Ride Schedule and Other Info
Depart from Vespa Motorsport at 7:30am on Saturday September 21st.
Ride to San Quintin, MX and stay at Don Eddie’s Landing on the Bay of San Quintin. It’s an extremely scenic 210-235 mile ride each direction, depending on the border crossing. We’ll either cross the border in Tijuana or Tecate (weather and time permitting). If it’s too hot, we’ll stay coastal.
This ride is for experienced riders only. We will be on the freeway in the United States for up to 12 miles. If all goes as planned we should arrive at Don Eddie’s by 4 in the afternoon. We’ll have time to walk around the bay, have some margaritas, revel in our accomplishments, and take in the sunset. We’ll have basic hotel accommodations, seafood dinner buffet, and breakfast buffet while at Don Eddie’s. Don Eddie’s is NOT fancy but it’s quintessential Baja and even has WiFi. I would not recommend drinking the tap water. (Read more on Don Eddie’s.)
Return to Vespa Motorsport Sunday (the 22nd) around sun-down.
Apologies for the short notice, but as a result of the condensed planning, space on this trip is limited to the first 25-30 people that pay to participate. |
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| There’s something about riding a scooter in Baja that is distinctively different than in San Diego. Those who’ve experienced it will know what I’m talking about. Maybe it’s the interactions with a more courteous, observant, and patient type of automobile driver. Maybe it’s the unmolested coastal landscape that extends from the beach to the cliffs and into the mountains, which you won’t see in San Diego unless you go to the water treatment facility in Point Loma. Maybe it’s as simple as beautiful mountain roads that aren’t littered with unsightly guard rails. Maybe it’s just the adventure of being in a foreign country with nothing but yourself, your scooter, and some comrades. Whatever it is, it’s always a good time. |
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| The scooterist adventurous enough to head to Mexico will find great roads through untouched country. |
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Why Are You Guys Doing This?
Good question. My objective with this trip is to provide a platform for an overnight ride into Mexico for fellow scooterists that might never go on such a trip without the support and organization of someone who’s done it before. I feel that Baja California is so conducive to scooter touring that everyone should experience it first-hand. This trip will be trailed by a support vehicle. Additionally, the board of tourism for San Quintin will escort any caravan from the border all the way to the bay. That’s what I call hospitality and security. Assuming things go well, this will hopefully be the first of many such trips.
There is an inherent amount of risk for myself and our business, I’m assuming, by extending this invitation. If I weren’t 100% confident in a positive outcome, I wouldn’t be proposing such a trip, so those of you who may be nervous but who want to come along will just have to trust me. |
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NOTE ON ONE STRETCH OF DIRT ROAD:
Don Eddie’s is located on the edge of the bay and is accessed by a 3 mile hard packed dirt/gravel road with a short sandy stretch. Anyone with off-road experience can comfortably traverse this entire road at a speed of 40-50 MPH. |
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| Personally, I have a combined 200 miles’ worth of experience riding two-wheelers off-road and have no problems hauling ass on this particular road to Don Eddie’s. However, if you’re intimidated or nervous, don’t worry. We can either put your scooter in the support van and/or have an experienced rider get it in and out of Don Eddie’s for you. Quoting legendary off-road rider Rob Filipony, “When in doubt, throttle out.” It’s counter-intuitive but very true: Speed is your friend when it comes to dirt, gravel, and sand. Last thing I want is to have anyone yard-sale it on the dirt road. |
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Here’s what it costs
- $75 per scooter (assuming solo driver)
- $110 per scooter (w/ driver and passenger sharing one double bed)
- $125 per scooter (w/ driver and passenger requiring individual beds)
- $135 per 2 scooters (w/ couple sharing a double bed)
(Payment is for a bed, not a private room. We’ll be sharing rooms between couples/individuals)
Here’s what you get
- An escorted ride to San Quintin, MX
- A support vehicle (just in case)
- All fuel and toll costs are pre-paid
- Overnight stay at Don Eddie’s Landing
- Seafood Dinner Buffet
- Breakfast Buffet
- One complimentary Margarita (but you’ll be on your own for anything else from the bar.) We will bring a huge cooler that will be very well stocked with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
When
- Depart from Vespa Motorsport at 7:30am on Saturday September 21st.Show up with a FULL tank of gas in your scooter. Make sure your tummy is full as well.
- Return Sunday, September 22nd, around sun-down.
What you need to bring
(Keep in mind: it’s Mexico, not Mars and only about 36 hours total)
- Passport or passport card.
- A recently serviced and mechanically-sound scooter that is FREEWAY Legal and capable of sustained speeds of 55 MPH. (Big props if you want to ride your Buddy. Anything smaller than a Buddy 150 will be too small to keep up. Ideally, any 150cc scooter will NOT be coming 2-up.)
- Spending money. U.S. Dollars are accepted EVERYWHERE in Baja. Credit cards are NOT. Bring small denominations (1’s, 5’s, 10’s). If you spend $20USD on anything along the way then you’re getting ripped off. If you pay with a 20 and are getting change then you’ll probably be getting pesos. Current exchange rate hovers around 12-to-1.
- An overnight bag: keep it simple.
- A bottle of water and some simple road-side snacks.
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What You Need to Know (FAQs)
- Roads: the roads are all well-paved.
- Twisties: There will be some short twisty sections through the hills.
- Freeway: We will be taking the freeway for a short stretch in San Deigo.
- Crossing: We will be crossing back into the United States through Tijuana.
- Liability Release: You will be required to sign a release of liability in order to participate.
- Liability insurance is required. To purchase insurance click here.
- Space is limited to the first 30 people that pay and RSVP. (See below).
- Food: We will NOT be stopping for lunch on the ride down or back. Eat a healthy breakfast and carry some snacks on your scooter. Stopping for lunch kills the momentum. The earlier we get to Don Eddie’s the better.
- Gas: We’ll stop every 1-1.5 hours to get gas, stretch, drink/snack, and use the facilities.
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Insurance
I live by the “grip it, and rip it” philosophy and have personally NEVER purchased liability insurance for any trips into Mexico. Carrying some cash and not doing anything stupid is your best insurance in my opinion. Per Mexican law, however, it is required. |
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| Remember, Mexico has “a guilty until proven innocent” judicial system. It’s within the rights of Mexican law to impound your vehicle and put you in prison in the event of an incident on the roadways involving an uninsured motorist. I know: this sounds intense. For the sake of keeping all things transparent, this is the reality. That’s why insurance will be required for all participants on this trip. |
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How to Participate
If you want to go, refer back to the “What It Costs” section above and send appropriate payment to paypal@motorsportscooters.com OR bring cash by Vespa Motorsport.When paying via Paypal, please make sure to include “SAN QUINTIN” in the subject line.
Please RSVP for this trip by September 13th.
In the body of your email please provide the following information:
- First and Last Name of attendee(s).
- Contact phone and email
- Contact name and phone number for an emergency contact in the U.S.
- The type of scooter you’ll be riding.
- Any dietary or any other special needs.
Email me with ANY questions whatsoever. Finally, if you can’t make this trip but are interested in additional scooter trips into Mexico, reply to this email and let me know: I’ll make sure to add you to my “Mexico-ready” list.
Best Regards,
Steve Bailey
“Viva Vespa. Viva Mexico.”
P.S.- sorry for the length of this email
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American Drifter 