Just got back from another awesome adventure following Bill Nichols around Baja. This was an Arizona Trail Riders club ride and this year we had a pretty big crew, 13 riders (2 of which rode 2-up on a 650) and 1 support truck driver. Bill wanted to show us some stuff further South so the itinerary was as follows: Drive to Gonzaga Bay, ride to BofLA, ride to San Francisquito, ride to San Ignacio, ride to Guerro Negro, ride to BofLA, ride to Gonzaga Bay, drive home. The furthest South I had ever been was BofLA so seeing some new places was right up my alley. We had a great time as usual. Here is a link to my Photo Bucket album which has all my pictures. I am only including a select few in the report so click on the link to see them all. Each is captioned. http://s1365.photobucket.com/user/the1phxman/library/Baja_2014?sort=2&page=1 Day 1- Wake up at 3am to be at Bills house by 5am to load up and head for at Alfonsinos Resort in Gonzaga Bay where we will leave the vehicles, except Bills which Sully is driving for support. We had an uneventful trip down with everyone arriving together and sober, for the moment. Alfonsinos is a great place to start the trip, clean beds, hot showers, great food, and of course plenty of cold beer and good tequila. Tomorrow we head for Bahia Los Angeles. Drama None Bone Award - None [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2604_zps49e3bee2.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2605_zpse9859837.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2607_zps8911ebe2.jpg[/img] Day 2 Wake up to catch the sunrise which I do not normally do, but it was well worth it. Breakfast was at 7am then everybody headed off to get their stuff together and get ready for the 150 mile ride to Bahia Los Angeles. We had 13 riders, 2 of them riding double up, and Sully who was driving the support truck. The day started out dusty and Bill took us on a 50 mile loop before stopping at Cocos Corner. Coco was not there but no problem, we will be back. We caught the truck just after Cocos and gassed up. Next up was the No Tracks Trail and Window Rock Trail, both awesome single track trails. As I mentioned it had been dusty but as we approached No Tracks it got wet and all of a sudden amazingly perfectly wet dirt was under our tires. Woot Woot! Time to roost! Almost the whole rest of the day was spent riding wet DG single track, sand washes, and jeep roads everybody was having a great time. After getting to Bahia Los Angeles it was cold beers, showers, excellent food and of course a few more beers and margaritas. Drama None Bone Award - None [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2612_zpse3edc9fc.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2618_zps5b0bf716.jpg[/img] Day 3 Up at 6am again to another amazing sunrise then off for a leisurely breakfast. Today was a short day at only 85 miles to San Francisquito so we had time and after breakfast did a little maintenance before heading out. However we would not have the support truck tonight so everybody had to carry their overnight stuff along with a portable gas jug for the next day. Bill started us out by taking us on a little sightseeing and we got to see where somebody had dammed up a sand wash and build a corral. Then it was off to ride the Green Door trail before taking the road into San Francisquito. Then the drama started .. While leaving the dam canyon there was a hiccup in the bump and run and a few riders went left instead of right. After about 10 miles we figured out we were missing people so two guys headed back to find them. Thankfully Jerry Klingensmith sat under the shade and waited for someone to come back (the smart move) instead of following the other guys who took off on a wild goose chase but eventually came back to where Jerry was. Once the two guys who went back found everybody they just took the main road into San Francisquito. Needless to say that night we had a discussion about the importance of waiting for the guy behind you at turns. San Francisquito is quite the place. It is a beautiful cove in the middle of nowhere with not much there except for the place we stayed at. The accommodations were probably the most rustic of the trip and have this Ying and Yang thing going on. There were 5 palapas with beds to stay in or there is this pretty nice house that somebody built that has 4 separate bedrooms, tile floors, full kitchen, and awesome porch. The family at San Francisquito really took care of and there was no shortage of cool beer, great food, and gas for the bikes. Drama - Aside from the aforementioned hiccup, Brent arrived in San Francisquito with 5 broken spokes which required attention. A plan was devised to spread out the broken spokes which Kenny D and Kevin took care of then the rest were checked at tightened. However this meant Brent would not be accompanying us on the next days 140 mile ride to San Ignacio. Bone Award Gary Jorgensen for chasing non-existing dust after missing the turn? [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2633_zpse2a75930.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2637_zpsa772c955.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2640_zps3e751be9.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2642_zps7b8c6c7e.jpg[/img] Day 4 Caught another awesome sunrise from the house patio before getting dressed and loading up Giant Loop Coyote Bags. Then it was a short ride down to the kitchen for another excellent meal. As I mentioned above Brent had a spoke issue so Andy and Eric decided to join him and take a easier and shorter route to San Ignacio. The rest of us had a 140 mile ride to San Ignacio on the Magical Mystery Trail. Todays route was a mix of mostly jeep roads, sand washes, beaches, and of course some Bill Nichols secret single track and side trips. The day was long and by now the dirt was dry and dusty but everybody took it all in stride and just enjoyed the ride. At one point Bill took us to see what he was told was an old Chinese opium farm, no Im not kidding. This place was in the middle of nowhere and how in the world they grew opium, or anything for that matter, is beyond me. The place is very interesting though with a long water trough, stone walls and out buildings, not to mention a pretty elaborate building complete with stained glass windows intact. Along the way we also stopped to see the memorial plaque for George Gangler who as I understand it pioneered the Magical Mystery Trail route we were riding. Reading the words on the plaque made me appreciate even more the adventure we were having and those who have gone before us. Have I mentioned that almost everyone was running Bib Mouse inserts in their tires? Well, Kevin and Michele were not and on this day little did they know that they were now riding 3 up with the Flat Tire God of Baja catching a ride. They got 3 flats this day which was more frustrating for Kevin and Michele than anyone else but it did put us a little behind so we got our first night ride of the trip on the last 10 miles of highway into San Ignacio. Woohoo, nothing will get your heart racing like the quick glimpse of a big cow right on the side of the road in your barely adequate headlight doing 60mph and just wanting a cold beer. By the time we got to San Ignacio it was late and we were hungry so we stopped by the Rice and Beans Hotel to see if the others wanted to come to this place called Tooties that Bill knew about. Well, good intentions not withstanding, there was some confusion in the parking lot about who was coming and to make a long story short those of us on the bikes took off without the rest of the group who had been waiting to have dinner with us. It was not the best situation and understandably the guys that had been waiting were not too happy. However in the end everybody had a good dinner and when we once we got back everybody got caught up. Drama flat tires Bone Award Kevin and Michele for the flat tire trifecta. [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2644_zps086f71e6.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2646_zpsa13edc75.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2649_zps12a6b979.jpg[/img] [img width=360 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2655_zps8559ec89.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2658_zps5d7b0890.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2666_zps0c740c6a.jpg[/img] Day 5 No sunrise over the water today but still out of bed early for coffee and breakfast. Today we were off to Guerro Negro and what turned out to be a 285 mile day. I dont remember it being such a long day when Bill and I discussed the route but thats the way it goes when you are following Bill. We got a late start due to Brent needing to do some unexpected maintenance on his bike so we did not get going until around 10am. At some point Bill started exploring we found ourselves at the edge of huge dry lake bed. It was a blast riding around this thing but also a little spooky as in patches it was softer so you had to pay attention. We finally found a road out and got back on the original route. Along the way to some town for gas we stop to take a break. Steve Lillie decides to dump some gas he was carrying and took off his gas cap. Unfortunately before dumping the gas he got distracted with his throttle grip that was sticking a little after falling over. Short story is its time to go and Steve forgets to put his gas cap back on. Steve does not notice so of course at the next whoop it flies off into the sand. Steve finally notices it is gone but its too late and Steve arrives at the gas station not very happy. We McGyvered a fix though and Steve is good to go. All of sudden we also realize its already 3pm and we still have 200 miles to ride. Hmmm, I think I smell a night ride. After consulting maps we changed the plan a little. Instead of riding 100 miles of beach we would only ride 50 miles on the beach before taking dirt roads and the highway. The beach riding was absolutely amazing and even though we had to cut it short nobody complained. After the beach we bombed down the wide dirt road that followed the coastline in a race against the sun until we hit pavement. From there it was pavement to meet the support truck and gas up before heading for Guerro Negro on the highway. By the time we left the truck the sun was going down and everybody brought out the helmet lights. At least tonight I might actually see the damn cow standing on the side of the road. Finally got to the turn for Guerro Negro and we stop to regroup. Crap, we are missing someone. How the heck did that happen. We wait 10 minutes and here comes Brent. Seems that at the last regroup on the highway in the dark he parked behind the Sweep and got off is bike to get a jacket out of the support truck but did not tell anyone. When we take off nobody notices Brent. Ah, such fun. By the time we got to the Halfway Inn just outside Guerro Negro everybody was tired, hungry, and thirsty. The staff at the Halfway Inn were awesome though and got dinner going, beers opened and really did a great job of taking care of us. Drama Steve losing his gas cap. Bone Award Steve for losing his gas cap. [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2671_zpsf6fa2da5.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2673_zpsf458722d.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2677_zps7064eb0d.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2680_zps2ef7f760.jpg[/img] Day 6 Up by 6am .damn I think Im getting used to this. Breakfast was an excellent buffet affair that the Halfway Inn put together for us. After breakfast there was the usual maintenance for the bikes before heading back towards Bahia Los Angeles. Today was a easy day of about 150 miles which included at least 20 mile of fast beach, sandy beach roads, a little pavement, and really fun dirt roads. Besides riding the beach the main attraction today was stopping to see the San Borja Mission. What an amazing place! Built in the early 1600 it really is a testament to the will of man and his faith in God. The area around the mission has several cold and hot springs which are partly used to irrigate several acres of gardens complete with grape vines, olive trees, lemon trees and date palms just to name a few. A 7th generation member of the family who takes care of the mission gave us a tour of the place and explained everything about the place. It was great and I would encourage anyone who has the change to check it out when in the area. After the mission it was a spirited ride down to the highway and Bahia Los Angeles. This time we stayed at the Costa Del Sol which is definitely one of the better places in town. The rooms are clean, the beds soft, and there is even satellite TV if you want. With a full bar and good food right onsite, there is no need to go anywhere else. Drama none Bone Award It was a slow day for bone award nominees so unfortunately Kevin and Michele got the award just for burying the Honda 650 in a particularly soft section of a beach. This was the only time anyone could remember the same people getting the bone award twice on one ride. Kevin and Michele are indeed special people  [img width=360 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2682_zps007fcd70.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2686_zpsa7c03f8f.jpg[/img] [img width=360 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2693_zps07ad3148.jpg[/img] [img width=360 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2702_zps59ee7f06.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2703_zps2ee90ee8.jpg[/img] Day 7 This was it, the last day of riding. Today we head back towards Gonnzaga Bay and the end of our adventure. But, we are not going without a fight. After a great breakfast and some bike maintenance we are off to ride the eastern section of Bills Window Rock Trail that most people do not ride. No idea of the mileage for today but the goal is 1000 miles over the 6 days of riding so you do what you gotta do. The eastern section of the Window Rock Trail is very different from the western side. The western side is sandy dirt single track with very few rocks. The eastern side has single track but its got rocks, a lot more rocks. There is actually one section of ST that goes up and over a rocky pass. This section Bill put in by hacking away at the rocks with a rock hammer to build a ledge for the trail. Its really cool trail but fairly technical stuff and you gotta watch your step. After the ST we stopped up on a hill with rock circle that somebody had built and watch whales spouting in the gulf which as very cool. The route then turned into some really fun, fast, sandy 2 track that everybody was just railing around. We regrouped at the start of the next ST section for a little exploration around the more whooped out part of the ST before picking up the trail again and heading back through Window Rock at a spirited pace to meet the support truck for gas. At the gas stop Steve Lily rides up with cactus in his buttocks. Oh yeah, boner award nominee for sure. Nurse Michele did the honors of picking out the smaller pieces in Steves behind which Im sure just made her trip. After getting all that sorted out we had 106 miles to make the 1000 make so off we went. Bill took us all over the place and we did several miles of just riding off through the desert. At one point we ended up at a old scallop processing plant which was pretty cool. These places just seem to pop up where you would least expect it. Such is Baja. Next stop was Cocos Corner and this time Coco was there so we got to chat with him for a bit. Michele had brought some panties for Coco so he was a happy man. While we were there some other riders that were there had a bike in distress so we put the bike and rider in the support truck and headed for Gonzaga Bay. The end of the ride was near but it was good to see Alfonsinos and have a cold beer. The highlight of the last nights party was Malcolm Smith and Ed Voss stopping by to chat and tell stories. It was an awesome ending to a fantastic ride sitting around with Ed, Bill, and Malcolm while they are telling their stories. Only in Baja. Drama Steve and his cactus Bone Award Steve for his cactus. Btw this was another memorable Boner Award moment as now Steve had one twice on the same ride. Yes, Steve is special too  [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2719_zps8627fade.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2722_zpsffc8f10c.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2725_zps0e627fb8.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2727_zps22512c98.jpg[/img] Day 8 After a leisure breakfast and gathering up our belongings we all head for home and another Baja adventure ends. For me this was a Baja adventure of a lifetime. It was an awesome ride and to follow Bill Nichols around Baja for 6 days and seeing places I have only heard about was about as good as it gets when it comes to Baja. The group did an awesome job and while each of us has our own challenges we were a team and with everybody having each others back there was nothing we could not overcome. To my wife Trish and everyone who was on the ride, Thank You for the memories. [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2735_zps6390e7a2.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/the1phxman_Baja_2014_IMG_2740_zps2c30623c.jpg[/img] Until next time...Via con dios
Glad to see you had a great ride. We met you about half way along your ride on day 4 as we were riding north to BofLa. I have to give credit to the team riding two up, I know that I wouldn't have wanted to be the passenger.
I'd like to add a few pics that I was able to take on this epic trip. The Baja 250 was off to a late start do to weather, good for us, as we get to listen to the awesome roar of these vehichals. Everyone one arrived and is eiger to ride, bikes get unloaded and the sticker bombing cominces. Our fearless leader. Another awesome sunset in Baja. A very hungry and rowdy crew. The wonderful food. The morning sunrise brings much anticipation. Our first stop. 2nd stop, Coco is not home. After Coco's we head off to the Window Rock trail. At 73 yrs old, he can still make a young guy hurt trying to follow him. Drunk on Baja single track. We make into Bay of LA. Getting the hero's welcome.
2nd day brings more sandy washes, rocks, and Mexican hospitality. Part of the last person through this canyon. The point on the Green door trail in which we discover were missing 4 riders. A large discussion on whether or not anyone would miss them. 2 of us felt bad and went back to find the lost riders, doesn't appear there to happy to see us. We meet up with another Baja crew on the long and rocky road. Found the rest of the crew already drinking with out us. Bikes parked out front of our prospective homes for the night. Bill teaching a few of the younger guys the fine art of spoke tuning. You know it's dinner time when everyone gets really quite.
The morning stirs up some interesting creatures. This guy found it's way into Michelle's helmet and then on top of her head. The fun thing about this is she's from Colorado and freaked out when told they lay eggs on top of peoples heads. Today 3 of us split off to make sure the injured bike makes it back to the support truck in San Ignacio while the rest of the crew go and explore more. We cut through a preserve full of narly cactus and into a canyon filled with buzzards and into a cemetery, pretty interesting route. Our hero Sully (the support truck driver) is waiting for us and helps us kill a few soldiers before heading to the centro to do some site seeing and get lunch. Sully doing his best to look all sexy for the camera. The others return late in the night just to turn around and go back out for dinner, we stayed behind to kill some more soldiers.
What Baja trips are all about. A mad scramble to get everything ready and get to riding. Sandy dunes into a semi dry lake bed. These 2 where amazing, riding 2 up through all types of landscapes better than most could ride by themselves. I only wish I was able to keep up with them to get some photos of them riding. She never once whimpered, even when the scorpion landed on her head. Everyone watch's Bill. When he puts his helmet on, you better get ready to roll. Discussing who's going to get the bone award tonight. Steve who lost his gas cap. Funny how going straight at 80 mph for 15 mile can be so much fun. Another lighthouse. Running shy on fuel, Sully seems to always be the night in shinning armor wherever we went. Running short on light we do about 120 miles or so on pavement in the dark, We arrive at 10:30 and the resturant is still willing to serve us.
The shortest day so far, 83 miles. Starting out with some more beaches and then to Mission San Borja. This is still one of my favorite Missions on the Baja peninsula. This family has taken care of the Mission for 7 generations. I forgot his name, but only attended school for 2 years and taught himself English from all the passing tourists. It feels good to be parked by 3:30 and sipping on beers in Bay of LA.
Not being the single track junky that the others are, and getting a taste yesterday of exploring the culture, I opted to not take the Window Rock trail again and try to find the locals doing what they do. I set off with 1 other rider to go eat at some local road side stand and people watch. What are the odds of having 2 of Baja's legends sitting with you? This being our last night were rowdier than ever, and then in walks Malcom Smith, and the place goes quite... What do you say with this line up? One last sunrise before heading home. The plane that was crashed in the Baja desert. There is a youtube video on this.
phxman, looks like a great ride and with the Rock Man himself! I had the pleasure of riding with Bill last March in Baja for 9 days, he truly is one tough guy. Don't know if you remember but you helped me out with some info on a Baja ride a few years ago...muchas gracias! Dan
WOW! Hey, great report. Just got back from my first trip to Baja on the KTM 350 EXC-F. Found a section of Bill's trail heading into Catavina, the trip highlight. Now I'm doing more research on Bill and his trails. This is the kind of Baja riding I'm interested in. Finding other riders of equal interest is a challenge. Near Catavina And I don't mind camping out. Good to see other folks on trials tires in Baja helping to preserve the trails. Juan Nevada City, CA KTM 350-EXC-F
Sweet Trip! Looks like you guys got to meet some 'Legends'. What size fuel tanks did most people have? What size would be the 'ideal' tank for KTM 450's? Average mileage per day? We got some guys from PHX that want to do a trip like this soon!
I borrowed a couple pics from your thread here and added it to my Bill Nichols Singletrack tribute video I shot just last week near Catavina. <IFRAME height=315 src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7DRVt548Sas" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen></IFRAME> Great stuff! Preserve these trails! Juan Nevada City KTM 350 EXC-F
