcohol/Drugs/Guns

Don’t bring any illegal drugs with you.   If you get caught with drugs, no one will give a rat’s you-know-what about your views on victimless crimes and the legalization of marijuana.   You’ll be on your way to jail.

Ditto for guns.   It’s a really, really bad idea to bring a gun with you.

You can drink alcoholic beverages in the evening after we put the bikes away.   We don’t want to drink if we are getting back on the bikes.

Mexican Insurance

You’ll need Mexican insurance for your motorcycle.  You have to get a separate policy.  We always recommend Baja Bound because the service has always been so good.  This is not optional.  If you get stopped and you don’t have a separate policy (your regular insurance is no good down there), you’ll be spending more time in Mexico than you had planned to.

Speeds

We won’t get above 55-60 mph.   I’ve picked roads that are comfortable riding at 50 to 60 mph.   The TT250 is ideal for this kind of riding.  Some of you expressed concerns about being able to keep up.   You won’t have a problem with that.  It’s easy-peasy all the way.  I’m in it for a relaxed and fun ride.  Trust me on this…you’ll be fine.

Other Stuff

You might want to bring some Immodium if you’ve never traveled in Mexico before (hey, it happens).   There are plenty of farmacias down there, so if you don’t bring any, you can buy some if you need it.

Folks, that’s about it.  If you have questions, shoot me an email and I’ll do what I can to help you.