My fourth day in Baja was a much slower and less stressful than the previous two.  Baja is always full of adventure, that’s the allure.  However, I was glad for a day off, so to speak. 

I slept in a little and after breakfast I met up with Charlie in the hotel parking lot.  Charlie had pulled an enclosed race car trailer from Houston.  He brought an Isuzu Rodeo in case he needed a second vehicle.  I thought it was a little crazy at first, but it came in useful on race day.  His trailer also became the garage to store our motorcycles.  It was nice not to leave them out in the open for everyone to see.

After spending time around the race bike, I knew there were things that needed to be addressed before the race.  I started going over the bike making a list of things we needed to “bullet proof”.  Eric and I sent Charlie a list, actually several lists, previously, but there were still items that were not up to my standards. 

I started by checking bolts all over the bike that I was concerned about.  I checked the spokes on the wheels and found many that were on the loose side.  I carefully tightened them and checked that the wheels were “true”.  One of the requirements by SCORE tech inspection was to have the spokes zip tied or safety wired where they crossed each other.  I kept all my bikes like this in case I broke a spoke, it would be held in place until it could be replaced.  It is a tedious task, but not difficult.  I grabbed my can of safety wire and dove into the front wheel, followed by the rear. 

The cobblestone parking lot at the hotel becomes a giant pit area on race weeks.  Most of the patrons of the hotel are racers, both motorcycle teams and race car teams.  Everyone is friendly and often people stop by to talk about the racecourse or I would stop and chat with others.  There were several racecars in different states of race prep.  Occasionally an engine was fired up and carefully tuned while the mechanics hovered around the carburetor with screw drivers, or carefully adjusted the timing without shocking themselves on the spark plug wires.  I saw one VW powered pre-runner buggy with all the wheels off while the bearings and suspension were being checked before the next excursion on the racecourse.  There were several security guards at the entrance, and they were enjoying the activity.

I needed to find a welder to repair Mike’s Honda XR 400.  The shifter shaft was broken, and it needed a temporary fix that only a welder could do.  The proper way to fix it would be to completely disassemble the engine and replace it.  I asked the security guards where I could find a shop and after some discussion, I was given directions to a shop about a mile away.  I loaded Mike’s bike into my pickup and headed out.  I had some difficulty following the guard’s directions, but after a few minutes found the mechanic shop.  It was a nice large mechanic shop with multiple bays around a center parking area.  Along the sidewalk a tall black rod iron fence kept the hoodlums at bay.  One section swung to the inside creating a gate not much wider than my pickup.  I pulled in with my Cummins powered Dodge and almost immediately a man was standing at my door asking if he could help me.  I explained the situation and showed him the shifter.  He understood exactly what I needed and assured me he had welded up many motorcycles in the same way.  I unloaded Mike’s bike and pushed it into one of the open bays.  I leaned the bike over on its side to expose the side of the engine better.  I held the shifter where I thought it should be and a man started welding.  A few minutes later he was finished and asked me to inspect his work.  I was pleased and thought he did a good job.  I believe that shifter was still held on by that weld several years later when Mike sold the bike. 

I returned to the hotel to find Mike there.  He was happy with the repair and together we addressed a few other issues he was having.  Mike told me about another Baja adventure that sooner or later most endure.  He ran a stop light, which is extremely easy to do in Mexico, right in front of a policeman.  Stoplights in Mexico do not meet any of the standards that are required in the US.  Some are mounted 15 feet up on poles and others are so small they are hard to see.  Never-the-less, the law doesn’t take kindly to red light runners.  The policeman pulled him over and threatened to take him to jail or pay up!  Mike didn’t want to go to jail or give him money, so he bribed him with a few Hooters swag items.  So, if you ever see a policeman in Ensenada using a Hooters koozie or a Hooters sticker on his police car, you know he met Mike.

Before long the day was shot, and we all went to dinner.  Over dinner Mike told me that he didn’t want to ride the Summit section during the race if there was somewhere a little easier he could ride.  The smoothest section was the coast section, but it would be in the dark which can also be tricky and dangerous.  We made plans to go pre-run it in a couple of days. 

Day five was another uneventful day.  I drove Charlie out of town so he could pre-run his section of the course.  He was riding the race bike, and I still didn’t care for that.  It isn’t a good idea to put miles on the race bike.  He had a Suzuki DRZ 400 with him, but he didn’t want to ride it.  It was his team and his bike, so I had no say in the matter.  I didn’t ride my bike but drove “chase” for Charlie.  I met him at the road crossing in Ojos and again at the next road crossing we all knew as KM 77.  And lastly, I drove into Nuevo Junction and picked him up at the end of his section.  There would be a Honda pit at this spot which is a great place to make the rider change. 

That evening Charlie spoke to Brad and Brent in San Felipe.  Their pre-running was going well without any issues.  They planned to join us in Ensenada in a few days.

Day six was another uneventful day.  We hung out around the hotel and tinkered on a few things on the race bike.  Other teams continued with their preparations in the parking lot.  They were working on both race cars and pre-runner cars and trucks. 

I don’t know how the idea started, but Charlie became acquainted with an organization that donated wheelchairs to people in foreign countries.  These wheelchairs were very simple and could be repaired with regularly available parts anywhere in the world. The large tires were common bicycle size.  The only catch was that we needed to assemble them.  The first part of the task was to source some common plastic chairs.  The legs would be trimmed, and the wheels would be attached after drilling holes in what remained of them.  They were not as easily assembled as we were led to believe.  But after a few tries Mike and I were able to assemble 6 of them.  The next step was to find somewhere to donate them.

Late that evening, Eric Brown arrived to join the party.  We made plans to pre-run the next day.  He wasn’t happy with riding the Mike’s Sky Ranch loop, but he was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make the race a success. 

Day seven turned out to be another great day in Baja.  I laid out a pre-run plan so we could all ride our sections.  Charlie would give Eric a ride on Hwy 3 out to the beginning of his section and then pick up Mike and I when we finished our pre-run in the afternoon.  Mike and I would take my truck south on Hwy 1 to a highway crossing near the town of San Vicente.  This is where Mike and Eric would make their rider change during the race.  When Eric completed his pre-run, he would bring my truck back to town. 

After about an hour drive, Mike and I unloaded our bikes and donned our riding gear.  I hid the keys to my pickup, and we headed west toward the Pacific coast.  I knew what lay ahead and I couldn’t wait to show Mike.  The racecourse was smooth and easy riding.  We rode through a gap between two low coastal mountains before crossing a plain dotted with short desert bushes.  Without warning, the land gives way to a drop to the Pacific Ocean.  I stopped at the top of the hill and let Mike catch up.  We both stood there in awe of the waves crashing into the rocks and cliffs below us. 

After a few minutes, we continued.  The racecourse turned north and followed the coast.  There was no beach along here.  The coast was a cliff.  At times we were merely feet from the edge.  Just before the vilage of Erendira the racecourse turns down a wide sandy wash toward the ocean.  The sand was extremely loose and deep.  Mike and I fought our way through while avoiding some large holes someone had dug.  The next obstacle was a man-made dyke we had to ride down.  It was made of softball size rocks.   The loose rocks rolled around under our tires which caused our bikes to slip and slide side to side.  This was the most difficult part of this section and Mike handled it just fine.  The key to riding the dyke was to keep loose on the bike and let it slide around a little with a nice steady throttle.

At the entrance the village of Erendira we came to a closed gate.  Two young boys were standing there waiting for pre-runners.  The held out their hands and asked for “Esteeekers”.  I dug through my backpack and produced a few assorted stickers for each of them.  I always came to Baja prepared to pass out stickers.  The kids have no clue what the stickers represent, and they don’t care.  The two boys eyes lit up with excitement and the proceeded to fight over who would open the gate for us. 

The village of Erendia sits mostly on the east side of the dirt road that parallels the coast.  A single row of small brown houses faces the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.  I imagine most of the residents made their livelihood fishing. 

The racecourse continued to follow the coast north.  We ripped along the smooth graded road with speeds over 60 mph.  On race day the top motorcycles and trucks would reach speeds of more than 100 mph through this section, even in the dark.

Soon we turned away from the coast again heading up  through the mountains.  The racecourse continued to be fast and smooth as we weaved between the mountains.  About 50 miles after leaving my pickup we arrived in the town of Santo Tomas on Hwy 1.  There was a gas station with a restaurant, so we gassed up our bikes and sat down for some tacos.  Mike informed me that he wanted to ride that section of the racecourse even though it would be dark at that time. 

The racecourse joined the highway and headed north for a few miles to the town of Uruapan.  Mike and I picked a spot for our rider change at the end of the highway section.  He would only have 60 miles, but he seemed perfectly happy with that. 

We left the pavement and headed northeast again toward Hwy 3 where Charlie was patiently waiting for us.  Unfortunately, the last 50 miles of racecourse was used for “outbound” and “inbound”.  Pre-running the last 50 miles towards Ensenada is strictly forbidden for safety reasons.  So we had to turn right at Tres Hermanos Ranch and continue on the “outbound” racecourse to the highway intersection at KM77.   We met up with Charlie who was bored out of his mind.  Unfortunately for him, smart phones were still about 4 years away, so he had to settle with just being bored.  He had been waiting about 4 hours for us.  We loaded up and headed back into town.  Mike was in a much better mood after the ride.  His skills were improving quickly, and he was glad he found a section he could ride comfortably. 

On the drive I finalized my race day plan.  Charlie would ride the first 95 miles to Honda Pit 2.  I would ride the next 105 miles to Honda Pit 4.  Brent would ride the next 70 miles through the San Felipe whoops and give the bike to Brad.  Brad would ride the bike to Honda Pit 8 around race mile 400.  Eric would take over and ride the mountainous Mike’s Sky Ranch section to race mile 575.  Mike would ride the next 60 miles and give the bike back to me.  I would ride the final 75 miles to the finish line.

Eric was already at the hotel when we arrived.  His day was long but uneventful.  His section was not fast.  The San Pedro Martir mountains are steep, and the racecourse is twisty.  Usually, we figured a bike would average about 25-30 mph through there.  He was still not happy about racing his section, but he knew it was for the best of the team and would gladly do it on race day.