Team Magoo Baja Ride - Bikes, Beaches, Badlands and Brews

AteamNM · Mar 12, 2013

Bikes, Beaches, Badlands and Brews
February 15 25, 2013
5 Middle aged guys from New Mexico,
3 moto trials riders, 1 team organizer/ leader and 1 Baja veteran.
All four of us are newbies to Baja following a pro.
A fresh prospective on 4 newbies following Kevin Big Sprocket on a KTM 690. Now this is gonna be fun.

II got to say a few things about Baja. Remote, hostile, beautiful, untouched, scary, inspiring, scenic, tacos, people, big sky, massive landscape, distance, respect. Oh yea, unforgiving.

Okay, the introduction is over. Now what about those teaser pictures, bitchin' eh? Next segment is day 1, leave from Albuquerque to Yuma Arizona. But the first gremlin hits in Magoo's driveway. Oh snap, what is that oil on the trailer rail under the bad ass KTM 690?

AteamNM · Mar 12, 2013

Reserved for edits, clarifications and general screw up apologies. Whatever. :fyyff

AteamNM · Mar 12, 2013

I write this report to provide insight and perspective on our first Baja ride. The only thing in my mind was to visit Mike’s Sky Ranch, meet Coco and ride on a beach. I did all those things and much much more.

A brief introduction and set up is required but usually boring. Magoo, Chris had been planning a Baja ride for a while. His plans were accompanied by a friend who did not make this trip. In essence, this trip was all for David Garret who was absent but also with me and the Magoo gang the whole damn time. I rode his bike, a most honorable mention 2006 DRZ 400.

Chris is all about adventure riding. He owns a XR650 farkle queen, a KTM 450 and has been all over New Mexico and Colorado. He is Team Magoo because without him, I would have never been invited. Without ADVrider.com, I would have never met Magoo. I got sucked into this trip for so many non justifiable but righteous reasons. Magoo talked to Kevin Gallaher who is the veteran and pro Baja man. Kevin soon understood that I have a captive audience, I have some killer routes to ride in Baja, I can cram 1200 miles into 7 days of riding and cross the peninsula many times, include playa lake bed blasting, cactus forest rising, 1700’s missions visit, beaches, mountain ranges, badlands, brews, killer food and fffkkk yea, Baja.

I got a call from Bruce Bolander, my long time trials friend, one of a few guys that I would want near me when the shit hits the fan. Bruce grew up at a ski resort, Sipapu. His dad started the ski area in 1952, one of the first ski areas in north America to have a ski coulee, or a rope tow kind of thing. Bruce can fix anything with a motor, he could ride a Maytag if it had wheels, he can rip up a mountain on any skis, rides his bicycle from Mexico to Canada and likes to ride 24 hours of Moab on a bicycle. Bruce is near 60 but rolls like a 39 year old. I can only hope to be as bad ass as Bruce at 55 when he is 70. His parents are the same, his Mom owns world records. Bruce is the total adventure team member and has ridden everything everywhere except Alaska (next year?) Bruce is the most gracious and easy going guy I know and he also knows many jokes. I invited Bruce and he said, okay, I’m in. I then received an email from a friend about some guy riding his bike across, over and through an airplane junk yard. I noticed that Chuck Sutton was copied on the email. Chuck has never been a email or internet kind of guy. So I sent Chuck an email saying you want to go ride Baja in about 2 weeks. He replied, yea! Chuck is the NM State Champion for about 15 years in moto trials. Chuck has been a national Expert trials champ, he IS most awesome to watch and his skills on 2 wheels is sick. Chuck is all about technique and ripping. I told Magoo he will be eye candy for the trip.

Edit : Mr. Big Sprocket Kevin Gallaher is the veteran Baja adventure rider. Kevin actually just got back from his second Baja trip this year. He went back with another group 4 days after returning from our trip. He has GPS tracks all over peninsula. Having Kevin know where to go and a guide made this trip so much better and so much harder than we thought it would be. I wonder if Kevin knew what he was getting himself into?

I’m not going to bore you about me. I have ridden about 100 national trials, I have been riding trials for 25 years. I bought a KLR and rode it from Virginia to New Mexico late last year. I also own a XR250 and so many other trials bikes. I am a wonna be adventure rider and likely a poser for life. So the recipe is one very fast Baja veteran, one Rocky Mountain adventure rider who is very involved with the thankless job of rescuing our public lands for riding, three trials riders, a KTM crowd less one Cinderella Suzuki and a trip set in the books to go to Mexico. I forgot my vest pocket Spanish book, damnit!

NMTrailboss · Mar 13, 2013

Totally Subscribed!!

This should be a great report!!

BrockEvan · Mar 13, 2013

Oh boy!!!!!!!!!!!

_Magoo_ · Mar 13, 2013

NMTrailboss said: ↑

Totally Subscribed!!

This should be a great report!!
Click to expand...

+1!---- (this should quite entertaining).....:eek1

jesse18 · Mar 13, 2013

Subscribed. Baja is on my bucket list. Cant wait to read the rest of this adventure!!!
Nice pics btw,

Region Riley · Mar 13, 2013

Bg22 · Mar 13, 2013

subscribed, Baja is on the bucket list for sure!

Southern rider · Mar 13, 2013

Subscribed! Can't wait to hear the details of this ride!! Should be a good one!

Paul.

AteamNM · Mar 13, 2013

Day 1 - Leave Albuquerque for Yuma Arizona.

The plan was to leave Magoo's house around 7ish on Friday morning. San Felipe here we come. Hey Bruce, are we there yet? Uh, we have to load up the last bike first chisel chest...... So the energy level is pretty high, everything has fell into place and the bike prep week of hell prior assured us that all gear and bikes were in good order.

But then we spotted oil on the trailer track, what is this. After a brief inspection, the source of the leak was identified and as the surgeon would say, the news is not good. Kevin's rear shock was leaking oil, or all of the oil. I'm surprised that a shock could leak that much oil but then it is on a beastly 690. Kevin was discussing unloading his bike, you guys will do fine without me. WTF? No way. Well the adventure has officially started. Plan B is in effect, find a place that can repair a KTM shock.

So off to High Velocity, a local shop that specializes in suspension work. We decided to go there and wait for them to open and roll the dice. Around 9 AM, the owner arrives and says he doubts he has the proper seal for the leaking shock. :huh The shock is removed and eureka, they have one seal.

We are back in the game now. So we go eat breakfast and feel that we are good to go. Kevin did explain to the High Velocity crew to be careful disconnecting the fuel pump from the fuel injector coupling. We return from breakfast and they advise us that we need to find a new coupling. They accidentally broke the connector. So now we go to Sandia BMW and $65 bucks later and after some drooling on some BMW's we are headed back across town with the part. BMW = Bring More Wallet.

So finally we are on the road and make it to Yuma for the night. A late arrival but we are back on schedule. Tomorrow we cross the border, get some Mexican money and then get to San Felipe.

NMTrailboss · Mar 13, 2013

That was a bummer start to the trip Tony, but so glad Greg at High Velocity was able to help out and keep the crew rolling!
Greg is good people and glad it all worked out.

utefan · Mar 13, 2013

BMW = Bring More Wallet.

Looking forward to this!

BikerBobber · Mar 13, 2013

I'm in!
BTW, here's the pic you wanted

Sent from my mobile.

akaDigger · Mar 13, 2013

I'll bite. Can't wait to see where a real Baja vet takes you.

AteamNM · Mar 13, 2013

Fap fap fap. :eek1

BikerBobber said: ↑

I'm in!
BTW, here's the pic you wanted

Sent from my mobile.
Click to expand...

tilliejacques · Mar 13, 2013

wheeeeee

ride4fun562 · Mar 13, 2013

love the team name, you guys are awesome

AteamNM · Mar 13, 2013

Diggerled said: ↑

I'll bite. Can't wait to see where a real Baja vet takes you.
Click to expand...

Patience weed hopper, when it is time you will know. Big Sprocket would pull out the map and show a line across a blank area on the map. Uh, there is no road there? "There is a killer single tack, you will love it". My question was, when do we ride on the beach???? (picture a small kid with his knees together, big puppy dog eyes). Kevin says, "uh not today". :ddog

NMTrailboss · Mar 13, 2013

AteamNM said: ↑

Patience weed hopper, when it is time you will know. Big Sprocket would pull out the map and show a line across a blank area on the map. Uh, there is no road there? "There is a killer single tack, you will love it". My question was, when do we ride on the beach???? (picture a small kid with his knees together, big puppy dog eyes). Kevin says, "uh not today". :ddog
Click to expand...

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