2017 World Champ Tour!
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 10:18AM Touring Baja
Having just completed a ride in Baja with Charlie Marshall, Kerry Barnes, Jimmy Sones and myself I had to give it a name. Jimmy was the unofficial point man with the rest of us following into many new areas we had never ridden. We saw some spectacular new areas and some less fun stuff that included about 10 miles of mud that stopped front wheels from rolling and destroyed fork seals! In our 4 days of riding we covered about 500 miles from the Gulf to the Coast and back, a wide variety of terrain. We even spotted a Mountain lion on the coastal run!
Now back to the name, ‘World Champ Tour’! It seems Kerry, aka “el Guapo” likes to remind anyone who will listen that he has earned a World Championship title, lol. I think he told me it was in the WORCS series, over 60 class back in 1945 or something like that! Of course you get a few geezers sitting down to dinner after a ride each day and the stories flow freely. So Charlie let’s Kerry know he also has a WORCS ‘world champ’ title. But his is in the 50 class, so now el Guapo has been one upped in age bracket. I was thoroughly entertained and kept quiet for a few more dinners. Then I let it fly that I had Two World Champ titles, Score Off Road World Champion (1980) and 4-Stroke World Champion (1982). Jimmy chimed in on the SCORE race and said, “that was You?” “I remember that race I was there that day!” So el Guapo got quiet for a minute, well maybe not a full minute but at least 7 seconds! It was a nice 7 seconds, lol!
I think maybe Jimmy was a little bummed because he couldn’t lay a World Champ title on the dinner table. So he shared his accomplishment of winning the Baja 1000 Ironman class! That means SOLO!!! I pretty much shut up, but el Guapo seemed to miss the SOLO reference, so he soldiered on with his entertaining little stories and we all nodded and smiled. I had ridden on a TEAM and rode 230 miles during a Baja 1000 and my butt was whooped when I was done!
We had a GREAT time, riding some obscure areas with almost no tracks, beautiful views in remote areas and very little in the way of problems. I was the only real hindrance one day when my countershaft bolt backed out and the sprocket came off. We searched the trail but never found the bolt. But since we had just started our 3rd day we were only 10 miles or so out. Jimmy and Charlie rode back and luckily located a KTM to rob the parts and we were back on the trail. Saved my butt! I tried an aftermarket washer for the first time and it did not do the job. I will be using the stock bolt and washer now!
On our muddy excursion day el Guapo had to beg for gas on the trail when his bike went on reserve with about 40 miles to go. It wasn’t his fault though, you will have to ask him why. He started to tell me but I just put my bike in gear and rode away! Then we spent the next hour or so in the mud and el Guapo must have picked his bike up about half a dozen times after tipping over. It looked like his bike must have weighed 500 pounds by the way he had to pick it up! I was going to help him but didn’t want to insult a former World Champ so I just waited patiently, and took pictures!
In Catavina we met 3 youngsters that were exploring new rides themselves. Jimmy allowed them to ride with us the following day as long as they didn’t pass the geezers on the trail and they agreed. I was the sweep rider the whole trip so I got a front row seat and got quite a chuckle in the first 10 miles. These guys rode just fine, but they were no match for our Geezer World Champs! Charlie and el Guapo had to wait for these kids! It was not a bad thing because it allowed our group to rest on occasion while waiting for the Monster Energy/Red Bull/RockStar generation. When we came to the more difficult sections of rock climbs and tight singletrack el Guapo would run away from the kids. The trail that day was one of the best we rode all week. I hope the kids appreciated Jimmy showing them the way.
We had a GREAT week and saw lots of new stuff, I hope I can go back to see it again before too long or I will forget. Since I am not a GPS guy. Maybe someday, just not ready yet. Besides, Jimmy lost one on the trail and me being a poor broke down retired moto dude on a fixed income that lives in the ghetto, I can’t afford to do that!
#33
Look back at life and say “I can’t believe I did that”, instead of saying, “I wish I had done that!”
Reader Comments (3)
The world Champs! Haha! Awesome!...great read!..."Monster Energy/Redbull/Rockstar generation "😂....but I'm calling BS on the Mountain Lion!😀
I was one of the three kids! Twas a pleasure to ride with Jimmy, you, Charlie and El Guapo! Might not ever be able to top that day. Ride was epic and the invite and the knowledge shared by Jimmy is greatly appreciated. I look forward to riding with the champs again!!!
absolutely amazing scenery, looks like a great ride with lots of stories to be told after each day.. thanks for sharing #33 : )