I first met Joe Martin in person on the Saturday before our Baja ride when he popped into the plant for our pre-ride dinner and safety briefing. I had known him as FJMartin on the forum boards, but I didn’t realize he went by “Joe,” so my first question (having that name myself and realizing there would be two of us on this ride) was: Are you Joe 1 or Joe 2?
“Joe 2,” Joe answered, and thus we had our names for the next 8 days. I was Joe 1, and Joe Martin would be Joe 2.
Joe 2 was just amazing. He was always pumped up, always smiling, and he was obviously completely enjoying the Baja experience. As was the case with everyone on our ride, it was tremendous fun for me being around him.
This morning, I received this nice note from Joe…
Hey Joe…I mean Joe 1, it’s Joe 2 here and I wanted to drop you a note to thank you, J, Steve and the whole CSC gang for putting on this great ride in Baja. This was my first international ride and only my second multi-day ride and it was a super experience.
It sure seems that folks who buy CSC bikes are awfully nice as we all got along great and literally had smiles for miles. I’ve been to Mexico before but that was just your normal resort type vacation. This was so much more. Everything from the craziness of Ensenada with the small roads and mass of humanity to towns so small that I’m not sure you can even call them that. The people of Baja were so friendly and patient with this gringo who can’t speak any Spanish. Thanks to Carlos and Willie for helping with translations when needed.
The roads in Baja are something else. Some are nice and smooth and others keep you on your toes so your bike doesn’t disappear into an endless abyss. Big climbs, descents, twisties with no guard rails and our couple of dirt trips really tested the mettle of these little RX3s and they all proved themselves worthy as adventure bikes. We had them loaded with everything we needed for the 8 days of travel and they took it all without hesitation.
I downloaded my pictures and video and captured over 60GB’s worth. Give me a few weeks and I’ll shoot you a link to a YouTube video of the trip!
The views everywhere were breathtaking. My favorite parts of the trips were…in order: Whale watching, the killer camaraderie of the group, the off-road ride out to the cave painting and back and finally the day you let me run by myself through the desert. I had so much fun at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) and hitting the twisties with a major lean in the bike.
I’ve had the bike for exactly 6 months and have 6100 miles on it now. It’s been flawless for me. When I got home from the trip I did a bunch of maintenance like an oil/filter change, clean the air filter, valves check, fasteners check, cleaning and an overall inspection of the bike. It’s pristine and running like a top. I’m convinced I can take this bike anywhere I want.
Here is a sampling of some of my favorite shots.
I’m not sure if we were watching them or if they were watching us?!?
Amazing vistas!
Gorgeous warm water.
Cool architecture.
New friends.
Take care and thanks again!
Joe 2
Joe, those are awesome photos and an awesome recap. Thanks very much for taking the time to share with us, and we look forward to your whale and riding videos. It was a great trip!
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