That’s my good buddy Rob in the photo above, who’s going with us on the Baja ride in March. Rob’s a great guy and a great rider. He’s covered long distances on his RX3, he was one of the very first RX3 buyers, and he’s done a 1000-mile Iron Butt day on his RX3 motorcycle. I’ve mentioned Rob on the blog before and in the 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM book (Rob rode with us on portions of that ride).
I was delighted when Rob wrote to tell me he’s riding with us on the next Baja run. It will be Rob’s first CSC Baja ride, and this morning I received a list of questions from him. I thought I would answer his questions here for all of the CSC riders who are going with us.
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Joe, you will probably cover these questions later in the blog when talking about the Baja ride coming up. So you don’t have to take time to answer these back to me personally, I can wait till you cover the ride later. I thought I would ask these questions while they are on my mind and maybe they will be a help to all of us on the ride later when you cover the ride plan.
1) Do you recommend taking a GPS or better left at home because of theft down there, or just use a cell phone GPS when needed?
It’s totally up to you, Rob. You won’t need either, but on prior rides, some of the guys liked having their cell phones and their GPS. Regarding theft, I’ve been riding into Baja for more than 25 years, and I’ve never had anything stolen. I don’t leave things laying around to tempt people, but in general, once we’re past Ensenada my perception is that it’s safer in Baja than it is in Los Angeles.
I’m a low tech guy (Sue and I are still debating whether to buy a color TV), and when I’m on the motorcycle, I usually don’t use my cell phone or a GPS. It’s pretty hard to get lost down there once we get past Ensenada (there’s basically only one road). The GPS programs that you use on a cell phone usually stop within 50 yards of crossing the border. There are some smart phone apps that provide map capabilities south of the border, and I’ll find out what they are before we leave and post that info on the blog.
If you want to mount your cell phone and use it as a GPS, we recently started carrying a complete line of Ram mounts for doing exactly that. You can see those accessories on our web site by clicking here. I’ll probably opt for the Ram mount on my RX3 and I’ll post an installation tutorial on the blog so that anybody who wants to do this on their bike can do so.
2) Is there cell phone coverage in most places or not so good? Which carriers?
You can call your cell phone company to get your phone activated in Mexico. I haven’t done that in the past, but I have activated coverage in other countries. It never seemed to work very well for me unless folks are calling me. I actually got a call when I was in Colombia from somebody in California trying to sell solar roof panels to me, which I thought was pretty funny at the time.
3) Do you speak Spanish, Joe? Do others on the ride speak it? Or do most of the people of Baja understand English?
I don’t speak Spanish, Rob. Someday I will, but that’s a bucket list item I haven’t gotten around to yet. There will be riders with us who speak Spanish.
Many of the people in Baja speak English. On most of my earlier trips none of us spoke Spanish. It was never a problem.
4) Is Dramamine available in stores down there so I don’t start hurling when watching the whales or is it calm enough not to be a problem? How about the stuff for Montezuma’s revenge (just in case)?
I’ve never purchased Dramamine in Mexico, but I’m guessing you could get it if you needed it. My advice would be to take some with you (i.e,, buy it in the US to make sure you have it). As an aside, you can guy a lot of prescription drugs in Mexican farmacias without the prescriptions you’d need in the US. I’ve purchased Amoxicillin and Prednisone over the counter for the same kind of money we’d pay for aspirin over here. But there aren’t drug stores all over like you’d see in the US because we’ll be in fairly remote locations. It’s best to bring whatever you think you need with you.
On the last trip, a couple of the guys lost their lunch while whale watching. It was the first time I’d seen that happen, but the sea was rougher than I had ever seen it before. In fact, it was rough enough that I was a little nervous that we might not see any whales. As it turned out, though, that trip had some of best whale watching I’ve ever encountered. Usually, though, the waters are calm, as you can see in this video I shot in 2015.
The bottom line is that seasickness is usually not a problem, but if you’re concerned about it I’d recommend you buy the Dramamine just in case.
Regarding an anti-diarrheal, I always recommend to folks who are visiting Baja for the first time to bring along Immodium tablets. I got sick 45 years ago eating off a vendor cart in Juarez; the Army doctor who treated me told me I’d probably never get sick in Mexico again (and he was right). For first time visitors, though, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. You can buy it Immodium in Mexico, too, but I advise buying it in advance. When you need that stuff, you need it right now (as Joe Gresh and I learned the hard way in China when we were faced with a new set of bugs).
On a related topic, you might want to bring along a roll of toilet paper. The public restrooms won’t always have toilet paper, and of course, if you need to duck behind a Cardon cactus out in the Vizcaino Desert, there won’t be any toilet paper dispensers. Rattlesnakes, maybe, but no toilet paper.
5) Is it best to take cash, debit card or credit card for use down there? Can everything be done with debit or credit cards and no cash?
I always bring cash, Rob. There will be ATMs in some of the locations we visit, but we are going to be in remote areas and I would not count on an ATM being available. And, you don’t want to be the guy delaying the rest of the group up while you search for an ATM. Most hotels, restaurants, and gas stations do not take credit or debit cards. The peso continues to fall against the dollar, so I’m not going to exchange any money until I get down there. I think it’s something like 22 pesos to the dollar now, which is amazing. When I first started going down there, it was 8 pesos to the dollar. And on that topic, everyone in Baja takes dollars. You don’t need to change your money to pesos.
6) Is motor oil and antifreeze readily available down there for our RX3’s or should we bring our own?
Take your own. You’ll be shocked at how remote and beautifully primitive most of Baja is (that’s the good news). The bad news is that there won’t be gas stations and auto parts stores on every corner.
We’re going to be putting together a suggested list of spare parts, tools, and fluids to bring along on a ride like this, and Steve told me he’s going to work a “kit” deal for the folks on our Baja run. Watch for more info on this on the blog in the near future.
7) What are the dates the ride will start and finish?
We’re leaving at 8:00 a.m. sharp on 19 March, and we’re returning on 26 March. We always require that everyone be in Azusa the night before for our pre-ride dinner and mandatory safety briefing. That will be on 18 March at 5:00 p.m. (a Saturday), and it will be at the plant.
8) On buying Baja insurance should we have it cover a week after the ride in case I break down in Baja and have to wait for a ride or?
I always buy my Baja insurance to start the day I am arriving in Mexico and to finish the day after I return to the US. We strongly recommend BajaBound insurance. You can buy the policy online from www.BajaBound.com and print it on your computer (you need to carry proof of insurance for Mexico with you on this trip). We don’t have a business relationship with BajaBound; I just like the company. I suppose if you broke down in Mexico you could find a way to contact BajaBound to extend your policy. I’ve never had that problem.
9) Do you think after what President Trump has said about discouraging businesses from moving to Mexico, illegals being sent back to Mexico, putting up a fence, that the people of Baja will be unfavorable or hostile to Americans?
I am not worried about this, Rob. I suppose it’s possible, but the only problem I’ve ever had in Mexico was getting caught in a labor riot a couple of years ago (and that wasn’t directed at Americans; it was directed at Mexican agri-businesses). Other than that, my experiences with the Mexican people have always been extremely positive. Regarding President Trump’s positions and people’s reactions to them, I’m more concerned about my liberal friends’ reactions right here in the good old USA. They seem to be acting out a lot more than anything I’ve ever seen south of the border.
10) Will we be in Carla King’s neighborhood? Be fun to visit them and hear their perspective on living down there now with the change in policies on illegals and all.
We will be through Carla and John’s area along Bahia Concepcion, but we have no plans to stop. Our schedule is already full. Having said that, it’s entirely possible we may bump into Carla; that happened on our first CSC Baja ride the night we stayed in El Rosario two years ago. Here’s a photo of Carla joining us for dinner that evening at Mama Espinoza’s…
11) I have a passport and an Enhanced Driver’s License good for Mexican and Canadian border crossings. Should I bring both or just the Enhanced license?
Some guys have used their Enhanced Driver’s License. I don’t have that. I always bring my passport and I recommend to others that they do the same.
12) I take it we will always be in motels at night so no sleeping bag or tent needed?
Si, mi amigo, si. This boy stopped sleeping on the ground the day he left the US Army. Along those lines, we are going to make hotel reservations for each night, and unlike our past practice (in which we fronted the money and then folks had to pay us back during the ride), when we make the hotel reservations for this trip we’ll be asking each of the folks who will ride with us to send the money for their rooms (in advance). We’ll let you know about that in roughly three weeks. Prior to that, I’ll ask everyone if they want to share a room, which will cut your hotel expenses in half.
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Rob, I’m really glad you sent your questions to me. If you have more questions, please ask.
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