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Lance Kane and I did a tour in Lance's Dodge/KORE Bajatruck. We stopped by Ojos Negros to see if the trash around the area
adjacent to the highway was bad. To our pleasant surprise we notice only a small amount of trash and nothing major. Of course, we only check the area around the military check point and we do realize that the recent Baja 1000 race did not pass true there. Then, we proceeded to K77 on Hwy-3 (see two enclosed pictures) and here we found a large amount of trash. We also notice the fence has been torn down extensively and is in need of repair. K77 is a popular area for people to pit, chase, see the races and is the natural exit point for many rides. We definitely can help clean this up via our organization of R&R.

From K77 we moved to Valle de Trinidad and things looked very well too. During a previous visit we had notice one of the Virgin Mary concrete chapels sprayepainted with the number "1100". We were ready to paint it white again but we notice that someone had re-plastered the chapel with a thin layer of concrete. No further action was needed. We continued east on Hwy-3 towards San Matias.
We stopped to eat burritos de Machaca at our favorite place and talked with various friends there. Everyone was in good spirits since a local RECORD race was going on that Saturday and business was good for them.

From San Matias we traveled to Mike's Sky Ranch. There we sat at the bar and talked extensively with Mike Leon Jr (owner) about our project. We had a few drinks with Mike and discussed our plans. Mike was very receptive and mentioned that it was about time someone would take the bull by the horns and did something. Mike was very happy to see us and he was even more happy to express his support for the R&R effort. In fact, Mike did not allow us to pay for our bar tap!!! Thanks Mike. He said that we could hang a banner next to the pool porch and that he is 100% on board with R&R. Next time you go to Mike's check it out and mention that you are a member of R&R. No guarantee that you are
going to get free drinks of course.

From Mike's we traveled to El Coyote Ranch, owned by Jovita, Esteban and Alfredo Meling (the respected Meling Family). Of course, Ofelia was cooking a wonderful dinner as she always does. We decided to stay and since they had room we joined a group of 8 riders that were there in bikes, quads and a chase truck. Great group of guys and it turns out that it was one of my cousins celebrating his B-day at El Coyote as he always does every year. We had a superb dinner and drinks around the fire place and told Baja stories (AKA, talking Chorizo). The next morning we had another excellent breakfast and then we had a long conversations with the Meling family about R&R. The response from them was 100% supportive. In fact, Esteban told me that he was going to become a member himself!!! He explained to me some of the problems that off-roaders cause the ranch. For example, leaving a gate open. If a gate remains open the cattle will wonder off into an open area. Every time this happens he looses about a month of labor. That is correct, ONE MONTH of labor to the ranch. We at R&R told him that in the future we are going to help him with some signs that we can post at his gates. Of course, no signs will be posted without prior knowledge and authorization from the Meling Family. The entire Meling Family are very grateful for the effort that R&R is putting out. They are on board and 100% supportive of the effort. They know who we are and what we do. They welcome R&R members at the ranch and the used of the private land, trails and are willing to assist as needed. What else can we say here finally, Esteban said that we should take a picture next to his Coyote sign. Take a look for yourselfâ?õa Racer (Rudy Iribe) with the helmet and a Rancher (Esteban Meling) with the rancher hat. We just proved once again that communication, respect,education and courtesy among everyone is key to success in forming a relationship that will last for many year to come.

Thank you for supporting R&R. Remember that all of us together are R&R. Together we continue to form lasting relationships of mutual respect and understanding for year to come... that is, Priceless.

Rudy Iribe
END
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ORGANIZED RIDE COMING IN JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD NEWS! Racers and Ranchers will have their first organized ride on

Jan. 12-13, 2008.

It will be a northern Baja fun ride with a community
trash pick-up included. Riders will be broken down into sub-groups,
each led by a former or current Baja motorcycle champion or seasoned veteran.

The ride will depart from Hacienda Santa Veronica at 8AM on Sat. Jan 12 and each sub-group will choose a different route through the Sierra
Juarez pine forest and stopping in the vicinity of Ojos Negros where we
all will collectively conduct a trash pick-up from an area used by the
recent Baja 1000. Just prior to sunset, we will do a short ride to and
enjoy the night at the private Horsepower Ranch, as guests of Todd
Clement. Outstanding hospitality and great dinner. The Horsepower Ranch Off-Road Hall of Fame in the bar is impressive.

After a hearty Horsepower breakfast Sunday morning, each sub-group will make their way back to Hacienda Santa Veronica via a different route to arrive before sunset.

THE RIDE IS OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS OF RACERS AND RANCHERS.
The ride is aimed at intermediate to advanced riders, and will use
trails and accesses used by Baja vets. You will need to bring an off-road vehicle that is ready for the vigors of Baja and has been regularly maintained. Upon registration, we will send you a checklist of how to make sure your quad or mortorcycle is ready. Other vehicles will be required to carry their own spare parts and tools (UTV’s, etc.)

The ride will be supported by qualified EMT's and veteran support truck drivers.

COST: $150 per person for Racers and Ranchers members or $200 per person for non-members ($50 will go towards membership which includes a t-shirt, member decals and license plate frame).
This includes lodging, dinner, and breakfast at Horsepower Ranch;
trailside lunch Sat and Sun; bottled drinking water, energy drinks, and
soda; premium gasoline for 200 miles of bike riding; and donation for
chase truck fuel. Alcoholic beverages are not included in the price.
Fifty percent deposit ($75) is due no later than Thurs, Jan 3rd. No
refund on deposit after Jan 3rd. The remainder will be collected in U.S. dollars (cash) upon arrival at Hacienda Santa Veronica on Saturday morning, Jan. 12. First come, first serve. The ride WILL be capped. Pre-registration form is attached and should be mailed with payment ASAP to: Rudy Iribe, 3813 Via del Bardo, San Ysidro CA92173-1557

DO NOT register on racersandranchers.com; we will manually create your memberships after the event.

CHECKS
Make checks payable to Rudy Iribe and mail to: 3813 Via del Bardo, San
Ysidro CA 92173-1557PAYPAL

E-mail Rudy and request PayPal. ADD $4.00 for PayPal Service Fee.
rodolfoiribe@sbcglobal.net (Add $4 for Paypal service charge)COME JOIN US FOR A FUN-FILLED WEEKEND OF AWESOME BAJA RIDING AND HELP ESTABLISH THE FIRST RACERS AND RANCHERS COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT! THIS RIDE IS OPEN TO ALL. Questions: rudy@racersandranchers.com

Secure parking is available at Hacienda Santa Veronica.
Rooms available at Hacienda Santa Veronica Friday night, Jan.11.
Contact Joan Ellis 619-423-3830.


11/09/07

With the 1000 festivities beginning this Sunday we wanted to share this great write by an unknown author about the first Mexican 1000 and how it made history. We look forward to being back in the office after the race.

The best of luck and safety to all competitors, race team members and families who will be there.

A RIDE DOWN THE PENINSULA

The Men Who Started A Whole New Kind Of Racing

Nearly 100 years after the acquisition of California North by the United States the Auto Club of Southern California surveyed Mexico’s 1000-mile long Baja Peninsula in an effort to make a legible road map. While in the process they planted small blue and white baked enamel signs along the way directing greenhorn travelers south. (An experienced driver would never even attempt the ordeal.) Left untouched by native Mexicans over the years, these road signs began to find their way into living rooms and dens when stateside adventurers trekked south during the heyday of ‘Jeeping’. Adventuresome 4-wheelers would cross the Mexican border to experience this sparsely populated desert; now picked clean of those nifty little Auto Club markers; and promptly loose their way. Partly because of these perverse pleasure seekers Baja’s economy began to grow; Ensenada had become the second busiest seaport in all of Mexico and an observatory site found on Baja Norte’s 9286 foot Sierra De San Pedro Martir mountains boast as being one of the largest gathering of telescopes in the north western continent. Not an accident, the air is so pure one can see both the Pacific coast and, looking east, view the Mexican mainland seacoast on the other side of the Sea of Cortez; about a distance of 100 miles.

It’s not often the right people get together at the right time to make history. This whole idea of riding a motorcycle the length of the Baja Peninsula against a clock belongs to motorcycle racer turned Hollywood stuntman, Bud Ekins. And it was American Honda Motor Company who supplied the vehicle to make it work. Actually, it was AHM Sales Manager Jack McCormack and Western States Sales Manager Walt Fulton whom Bud convinced a “Baja Trail Ride” with Honda’s brand new CL72 Scrambler would be a great way to kick off sales for Honda’s first dirt bike. Jack and Walt then had to convince AHM management to set the wheels in motion. To the Japanese a failure of this magnitude made the idea “difficult sell’ for the U.S. team. Remember, there was no record to break, just a record to make. And the primary job would be to get it done.

The plan was Bud and Dave Ekins would ride the new bikes and Walt Fulton would fly cover, not a bad idea. Then something happened to the basic plan. Triumph Motorcycle Distributor, Johnson Motors, would not allow their key and most famous dealer, Bud, to participate. So, younger brother Dave, (who had been racing prototype 250cc Honda Scramblers), set out to find another partner. Then McCormack suggested asking Bill Robertson and Bill Jr. owners of Honda of Hollywood, a major retail operation in the heart of movie town. Bill Robertson Senior had spent many hours flying Baja on fishing trips and seemed a fit aboard Fulton’s chase plane as guide/navigator, co-pilot. Bill Jr., an accomplished desert racer at age 24, would ride the other Honda.

Honda management decided they needed editorial proof of accomplishment so they invited Cycle World magazine publisher Joe Parkhurst. Then Joe asked WW2 aviator and friend John McLaughlin to do the flying. John said, ”Great, you pay for the gas.” The year was 1962, groundwork for the Auto Club maps had begun in 1933. The team used 30-year-old maps of mostly dirt roads that would detour anytime a vehicle got stuck or disabled. As it turned out the whole event was a lot of guesswork and luck, both good and bad. There would be two motorcycles on the ground and one airplane flying cover with a second bearing witness; and an additional free-lance photojournalist. Then to add to the adventure no private airplane is allowed to fly after dark in Mexico. And all this would be done without radios, GPS, or any other modern navigational aid for the bike riders. The actual ride started at midnight then finished a day and a night and another day later, 39 hours 56 minutes. Dave and Bill would go without sleep for nearly 60 hours.

Proof of these types of cross-country adventures began with Cannonball Baker’s famous pre WW1 ride across the U.S. following railroad tracks and using available telegraph stations to confirm progress. Baker’s ride was done with an Indian motorcycle. For the ’62 Baja attempt telegrams would be sent at the start and finish. Those 1962 telegrams do exist as does the story and photographs published by Joe Parkhurst in the June’62 issue of Cycle World magazine. This is not a fairy tale.

Logistics for this attempt were a nightmare. Going south, the last gas station is a Pemex all-nighter in Ensenada 65 miles into the ride. The next real gas station is on the outskirts of LaPaz nearly a 1,000 miles away. Range of the motorcycles, as in all internal combustion contraptions, depends upon per mile consumption and fuel tank size. These CL72s could empty their 2.4 gallon gas tanks in less than 50 miles if held wide open, but could cover 80 or 90 miles when running under half throttle. An additional one gallon plastic gas can was placed inside a cargo bag mounted on the fuel tank if needed.

In February ’62 Fulton flew the team down the Baja Peninsula in order to see where they had to go. Unlike modern Baja Race pre-runs, this one was done in an airplane. Walt also needed to land on sections of the course at about 80-mile increments to facilitate fuel stops. As it turned out there always seemed to be a rancho with a suitable dirt strip and a few 55 gallon fuel drums near these important sites. Fuel would be siphoned from these drums with an old garden hose filling what seemed to be one gallon glass wine bottles. Splashing a couple of gallons into a waiting bike wasn’t a problem. But climbing the wing of a Cessna and filtering 40 gallons though a chamois, one gallon at a time, did take a while. Airplanes need gas too. Another reason for the pre-run flight was to determine which route would be better; the Gulf side with its more traveled road, or the Pacific side that seemed to be shorter and offered fewer rocks. Mistake #1; they chose the less traveled Pacific route.

The decision was made to start this attempt at midnight, (mistake #2 because both riders had worked a full day before driving 3 hours to San Diego.) the 3rd Saturday of March, 1962. Getting lost in the dark shouldn’t be a problem riding that twisting highway from Tijuana to Ensenada. From there to the A.M. meeting in San Quintin is also well traveled. Both bikes had been refueled a second time at the end of the pavement in Santo Thomas. A raised corrugated dirt road from there to Futon’s waiting plane was very straight and fast. The CLs were just skimming high spots as daylight broke to the left of the riders. Gas, a bite to eat, and they were on their way. The road becomes two deep ruts as it turns inland towards a tiny village called El Rosario. A sharp left turn directly into the sun blinded both riders at the same instant a wire stretched across a driveway snatched Bill and Dave off their bikes. Luckily it was a slow speed crash and only the bikes suffered damage, (Lucky incident #1. There could have been broken bones.) with Bill’s CL72 getting the worst of it.

Then the two rode another 40 miles towards the Santa Ines airstrip. The team was on target for the predetermined 32 hour schedule as they slid up next to the Cessna. At this juncture Bill Sr. noticed Bill Jr’s. rear fender support had broken. Both bikes had lost their taillight lenses. The decision was made to remove the entire rear fender and run without, (Even though they had enough spare parts in the plane to put a new fender on.) Bill Jr. then had to look forward to riding over 700 miles without a fender and the protection it offered. (Mistake #3).
They had an unscheduled meeting of bikes and plane at Chapala Dry Lake when John McLaughlin and his Cessna 195 met up with the Honda team. The press was aboard and it became ‘picture taking’ time. Needless to say, the schedule was out the window, from now on it was ‘please the photographer’. A couple of hours later Dave and Bill were chasing chickens around a small adobe house in the five casa village of Rosarito. Everybody had fun except the chickens; as precious daylight began slipping away. (Mistake #4)

The next stop was El Arco near the 28th parallel, it also marks the separation between Pacific Time and Mountain Time. El Arco is absolutely the worst place to spend any time in Baja. Even the water well is planted downstream from the villages only outhouse. Walt and Bill Sr. waited as long as they could with no sign of the two Hondas. They were scheduled to meet the bikes in the middle of night at La Purisima, another two stops down the road; and they had to be there. Meanwhile Bill and Dave broke the crest of a hill on the road leading into El Arco just in time to see the Cessna 180 lift off the runway as the sun hurried towards the evening horizon. Incredibly, a Federal Soldier was there to check the rider’s papers, then led them to a five gallon gas container and cheese sandwiches left by Fulton and Robertson.

El Arco to San Ignacio is about the most miserable 70 miles there is to wrestle a bike. Long ago volcanos spewed a bunch of nasty square rocks down there, then the rocks got covered with sand blown in from the coast. The message here is rocks aren’t too bad as long as you can see them, invisible rocks are a different story. It took Bill and Dave the better part of four hours and many get-offs before they made it to the San Ignacio airport, where another care package was waiting.
From there the road is just two tracks on the Pacific side mostly of sand with a few rounded stones. They headed southwest then picked up the coast and turned due south. After dark the warm desert air pulls a blanket of fog in from the ocean and obliterates the moon and stars. Celestial navagation? Forget it. A little later Dave noticed tire tracks in his headlight beam. He stopped, took a look and decided the tracks were their own. (Not even a good guess, who else would be down there on a motorcycle?) Lucky incident #2. The two adventurers had been riding in a circle. So without a compass or any other guidance the wiser move was to stop and wait for the sun to appear. The other choice would be to run out of gas. They were lost.

Meanwhile Walt and Bill Sr. had spent the night tending a campfire and waiting for the two boys to make a showing. It didn’t happen; the two lost and exhausted riders had built a campfire then waited for daylight to appear. Then it would just be a matter of riding with one’s left shoulder being warmed by that welcome ball o’ fire, the morning sun.
When daylight broke Bill Sr. encouraged Walt to take the plane and fly north to find Bill Jr. and Dave. Fog was still hanging around so visibility was questionable, they over flew the two Honda riders in the morning mist. About a half-hour into the search and without any positive sighting, Walt decided to set the Cessna down and have a look at the road for motorcycle tracks. The chosen landing spot was far too soft for the Cessna and Fulton immediately reacted to mud trying to pull his plane into a quagmire. (Lucky incident #3, the plane should have crashed.) The 180 broke loose and, relishing their good fortune, the two flew directly back to the La Purisima meeting pace.
Meanwhile the pair of CL riders found San Juanico, a three casa fishing village complete with barking dogs and curious children. They purchased two gallon bottles of green/grey gas and two warm Cokes. Then, after a few minutes, were on their way south running on stale fuel that didn’t agree with the high performance OHC twins.

Walt Fulton landed his mud splattered Cessna 180 just a half hour ahead of the Hondas at Purisima’s dirt air strip, the easy part lay ahead. It would be another 80 miles of solid road to Constitucion; gas, food, then the last 130 miles of Mexican pavement. Which offers no guarantee because that thin Baja Sur tarmac has a reputation for nasty hard to see pot-holes.

Bill and Dave spotted the airfield and Cessna as the dirt road abruptly ended. Relieved that the worst part was over, and with the plane in sight, they opened the Hondas up for the first time. As they reached about 70 mph one exhaust pipe started spewing black smoke when Bill’s CL lost a cylinder. Dave, without hesitation, planted a boot over the dead pipe and pushed Bill into the airstrip. Dave wanted to push Bill the last 130 miles; after all, they had ridden together for nearly two days solid. Bill Sr. was for it but Walt nixed the idea. His reasoning was he didn’t want to destroy the other CL and blow the whole attempt. Walt was right because no one there knew at that time the removal of the rear fender led to a perforated paper air filter which caused the holed piston 700 miles later.

Running out of gas in Baja is not an option, and getting lost is easy. The last 130 mile leg is a little beyond the range of those CLs even when cruising at half-throttle. Dave did switch to reserve near the outskirts of La Paz then saved the day by using that last gallon stored inside the tank bag. There was additional panic when Dave lost a few more minutes finding the telegraph office. Still, he made it to the LaPaz telegraph office in 4 minutes less than 40 hours. Bill Junior finished on one cylinder an hour and a half later closely followed by his Dad giving chase in a LaPaz based taxi.

Did the ride pay off for American Honda Motor Company? You bet. From ’62 thru ’68 AHM sold more than 89,000 CL type motorcycles. Two major races have been held in Baja each year since 1967, thanks to an ex-marine named Eddie Pearlman and automotive journalist Don Francisco. These two put the first half-dozen races on under the guise of National Off Road Racing Association. Then the Mexican Government disallowed NORRA future race sanctions and tried pulling the race off them selves. That did not work. Mickey Thompson and Sal Fish came in with SCORE and two well organized races have been run in Baja each year thereafter.. Subsequently Baja’s economy and development has been growing by leaps and bounds; much of it because of the Mexican 1000 race which began in 1967, thirty eight years ago.
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October 25, 2007

First, we would like to thank Baja.Net, BajaNomad and Thumpertalk for making our presence public. In our first week we have had several new memberships. For those of you who have signed up, we have shipped the member packets without the Racers and Ranchers license plate frames due to them being backordered. We will send them as soon as they arrive.

Although we had not mentioned it, we had intended on providing membership cards as well. As of right not we do not want to spend the $3000 plus dollars to be able to produce them. If anyone has a lead on a less expensive route please let us know. It is our intent to do so and we will let you know when we are to the point in which we can. We will number our members and issue cards accordingly.

Lastly, due to pre-running schedules and our real jobs we will not be in the office too much for the next three weeks. We will check email and do our best to respond to our members inquiries during that time.

Again, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Racers and Ranchers
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October 18, 2007

After many months of hard work Rudy and I have launched what we hope to be the leader in preserving access to Baja’s vast beauty.

The concept of Racers and Ranchers began last year while riding south of Colonet. If you know Rudy and have ridden with him then you have stopped and witnessed him talk to many locals in every corner of Baja. There is a joke amongst us as to how far you can ride until he stops and knows someone. Last year pre-running for the 1000 we were south of El Arco; both of us were out of gas and miles from the highway. We sat there for a while and one truck came by in four hours. Rudy knew the guy! He drove Rudy to get gas and drove him back one hour each way.

Last year in the 1000 I flatted south of Constitution. I had no tube (don’t ask). I was surrounded by locals all trying to help. The pinch was almost 1⁄2 inch wide; I could not patch it. No one had a tube; there were not pits around, just farmers and their families. I asked everyone for a tube. One guy said he had one but it would take him 20 minutes to go get it. I waited, was provided cold soda’s, signed autographs and posed for pictures watching the time and stressing out. Soon the guy shows up on his own 1970’s motorcycle. I asked him where the tube was and he pointed to his front wheel. I cannibalized his front wheel. I fixed my bike, and went to reassemble his. He said no. I then tried to hand him $20 and he said “no, you must hurry up and go”; “we all want you to win”. I left there with a roar of people clapping and yelling. It was an amazing experience to be just another guy and be made to feel like a humbled hero. As riders, racers and team members we all share these profound experiences.

Racers and Ranchers is our way of letting the Mexican people of Baja know that the off-road community appreciates their hospitality, support and access.

Some are concerned that we could create more problems for race promoters by increasing the demand for payments to land owners for access. This is not our mission. We will take our membership revenue and use it to fund “acts” of goodwill. We will not hand money to anyone as a way of gaining or continuing access.
We have put a lot of thought, time, effort and money into creating Racers and Ranchers. It is our sincere hope that you will join in supporting our efforts. In addition to membership we will need members to volunteer for weekend work parties once we are under way.

Lastly, we wish every competitor the best of luck and safety in the upcoming Tecate Score Baja 1000.

See you in Cabo!

Sincerely,
Lance Kane