TMW - 11-12-2006 at 01:02 PM
The 1989 was my third 1000 and the only time I raced to La Paz. In racing the first two 1000 we criss crossed the Baja peninsula many times in Baja
Norte but never in Baja Sur. This year would be different. After the map and course notes came out We headed south for our only prerun. This year
Richard Large and I would race class 40 on our trusty Yamaha 86 YZ250. On our prerun we had Andy Bowman, Dale Hanson and Bill Mahoney. Dale and Bill
were chase truck drivers. Andy would prerun some of the course with us.
We started the prerun near El Alamo. The chase trucks headed to Ensenada and down hwy 1 to Camalu. We carried extra gas with us. We met the chase
trucks and continued down the course thru San Quintin to Santa Maria where the route went inland off hwy 1 near KM15. After a full day of prerunning.
We camp at El Crucero. The next day it's down thru LA Bay and out to El Arco and on to San Ignacio. We camped at a camp ground over night.
Day 3 and we're heading south out of San Ignacio. At the Laguna we have a choice and decide to take the coastal route. We hit the mud flats and I wipe
out. I'm spinning around and around on my butt. My main thought is, I hope neither of the 2 gallon jugs of gas I'm carrying on a belt break open. I
finally stop. Andy and Rich and I then decide to go back and take the inland route. Well it seems we got out of the frying pan and into the fire. I'd
never ran in silt before and there were three long sections of silt beds. Andy's bike started running poor after the second silt bed so we stopped
while he cleaned his air filter. We finally made it to La Purisima and met the chase crew in San Isidro at the store. Andy decided to ride in the
chase trucks so Rich and I after gasing continued on to the Comondu's. In about 10 miles I had a front flat. It's fixed and we're on our way. After
San Javier I have another front flat. Time is now a factor since we're using motocross bikes without headlights. We did have a flashlight however.
Pushing on we get near the turn toward hwy 1 but not knowing the course conditions we decide to follow the graded road to hwy 53 that goes into
Insurgentes. We make a wrong turn in the low light and find ourselves near a rancho. We ride up and there is the owner. We make many hand jesters and
show him a AAA map and he points to his field and motions for us to go across it. So we do. On the other side we're lost but find a dirt road that we
go down. Soon it 's getting darker and darker. We spot a light from anther ranch house. We approach it. It's a small house with a corrugated sheet of
steel covering the door with a lady inside indicating she can't help. A pickup truck arrives and it's her husband. We finally convince him to lead us
to the hwy. After a short trip he stops and points west and turns around and leaves. As you can see our lack of knowing spanish was a real problem in
communications. We didn't even have a spanish dictionary to pick up words that could have helped. After it got dark our only sense of direction was
the power plant we could see out to the west.
Were setting on the bikes wondering where the hwy is. We can't see it and our flash light is a dim bulb. We decide to go further on the dirt road and
see what happens. We go about 50 feet and bingo there's the hwy. We go left and using the center white strips we head for Insurgentes. As we arrive in
town three pickup trucks start following us. Sometimes they would pull up beside us and say something in spanish. They are a bunch of young men and
teenagers. I'm thinking, oh boy, I don't think they like Baja racers down here, this could get ugly. They follow us thru town and out to hwy 1 where
we turn left and head to KM16 to meet our chase crew. We pull up to our crew with the trucks right behind us. To my surprise they were race fans and
all they wanted to talk about was the big race coming and the race vehicles etc. We spent almost two hours talking to them, yes they did speak
english. We now make camp and spend the night.
Day four and Andy joins us for the run to La Paz. Andy has a rear flat and we find a tire shop and let them fix it. It was a good run to La Paz. On
the hill overlooking La Paz I thought it was one of the most beautiful sites I'd ever seen. We stay in a hotel and head home the next day. The only
down side was Rich got sick from something he ate and was sick all the way home.
1989 was the year Score had trouble with the ranchers around Ensenada. They cancelled the Baja 500 race for the bikes and move the race to San Felipe
for the cars and trucks. Well things were still not going well between them and Score started the Baja 1000 race on the El Alamo road.
It was a cold night before the race. Rich would start and run through Mike's Sky Rancho and down to Santa Maria. He had a good run and gave me the
bike in good condition. I'm off and running. At Los Martires/El Sauzalito area the couse makes a hard left coming back near hwy 1 at Guayaqual. I
cross the El Marmol road and set my sights on a couple of bikes ahead. It's a rocky wash but I get both of them. On past the old La Virgen shrine and
into Catavina. Rich gets back on and runs down the hwy thru El Crucero and over to the LA Bay hwy. We put our lights on here. It's about 5pm. I'm off
thru LA Bay. I make the turn for El Arco. At the top of La Cuesta I notice headlights behind me. When they get close I pull over and see Robby Gordon
go by. He's the first 4 wheeler on the course. I get to El Arco and gas up and take off.
I'm wearing a sweatsuit under a street mc riding suit. After leaving El Arco I'm getting really hot so I stop to unzip the suit. About a dozen
Mexicans come out of nowhere. They offer me beer, tequila, water and food. I only want to unzip it and get going. I'm off again. Soon Bob Gordon and
Mark McMillin pass me. In both cases the road was narrow so as they got near me I would stop and lay the bike against the embankment. I'm on the gas
again and feeling macho then boom. The right handguard hit the bushes and I'm on the ground with the bike bouncing down the course. I run over and
pick it up, all seem OK. Wow, take it easy I'm thinking. I make it to San Ignacio. We gas and change the air filter.
Rich takes off and I jump in the chase truck and head to La Purisima by way of hwy 1 and the turn off at El Rosarito. We get there and set up our pit
across from the gasolina man. We wait and wait and wait. It's like 8 or 9am, a quad comes in and says our bike is down and it's on the coastal route.
I pull a prerun bike out of the chase truck and check with Score officals if I can go back looking for our race bike. He says OK but be carefull. I
run back on course past San Juanico and spot a Kawasaki pit truck. They hadn't seen our bike. They fill me up with gas and I continue. I take the
coastal route and every so often I stop and call to Rich on the handheld radio. No response. After a while I turn around and head. I'm thinking I'll
get the chase truck and bring it back here to do a bigger search. As I get back to San Juanico I see Rich standing next to a post. I stop and he's OK
but a little tipsy. It seems he when through the silt beds and lost the engine on the last one. Remember the filter change, well the one put in was
not oiled. He started pushing the bike and when he got to the good graded road two Mexican men picked him up and put the race bike in the back of
their pickup. While driving down the road they had a big jug of wine they pasted back and forth. He was thirsty and out of the race so why not.
After loading up the bikes we're off to La Paz to check on race results. Then we head down to Cabo San Lucas and go fishing for Marlin and take in the
city sights. Even though we didn't finish the race we ended up having a great time.
Natalie Ann - 11-12-2006 at 01:10 PM
Excellent good story, TW... thanks.
David K - 11-12-2006 at 10:07 PM
Great story TW...
We will have a big bon fire at El Crucero and look forward to your arrival Thursday night if you do come down from RM 321!
TMW - 11-13-2006 at 08:23 AM
We'll come down for sure. Got word from Tony Tellier that the Calamajue wash is really screwed up. The racers should really have fun in there. Sounds
like it may be another Simpson type log jam. Also found out Tim Morton is racing with Ron Wilson on bike 307x so we'll be watching for the bike to
come thru.
David K - 11-13-2006 at 09:51 AM
You know how Score is, if the Class 11s and Rhinos complain about Calamajue wash then they will let them run out the road from Coco's to Chapala and
down Mex. 1 to El Crucero!