Muddyrabbit
Junior Nomad
Posts: 59
Registered: 3-15-2007
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ATV question
Myself and 2 friends are road tripping to Baja all the way from Ohio in Feb 2008, with our 2 Street liscenced bikes and 1 ATV in the truck. My
question is how are ATVs regulated? Here in Ohio ATVs have no street access, and we want to make sure the one guy on the ATV will be able to go where
we go with the bikes.
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Cameron
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Location: Todos Santos / Seattle WA
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Mood: Thirsty!
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ATV Regulation...
As long as you're on dirt your ATV buddy should be OK.
For paved sections where there's auto traffic, there's usually a dirt trail running parallel to the road he can ride on legally and without holding up
the auto traffic.
If your route takes you on longer stretches of pavement where there's no other alternative, keep an eye out for cars & trucks, pulling off the
road if necessary to let them by.
If you do happen to run into the Police, smile and don't argue. You'll probably get off with a warning, and maybe a small fine. 
When you're in a town or passing homes/farms etc, go slow and watch out for kids, dogs, cows and horses. Lots of the kids will stick out a hand for a
slap as you go by!
Speaking of kids: They LOVE stickers! Bring a bunch from home if you can, and you'll be a big hit wherever you go. Helps at the Military checkpoints
too...
If you haven't already seen it, check out the Baja GPS Guide at: http://www.bajagpsguide.com/ .
Have a great trip!.. Cameron
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David K
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Half the street traffic in San Felipe are ATVs!!... Basically, they want it to have a muffler and the rider wearing a helmet... signs are even posted
on the streets there. Other Baja towns may have different rules, however, a quad or ATC really shouldn't be on pavement, right?
The only concern entering Mexico with ATVs or bikes, is that they all have registration or ownership papers belonging to you guys, (no temps.) to make
sure they aren't stolen.
If you are using a friends bike or quad, then have a notorized permission slip from the owner giving you permission to take the bike into Mexico.
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Muddyrabbit
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Thanks guys, that helps a lot. I've also heard that having a couple of cases of Red Bull to give away helps at the military chekpoints, any truth to
that?
Our plan for the trip at this point is to drive to Mike's Sky Ranch and rent rooms/cabins for the week, basicaly use that for our base camp and ride
out of there every day. If anyone has suggestions for us in general, or where to ride from Mike's, we'd welcome the advice.
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TMW
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Location: Bakersfield, CA
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You'll have no problems with the ATV at mikes and you have a lot of ways to go with many trails. Your only limitation is gas. There's no gas at Mike's
so take it with you. Trinidad is the closest gas. You can ride many trails around Mike's or ride to San Felipe, Trinidad, Camalu etc. A Baja Almanac
would be helpful. I posted the near trails (15-20 miles) around Mike's on here, I'll find it and/or repost it later.
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TMW
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Scroll down on page 2 under this title and click on TW what is this short cut by roverdude.
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=20534#pid1825...
edit to add link for the thread referred to above.
[Edited on 3-16-2007 by Hose A]
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Lee
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Registered: 10-2-2006
Location: High in the Colorado Rockies
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Todos Santos BCS is an ATV friendly town. They are ridden here on paved roads.
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cbuzzetti
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Location: Atascadero, Ca
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On my last trip to Baja the Ag station guys wanted the Starbucks Frappacinnos. We were happy to give them whatever they wanted since they are in the
middle of nowhere.
They always seem to appreciate a cold drink.
Have fun on your trip.
BajaBuzz
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Muddyrabbit
Junior Nomad
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The Baja Almanac looks great but apears to be out of print/sold out. Anyone know where I could get a used copy?
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David K
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Muddy, be prepared to pay $50/pp at Mike's (includes meals)... Camping there, too... Another option is to stay at Rancho el Coyote, some miles
southwest.
Here is photos and a road log/ GPS of both main roads to/from Mike's: http://vivabaja.com/905
Photo of Mike's pool:
[Edited on 3-17-2007 by David K]
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AmoPescar
Senior Nomad
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Location: North San Diego County
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Hey Muddyrabbit...regarding ATV on streets...
Should be no problems!! I've ridden my Polaris MANY miles by myself and in groups, on streets in towns and on the highways and have never had any
problem, been stopped or hassled. The only exception was the ONE (and only) time I didn't have my helmet on in San Felipe. The Policia stopped us
and made us follow them to the station, where they impounded our quads until we paid the $7 US fine.
Enjoy your riding!!
Miguelamo 
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jimgrms
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Location: oceanside ca
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I would base in San felipe and ride out from there you can cross to el rosario go to mikes puertocitos lots of places to go from s/f and there
are cheap motels in s/f and lots to do Just google the area
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AmoPescar
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Hey Muddyrabbit...
I agree with jimgrms...I think I would base myself out of San Felipe. You could stay at Pete's Camp north of town, OR in town. Mike's in February
could be VERY cool due to being in the mountains.
From SF, you can do day trips from there to Mike's, Gonzaga Bay, Matomi Canyon, Puertocitos, Coco's Corner and many other places. In town you'll have
the beach, lots of restaurants, gas, stores, etc.
The ride to Gonzaga Bay is a great one. Once you get there, you could spend the night at Alphonsina's if you wanted, and ride back the next day, or on
cycles, it's easily doable in one longer day.
February weather can be very nice or very cool and windy. March or April would be even better weather. The warmer SOC water can sure make for a nice
refreshing break from a dusty ride!!
Be sure to post again if you have more questions about any of the places we've mentioned.
Miguelamo
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Muddyrabbit
Junior Nomad
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Registered: 3-15-2007
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Thanks guys, I was just going to ask about using San Felipe for b.c. As far as the weather being cool, I think we'll be O.K. February 06 was a trip
that will forever be known as the Snow Stuck Expidition 1. We had planned a trip to Michigan, the day before we arrived they got 12+ inches of snow.
The locals on ATVs said they usually let the snowmobiles beat the powder down fo a couple of days before they hit the trails with quads again. Well,
we didn't have a couple of days. The temps hit -10 F overnight, it took over an hour just to get the 4 machines started. We hit the trail just ahead
of about 30 others, and only got about 6 miles from the trailhead in 2½-3 hours. Trail conditions looked worse ahead so we decided to head back. The
trails we had left behind were a mess, deep ruts in the 3 inches of powder on top and the hardpack below. About 1 mile from the trailhead we found a
bunch of guys on SPORT QUADS! They had been doing fine most of the day, light enough to ride on top of the snow, but after the bigger 4x4s came out
and tore it up a little they were virtually marooned out there. There were a couple of small bore SRA 4x4s in there group trying to pull the guys,
but they were only making it 50-100 feet before they got stuck and had to dig. We used the 2 Rincons, since they are 4 wheel independent with good
clearence, to start pulling them back to the trailhead. I think we each made 4 trips and it took about 1½ hours to get them back that last mile. My
last trip I was pulling a daisey chain of 2 quads, a small 4x4 Polaris and a 400ex in the rear. The high that day only hit +10 F, with nasty wind
chill. 12 miles that took all day in brutal cold but all 4 of us, including the 2 newbies, still agree it was an awsome trip. We were wondering what
the temps are like down there in February though.
But back to San Felipe, if we decided to base there, any recomendations about where to stay? Particularly a place with secure parking if we decided
to overnight in another town?
The one nice thing about the guy on the quad is he's freakin' nuts and keeps up with us pretty good on the bikes, unless we actually try to lose
him
Of course if anyone wants to show a couple of guys from Ohio around, we'd love to hook up with some local riders.
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Muddyrabbit
Junior Nomad
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I just looked at the web site for Pete's Camp, I think we may be leaning toward staying there.
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AmoPescar
Senior Nomad
Posts: 835
Registered: 7-15-2006
Location: North San Diego County
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Muddywabbit...
I think Pete's is pretty secure. We left our vehicles there a couple of times while we went on 5 day rides. There's quite a few full timers living
their and if you ask someone, they'll probably be happy to keep an eye out for you, or maybe even let you leave your truck in a gated yard. Get
friendly with someone at the bar!!
Pete's also has a nice restaurant and bar and is just several miles North of town.
There's also a nice restaurant next door at the Eldorado Ranch which cooks up good steaks.
Miguelamo
[Edited on 3-19-2007 by AmoPescar]
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4baja
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Location: morro bay ca
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hey ammo, how long did it take you too come up with the 7 dollers? i have never
had any problems rideing my quads on the pavement down there. keep your registration with you. stay off the beach(the gringos dont like it) in the
populated areas.
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