geomike
Junior Nomad
Posts: 64
Registered: 10-3-2009
Location: Very near to the middle of nowhere.
Member Is Offline
Mood: feeling an irresistable pull towards Baja...
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Another NORRA Report
Sailing in Deserts
What a couple of days! Seems like weeks now!
But we finally have to surrender and accept a technical defeat from
Baja.
We had a terrific fist day, Jay and I thundered through 3 race stages and
about 300 miles of desert with only a couple of "Duct Tape" repairs. The battery had almost fallen out and the magnetic mount for the Radio antenna
wouldn’t stick…might be the bondo was a little thicker there in that spot! Our volts were running a little low so when we met the chase truck in San
Felipe we changed out the alternator at lunch time.
Three awesome stretches of back country consisting of flat out dry lake bed, deep sandy whoops, five foot washouts and the Pearl just soaked them up.
Unreal what that chassis could absorb. We confirm Jay’s initial suspicions that the truck had way too much spring in the rear as we experience a few
“pogo’s” on some of the bigger bumps but other than that, just awesome. Well balanced front to rear and stable in the corners, crazy fun.
We fly into the time gates at San Felipe after the second stage 50th in place and we started at 44th so only 6 trucks pass us in the two stages. I
remember a couple of them, big bejezus trophy trucks running in the alternative fuels class on e85. They passed us like we were standing still 80-90
mph easy and 30” of wheel travel. The other notable is none other than racing legend Walker Evans. The Legend strolls on by like he’s headed to the
‘loaf n’ jug’ for the missus. Maybe after 40 years of this you get good! Certainly it seems to be good for your health. At 39 to 41 years, our team
is pretty young here. We see a couple of teams in their late 20’s early 30’s but the field is dominated by the 50 – 60 yr crowd and they are all in
fine shape. Maybe it’s the fresh air that comes from not having a windshield in front of you.
We make our biggest mistake of the trip here in San Felipe by not changing drivers and giving Clint and Shawn a go. Last night Melnechenko comes up
with the bright idea that we should boat race to see who drives first. Oh that sounds like a great idea, get really hammered the night before you
head out into the desert and bounce along a race course! The poison is laid out. Two beers then a shot of that Tequila that those nice young ladies
with the short shorts and shorter shirts were passing out. Jay starts for us, I do my best to keep up my end…I want this bad! Clint and I are midway
into our 2nd now, suddenly Clint is choking. He sees something funny in front of him. Apparently the sight of a fat nearly 42 year old Geologist
inhaling beer is amusing for him. Jay finishes the shot…I finish the shot and we win! But oh my…what’s that rumble, I politely excuse myself. Clint
exclaims “he has to keep it down to keep the win!” I feel an incredible lightness of being like I’ve swallowed the Hindenberg…pressure is building!!
I’m not going into any further detail, suffice to say our win is upheld! We race tomorrow! I can’t help thinking that something is fishy, Clint is
enjoying all this too much and you can’t tell me that a Directional Driller from Saskatchewan doesn’t know how to inhale a beer!
Due to road conditions after the recent Mexicali earthquake the Chase truck had to go south via Ensenada after they left San Felipe (about 1000 km
detour!). Jay and I rolled through the last special stage at about 4:30. This was a really knarly stage with lots of rocks in the road, real tire
eaters and we see that our rears are really chunked out. Gotta lighten that rear spring pack and see if we can keep the tail on the ground better.
Jay does some crazy driving while working on passing the Anger Issues truck. These guys can drive and they are not letting Walmsley through! Its
driving Jay nuts, this way blocked, that way dust cloud… no chance to pass. I fear for my life and the structural integrity of the Pearl. I scream
like a little girl in my helmet but no one can hear (fortunately for my integrity!). I start pounding on Jay’s arm begging him not kill me…well that
may be an exaggeration but when Walmsley gets something in his sights its kind of hard to shake him off. I ponder the foolishness of my actions in
telling him about this event. Fortunately for my nerves, Jay has had enough fun for now and pulls over to let me have another crack behind the wheel.
Jay pulls his helmet of and is laughing that crazed, slightly hysterical laugh of his…man this is all good! We’re on the back-road from Puertocitos
to Laguna Chapala. This road was actually the only road from South to North Baja for a couple of days after the floods took out the main highway
earlier in the year. This wouldn’t be much fun over the rocks and round the tight curves in your RV! Lots of Chase trucks are also on this road this
afternoon trying to beat the 1000 km Ensenada detour. Not much fun pulling a 18’ car hauler along this road with race trucks tearing up the track.
No way could we have brought the 30’ tandem dually trailer of Clint’s down this one. We pit at Coco’s Corner with Mag 7. It’s been great service so
far but they short us on fuel here. A mix-up in the paper work that we should be able to sort out later. We check the fluids and have a break then
it’s off to the finish line of stage 3 at Laguna Chapala. Pretty good road and I’m flying now doing close to 80 mph the Pearl is sounding a little
rougher, we suspect more manifold bolts have worked loose. We finish the stage but I forget to ask what place we are in now. Jay and I pull over
near the little Rancho and have a look around. OOPS, that muffler is hanging pretty low! The muffler bracket had broken and we lost a couple of
manifold bolts. Not too big a deal, but we did put a crack in the header. I start looking for a piece of wire. We check the transmission and decide
to add a liter to make it to Bay of LA. Jay pours it in and we hear a trickle… what the…yep the fluid fell right through the back end of the
transmission! yikes this is not good! We call the chase truck for help. The chase truck is still 8 hours away in Ensenada! Night is falling and its
getting frigging cold, thermal undies and all. We contact the boys by sat phone and relay the problems, they start looking for parts in Ensenada.
Jay and I decide we better find some shelter so we coax the Pearl down the road ˝ mile to Rancho Chapala.
A Boojum Adventure
We had a delicious supper of Carne Asada at the Rancho Chapala restaurant. All home made and cooked on a wood stove! It’s a little warmer in the
Senora’s restaurant and we inquire about rooms. None available here, damn. Senora, what time do you close? Midnight. Damn, that leaves about 3
hours in the freezing night best case. We really should have thought this through a little better. Jay is eyeing up the table, wondering if it would
hold his weight. I don’t think so ace and it damn sure won't hold me. We know there are no rooms available at Bay of LA but I remember that there is
a hotel at Catavina about 80 km away. I set to work trying to get a ride. We managed to convince 3 Mexican guys to give us a ride the 80 km away in
Catavina (they are going to BOLA and aren’t too happy about a detour …1000 pesos smoothes it over). Along the way the 3 Mexican guys turn out to be
Mechanics and they know a guy in Catavina who might have transmission parts (I really have to study more Espagnol!) The boys have a late model Caprice
or maybe Crown Vic nice wheels we all set off into the night. One of the Mexicans carries a big Mag light it seems odd but we have found that most
everything in Baja has a purpose. As we chat back and forth to the best of our ability we are suddenly plunged into total darkness! Winding road, 80
km per hour and nothing but the moonlight. The lights have gone out. He has a friggin’ short in his electrical system! For a millisecond my life is
flashing before me and I think …well it’s been real fun but what an odd place to die. I think of the accident investigator picking through the debris
who will ponder the occurrence of two Gringos in their thermal underwear and coveralls amidst the wreckage. The moment is broken by the barest hint
of movement from the passenger side. With the speed of a gunslinger the Mag flashlight is drawn into service. A beam of light illuminates the curve
ahead through the windshield. Herberto’s aim is perfect. A perfect reaction that is the result of much practice. Most everything in Baja has a
purpose. The lights flicker back on and seem to function properly for the rest of the trip.
I get a room for us at the surprisingly luxurious Desert Inn in Catavina. We meet Ortiz the local mechanic who is probably in his late 60's. Ortiz
raced in the '70’s with Micky Tompson and Parnelli Jones in the original races! Turns out Otiz knows a guy in Guerrero Negro with Transmission parts.
Nothing happens very fast in Baja and there is always plenty of time for visiting and helping folks out. We probably spent 2 hours with Ortiz and
the Mexicans (Manuel, Herberto, and Marco I think) telling stories with sign language and broken Englais and Espagnol. We drink coffee and huddle
around a little pot bellied wood stove for warmth (Catavina is “off the grid” power is supplied intermittently by diesel genset)… I experience my
330th "I can’t friggin’ believe where I am and what I'm doing" moment.
The boys arrived at about 3 am and went to work on the truck at Laguna Chapala (well first they had to find it in the dark.. we made it easy by
parking it behind the restaurant!) installing a new rear seal and JB Welding what was left of the tail shaft bushing. They got back to the hotel
around 5am and sent Jay, Shaun, and me to the race start in Bay of LA. We wired up the exhaust pipe and installed new header bolts where needed and
drove the truck up to the start line then.... Nada…Nothing …no forward gears what the? we just drove the friggin thing to the line! Any way we
missed the start. We worked on the truck for a couple of hours, finally coaxed it into gear and drove a test lap around town then screeeech, the
front brakes locked up! What the hell? Back into town on foot. About half way back we caught a ride on the back of a flat bed with a couple of
Mexicans who again took us to the Mechanico! The Mechanic bled the pressure off on the front and away we go. By this time Jay and I had sent Shaun
back to Catavina now about 180 km to get the boys. We catch up to him on the Highway (don’t ask how fast we drove) loaded the truck and oopps as we
drove up the ramp the truck tilts up and all the transmission fluid runs out the back! again!, not good the JB Weld didn't hold! We picked up the boys
in Catavina and made the ride to Guerrero Negro- 6 men in a pick up truck...very uncomfortable!
Dog Poop and Tranny Fluid
We got to Guerrero Negro and set about the business of finding Ortiz's buddy with the transmission. After 3 hrs touring Guerrero we do finally find a
Turbo 400 but it’s on
another truck and the guys who own it don't want to let it go. Turns out they have a race truck too and want to use the tranny in a race the next
week. So there is 10 guys partnered on this race truck and we have to talk to all 10 before we can buy it. Clint is the master. Patient in every
turn he cajoles these guys one after the other. Whew, deal done after one of the owner’s son says to his "come on dad we can find a new one for our
truck". Thanks Kid! We’re off to the junk yard to extract the new Transmission as a spare. It’s really only the rear housing we need but we buy the
whole thing. The boys set about removing the transmission. Its dark now, the truck its on sits on flat tires barely enough room to get under it.
There is dog poop every where and now it is mixed with old tranny fluid and sand ahh Baja. The boys who own the truck stay to help. They bring the
tools that they always use on this job, floor jack, claw hammer, and a crescent wrench. Excellent, we are back in business...one problema- race
starts in Loreto 400 km away long drive for 6 now very smelly and oily men in a pick up but hey its Baja!
We arrive in Loreto at dawn from the most uncomfortable drive in history. The Pearl fires up but we soon find our transmission is totally cooked so
tranny change numero 3 for the Black Pearl #44! The guys are getting good at it now, we turn the job around in just over 2 hours! Success! the boys
get’er running with the junk yard tranny! Up to the start line again (a little late at 9:15am so no official time but the Pearl is ready to try! Off
the boys go up the arroyo wander off track a bit into
some deep sand, blamo brakes lock up again and the boys are buried! Tranny temp 300 degrees Muy Malo!
Time to call it kids. We're all done here for this year. So we toast our efforts with a cool cerveza and begin to figure out how to get the Black
Pearl out of the Arroyo.
It’s funny sometimes when you see yourself as others see you. Once we backed off the Go pedal, sat down in the shade of a Palo Verde tree in the
arroyo South of Loreto and realized, finally, that we were, in fact, out of the race 3 days ago and somehow had missed that subtle point until just
now. It occurred to some of us that our wives have, in the past, on occasion, used words like bullheaded and stubborn. At the time, I couldn't
imagine what my wife might be talking about. These verbal attacks seem a little offside but nothing to concern yourself about in the greater context
of “Until Death do us Part”. Now finally in the shade of this Palo Verde it’s possible to admit that next year there is no way we will make the same
mistakes and now, in fact, we know how to finish this thing called the Baja. So really the finish line will just have to wait one year and that’s not
too bad.
Raising the Pearl
Now we just have the small matter of a dead and nearly buried Black Pearl to recover. One of the common themes in our adventure is that Mexicans
appear to travel in 3's where ever they go; possibly with the sole intent of finding Gringos in need of assistance and cold cerveza. It seems odd but
these are the observations (as a scientist I try to keep emotion out of it). Just as we begin discussing the possibilities for recovery of the Pearl
3 soon to be amigos roll up in a punched out early 90's Explorer XLT. Que pasa Amigo como esta problema? (please forgive my Spanish…I learned it in
Saskatchewan). After Clint quickly translated just what esta problema, the Mexicans said lets go! cold cerveza amigo? A reasonably easy trip up the
bed of the Arroyo ensued (we only had dig ourselves out 3 times in 400 meters). The boys were in position to give a tug on the tow rope. Un momento
, they jump out of of the truck and start letting air out of their tires! holy what are they up to now? Apparently its standard operation for travel
in sand! I should mention also, that if you are used to getting stuck in snow and mud and count yourself a seasoned pro at getting un-stuck, you
should forget about a career in off-roading in Baja! Riding in the Explorer you immediately find that everything that the "seat of your pants" tells
you to do is dead wrong. Clint explains "these are not aggressive people" and I believe he is right. After watching these folks for a few days now,
you see that they live in their environment...Anglos live on top of their environment. Slowly and gently the Explorer gets closer to the Pearl. No
screaming engine, no spinning tires, no 4X4, just steady as she goes. A push here, a push there esta no problema amigo.
If you’re paying attention, Baja teaches you that there is always time to help, because you might need it in return some time. There is always time
to visit and tell some stories, because there are damn few people here to do it with. Your experiences and those of your friends are as close as it
comes to a multi media experience here in the back country of Baja where little kids ask a couple of goofy Canadians in a race truck that bleeds
transmission fluid to sign their T shirts.
Back in the Arroyo, little by little, the Pearl is raised from the depths. We get it to a place where the Explorer can....hey Amigo's! un problema! no
gasolina! You are out of fuel? Jayson shouts out,Yo tengo gas, donde esta mi trailer! Inexplicably, Clint (our only real chance of communication
with these people), falls to the ground in tears. What
the? Apparently, after some recovery time, Clint explains that Jay has just
shouted out that " I have gas!, where is my trailer!" I thought Jay and I we were getting pretty good with the Espagnol , this may explain some of
the blank looks we received from the Sonora in Laguna Chapala who fixed our supper two nights ago.
It sure is handy to have a slip tank full of race fuel. In some cases that fuel has been more valuable that the cash it took to buy it. Another
happy Mexican with a full tank (possibly for the first time in its life)! We split up to attack the problem with a dual pronged approach. Clint and
Shaun head out with the Mexicans to find a tow truck the rest of us
take care of some maintenance issues on the trailer. Last night in Guerrero Negro we clipped a curb with outside dual and split the sidewall right
open. Of course it was dark, it’s always dark when we start working on the truck. Anyway it is said that the Lord
watches over fools and drunkards and its possible that we are both. We drove 460 km from Gurerro Negro to Loreto with a flat outside dual on the
front axle of a 30 foot goose neck with a race truck and slip tanks full of diesel fuel and race gas down the Cuesta del Infierno at 12 ft to the 100
grade in the dead of night... luck or something more existential I'm not really sure.
The Llantera (sp?) in Baja is an interesting place. There are thousands of them spaced at nearly regular intervals down the length of the Careterra
Transpenninsular and we soon discover why. The boys are fast, real fast, the kind of fast that lets you know they've
done it a thousand times without the proper tools and cheap too at 10 bucks to swap in the spare. On the rack we see tires for sale, ah yes the good
quality used tire program, but hey is that really 200 peso's (20 bucks) for a 18 inch tire? The belts are showing! I just passed how many of you
guys in the dead of night on a 12% grade and you are all running on tires with the belts showing?? Holy Crap. The particular Llantera that we were
at was pretty nice with lots of entertainment while you wait. TV airing the latest Mexican soaps, plastic chair in the lounge and chickens, lots of
chickens oddly enough
more roosters than hens. Now who would keep more roosters than hens?
No eggs, tough meat, I'll just add that to the "I don't want to think about right now file."
Tire fixed, we head back to town for a quick lunch and some take out for the guys slaving in the Arroyo. We separate for a short while and I
investigate the offer of free rooms from a nice Vancouver couple recently moved to Loreto and starting a small apartment rental business. We had met
these folks previously at Lake Chapala . They were Chasing for her parents who were also in the Mexican 1000 racing an open wheeled VW buggy. Nice
folks, rooms a little dusty due to recent renos but a broom would fix that and the offer of beer and a Hockey game to watch was sincere. Baja
sincere.
Brad drove me half way round town to get burger to go for the recovery team. These are good people! A promise to call if we needed the rooms and
away I trudge with burgers and patatas frias down the road to the Arroyo regretting only the distance I will walk. Hey, here comes the Pearl and she
is loaded! Better than that, our new amigos have shown us the Oasis Hotel on the Malecon with a beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez.
A shower never felt so good, a beer never so well earned, a toast to the extraordinary experience and a clam bake by the sea. Hola, this could be
living.
Journeys End
On the Right Hand coast of Baja it's the Sunrise that sparkles and this one is all of that. I think we all feel pretty satisfied this morning...some
perhaps not so thankful now for last call. I start my first attempt at Blog (like a lot of words in modern English I'm not sure whether Blog is a
noun, a verb or an adjective or adverb) this morning not really sure why but not wanting to forget any of the last few days. I think there could
already be leakage.
The great thing about a sunrise like this after a couple of days like the days we've just had, is that it just sits there and sparkles. You don't have
to push it, or change its transmission, or cajole it into gear!...it just sits there and sparkles while the man fills your coffee cup. Today I feel
really privileged.
The party in La Paz is supposed to be at 2 PM... we all know that isn't going to happen! The Crew of the Black Pearl keeps its own schedule and she'll
be in La Paz when she's there! We batten down the luggage and clear a spot behind the cab of the chase truck. NO-ONE is going to go through the 6
men in a pickup truck routine again. A surprising number of Volunteers step up to ride in the sunshine.
Clint and I make the most of it, visiting about all the things we've seen on this adventure. All the things that made it so great. Baja Mexico is a
lot like Canada in the 70's. Nobody gets all freaked out about people riding in the back of a pickup, nobody gets in a hurry, everyone has time to at
least acknowledge your existence. I can't express why I find that acknowledgment so important. Usually nothing more than a nod, often its
accompanied by smile, still more often a wave. Vehicles passing, people on the sidewalk, folks sitting in the shade. No one pretends they didn't see
you there. I wasn't North of the Border more than 37 seconds and people started ignoring me again! Ahh, so good to be home.
Arriving in La Paz the NORRA Party is over... of course its over. Like always, the Pearl is a little more than fashionably late. Fortunately there
is another race party at the same hotel and the Tecate Tent is still open. The view is great from our vantage point. Visiting with Mike Noval the
race organizer, the Pearl on the 30' gooseneck, firmly lodged in the entrance of the Grand Plaza Hotel. (Back home, the police would be
involved by now). I'm a little concerned that we'll get some grief about Jay's start in
Laguna Salada 3 days earlier. The video shows the crowd peppered with rocks and sand. Women and children running for their lives as Jay nearly swaps
ends reaching for
second gear. Somebody said something about not blowing it all at the start.
Whether Mike Noval is courteous or otherwise, no mention is made about the start so it must be all good! In this brotherhood of racers we have found
that the competition remains mostly on the track, in the pits its all about helping out tools, advise, personal experience.
We meet some guys that Jay had talked to prior to the race about some suspension issues on the Pearl and over a couple of Tecates the redesign starts!
Thousands of dollars of information is exchanged over a beer in a parking lot. Tyler, our mechanic, is nearing climax, I step back. These are
really good people. They had entered a really cool looking el Camino in the race, but blew the engine in the parking lot at Mexicali. $60,000 and
boom all finished before they started. WE DID GOOD AMIGOS! I see now that the driving is about a 3rd of the effort in crossing the finish line. Our
$9,000 internet special may have some hair, but it will finish this sucker next time!
Sun is setting in La Paz and we need to find our Hotel, good thing Tyler is coherent! He does a masterful job of extracting the Pearl from the lobby
of the Grand Plaza and we're off. Soon to be lost yet again! But hey, no worries, someone will be along soon and...there they are! Numbering...you
guessed it...3! It's a long slow sandy trail along the peninsula that forms the Bay of La Paz to the condos that Dreena and Clint had arranged for
us. We are extra careful not to drive too fast on this final stretch of Our Race. Bitter Sweet.
[Edited on 5-18-2010 by geomike]
You are entitled to your own opinions...not your own facts.
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for another great story on racing in Baja and the pictures.
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geomike
Junior Nomad
Posts: 64
Registered: 10-3-2009
Location: Very near to the middle of nowhere.
Member Is Offline
Mood: feeling an irresistable pull towards Baja...
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Thanks TW, We had a hoot. Laughed all the way from Mexicali to La Paz. It was an incredible experience, can't wait for the next one!
Mike
You are entitled to your own opinions...not your own facts.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thanks for sharing your story Mike... History re-born!
Here is a photo I took of Parnelli with his Big Oly Bronco at the last 1000 it was entered in (1973 Baja 1000)... day before the race:
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geomike
Junior Nomad
Posts: 64
Registered: 10-3-2009
Location: Very near to the middle of nowhere.
Member Is Offline
Mood: feeling an irresistable pull towards Baja...
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Hey David, here is a couple of pics of the Big Oly replica. We were both working on our trucks in Mexicali, I think their tranny was giving them
grief too! Shared some tools back and forth, really good guys. We both made it to the start line in BOLA but we couldn't get the Black Pearl into
gear! The Big Oly truck was at least able to get a start time then they came back into town and got back to wrenching. I guess it was their engine
that time but never got a chance to visit with them.
The whole thing was just an unreal experience, I stood in the drivers registration line behind Parnelli Jones and Walker Evans.
You are entitled to your own opinions...not your own facts.
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