Ohio to Baja 2012, room to transport a bike.

Not sure where to post this, so I stuck it here.

Meredith and I are leaving N.E. Ohio on February 10th for Baja, crossing at Calexico, and departing to return on the 1st or 2nd of March. On the way we will be crossing through several states, and taking either the more northerly I70,I44,I40 route or more southerly I71,I40,I20 route. We will be in a crew cab f350 with room for an extra bike. So is any member has need of getting a bike hauled across country, or yourself and a bike, send me a PM. You are even welcome to cross into Mexico with us if you like, and catch a ride back home 3 weeks later if you like.

It is an F350 diesel, so if you and a friend want to go together we can pull a trailer with your 2 bikes. You would of course need to have your own trailer, and be loaded and ready to hitch up when we roll into your driveway. Although depending on where you are on the route we may be ready for a couple of hours on a couch!

If you just need to throw a bike on the truck and have us drop it off somewhere we'll negotiate a price. If you want to get your bike and you transported you need to be able to help drive, and chip in for fuel. Possibly cover the tab for coffee at St. Arbucks.

"But Muddy, I want to go, but I am not exactly right on your route, what can we do?"
We would be willing to divert off the main route, within reason. If we're going through Dallas, I'm not going to go to Galveston, it adds a day of travel time. The other option would be to get yourself closer to our route.

If your curious, ask questions, if your really interested, give me a call on my cell.
440-313-1069[left]

For anyone who might be interested in riding baja with you....

how many miles do you intend to cover a day on average?

how fast do you normally ride on "rough dirt" roads?

I only ask because it will be no fun for yourself and anyone that joins you if your riding mentality is too different. I don't think I'll be able to finish setting my bike up in time for that (budget).

We learned a hard lesson two years ago about different riding styles and travel mentalities with a group of 4 riders. We didn't know each other very well, and the trip went south. So Meredith and I agreed that on future trips we would take a different approach. So we offer up space on the truck for anyone who happens to need to get a bike or themselves and a bike moved along our route. If it happens that someone also wants to ride Baja, we'll take you and your bike there, and let you know what day the truck leaves for the ride home. If we feel like riding together for a couple of days, great, but by not having any expectation to keep the same schedule of riding, same routes, and destinations you avoid potential friction in the group. That way you get to do the trip you want, and experience Baja to suit you. However, if a situation arose that we had parted ways and you were broke down somewhere 200 miles from where the truck is and need to be on the truck to head home, we won't abandon you, we'll do what it takes. Our last trip I was badly injured in Bahia De Tortugas, managed to ride to Vizcaiano, and we payed two locals to trailer us and our bikes back to San Felipe. The other half of our group was already back in California. I'm not about to air out 2 year old dirty laundry, I'll just say hard life lesson learned.

Just edited original post with more info.

Sounds perfectly reasonable. I've read a lot of stories of similar friction on ADV Rider that's why I wanted to bring it up :)

We were posting an "in progress ride report" on ADV while on the trip. It got so ugly that once we were safely out of Mexico our trip report was punted to "Head Explody".

A couple of points. First, I in no way claim to be an expert on Baja, or adventure travel. I think it takes a lifetime to become an expert on either. I've been to Baja twice, the first trip was with 3 friends, and it went great, none of us had ever planned anything like that. In fact one of the group had never been outside Ohio before. The second trip did turn into a complete clusterphucked catastrophuck. Mistakes were made by everyone on that trip including myself. I learned things on both trips, about Mexico, different cultures, the social dynamics of traveling in a group, and I think everyone learns about themselves when you start doing this kind of travel.

The most importang thing we learned is when shit starts to go wrong, keep your head, don't panic, and it will work out. You do need to be a person who can fend for yourself when it gets sticky. While our family was going nuts at home because I had a broken leg 500 miles south of the border, worried about how we were going to get out, we were still having a good time! We were meeting challenges, and meeting people. Arranging transport for us and our bikes turned into a very interesting experience in itself. It diverted our trip, but we still accomplished our main goal of meeting new people, and EXPERIENCING where we were. Something I don't feel happens when you sit around in an overly sanitized "resort".

Seems like I forgot where I was headed with this when I started with "I'm no expert"... O yeah, I'm no expert on Baja, but after two trips I have learned a few things. Arranging insurance, proper documents for getting across the border, having a back up plan, all very daunting stuff, it was for me the first time, but a lot of the stuff that stressed me out the first time seems like no big deal now. So if you are thinking about it, there are some things I can help with.

We just acquired an enclosed trailer, which fits 4 bikes. So that is now an option for this trip.

We have 1 person that threw down a deposit for this trip. Picking him up in St. Louis on our way through. That leaves room for a max of 4 more bikes in the trailer and 1 more passenger in the truck.

I just booked with ChrisHaines.com for a 4 day deal around Ensenada and Mikes Sky Ranch Feb 16 thru 20.

Maybe see you guys down there ?

Muddy,

You back yet ? How was your trip ?