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TW SF250 Report and Beyond
Great weather, sunny everyday. Went from mid 80s on Thursday to low 70's thru the weekend. I arrived in San Felipe on Thursday and met with Paul and
his dad Rudy and went over his plans for the race. Stopped by BajaLou's place for a short visit.
Friday I drove down to check out the entrance to Matomi wash, where Paul will get on at RM149 and the exit of Hautamote wash where he'll get off at
RM214. Back to town for contingency then dinner at Rice and Beans on the water front. There were about 275 entries for the race. Lot's of police
around town. Later at the hotel in San Quintin I found out the cops busted a drug dealer at the San Felipe airport the week before the race, at least
that's what I was told.
Sat. morning I picked up Paul at his dads house and with Rudy and another friend in his old Suzuki SUV we headed over to Matomi. It takes us about 45
minutes getting up the wash to RM149. We unload and wait for the bikes. The bikes had a 6am start and the first bike to us was Honda 1X at 8:34am
followed by KTM 2X and Honda 5X. Everyone else was 30 minutes back, no surprise. Paul got on at about 9:30am running 3rd in class. We didn't wait for
the cars and headed to the finish line. 4 class bikes showed up before Pauls team on 262X came in. It turns out that at RM180 the bike in front of
Paul crashed and Paul stopped to help. At first they thought he had a broken back, later I think it turned out to be a broken hip. An EMT showed up
and Paul went on but was 20 minutes down on time. They finished 5th in class. I went back on course and watched the cars and trucks till dark.
Sunday I packed up and headed south after picking up some great hamburgers at the AM/PM, no kinding they're good. Stopped along the way to give gas to
a couple of guys in a beatup truck hauling junk. Looks like it won't be long before the new paved section bypassing Puertecitos will be done. South of
Puertecitos I saw some mine diggings and went to check it out it. It was an old Oynx mine dig. Met several other explorers there. After picking up
some Oynx I went on. Stopped for gas at the Pemex station in Gonzaga and at the store for some drinks. Stopped by Cocos corner and talked to Coco. I
asked about his leg and he said it was true, that they were taking it off on March 28th in Guerrero Negro. I left Cocos and out to hwy 1 and north.
Stopped at Catavina for a late lunch but power was off at the La Pinta hotel so I left. I got into San Quintin after dark and stayed at the La Villa
de San Quintin hotel. At breakfast the owners son who built it was there and we chatted for some time after breakfast and he mentioned the drug bust
in San Felipe, said he read about it in the paper.
On Monday I headed for Tecate to cross the border and got there before 2pm. It took 2 hours to cross. It was a single line all the way up. When I got
to the agent I showed my drivers license and passport and he asked what I was bringing back. I said nothing and he waived me thru. I had dinner in San
Diego with several friends the Godfather resturant, an old hangout. I stayed overnight and left for home Tuesday morning. I stopped in Paris for gas
and found a large 16 penny nail sticking out of my right rear tire sidewall, a BFG TA KO. I changed the tire and was back on the road getting home
around 4pm. I went to Big Brand Tires where they replaced the tire and sent me home.
All in all it was a pretty good trip.
TW
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David K
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Thanks Tom... the details of your report really help paint a photo to us who weren't there.
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bajalou
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Location: South of the broder
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Thanks for the report Tom - it was good to see you again.
Looked for you Fri at contingency but missed you. Was going to go south if you were still thinking about exploring. Next time.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Gadget
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Thanks for the report Tom. Fun times. We found all the service folks very glad to see us. Roberto who owns the taco shop behind the La Marina? bar
was kinda sad as we were the only 2 patrons. Said business was off for a long time and now everyone was on the malecon. I told him to be patient,
business would get better in an hour or so. Just as predicted as the last race cars filtered through contingency and the bar patrons could consume no
more, his place was slammed full. We had been talking with him for an hour while he made us fish tacos one at a time off the grill. Now it was
standing room only. He and the wife were all smiles.
The La Villa de San Quintin is a nice fresh place. Ricardo the Owner is very friendly and helpful, his sister is not so much. They don't take dogs
either, Duke had to sleep in the Bronco 
"Mankind will not be judged by their faults, but by the direction of their lives." Leo Giovinetti
See you in Baja
http://www.LocosMocos.com
Gadget |
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TMW
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Thanks David. Wish you had been there, good time.
Lou, I should have looked you up after the race or Sunday morning, sorry. The Oynx mine was one place I wanted to see and there is an old gold dig I
also wanted to explore but I forget my almanac with all my notes in it etc. When I was heading north on hwy1 I tried to find the turnoff for the
turquesa mine road that David and Sqcircle had been on. But there was a lot of vegitation and I couldn't see it. I drove up one place but it didn't go
anywhere. After going back and forth on hwy1 I finally gave up.
Gadget, they have a sign in the lobby that says it's a $250 fine if they catch you smoking or with a dog in the room. He did say they were going to
build a new section starting this year sometime that will have smoking rooms and allow dogs.
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David K
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Location: San Diego County
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| Quote: | Originally posted by TW
Thanks David. Wish you had been there, good time...
When I was heading north on hwy1 I tried to find the turnoff for the turquesa mine road that David and Sqcircle had been on. But there was a lot of
vegitation and I couldn't see it. I drove up one place but it didn't go anywhere. After going back and forth on hwy1 I finally gave up...
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The details are on this page: http://vivabaja.com/207
The road east to the top of Turquesa Canyon is just south of the boulder mountain (El Pedregoso) between Cataviņa and Chapala... at a low spot, by a
tree... Km. 213/214
[Edited on 3-21-2008 by David K]
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TMW
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Thanks David. I copied your web site info. My brothers and I are going to check this out on Memorial Day weekend to start our annual Baja trip.
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tunaeater
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Location: Chula Vista, CA
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Tom
Thanks for all your help and the beers at Baja mar. We are now looking forward to the CODE 500(April 5th) and the Baja 500(May 31). Let me know if you
are available for prerunning or pit support...
The border wait in Mexicali was 2 hours also....
Paul
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