Good buddy and former fellow paratrooper Mike is a regular contributor to the ExhaustNotes blog. Mike is in Baja and he recently did something I’ve never attempted. He and his good buddie Bobbie went swimming with the whale sharks. Mike sent this dispatch to us and we’re happy to share it with you.
Joe frequently posts of the magical experiences in Baja and one he focuses on heavily (for good reason) are the tours in Guerrero Negro to see the gray whales and their babies. Having experienced that twice I concur with Joe’s description of this fabulous encounter, however, the tour operators for the gray whales won’t let you disembark the panga to swim with these giant mammals. I know this because I have asked to jump overboard to swim with the whales during both tours I was on. This to me (with my ever-questionable judgment) seemed like the next logical step in being able to enhance the experience.
Two weeks ago, as I entered La Paz I instantly was drawn to the many advertisements for tour companies offering opportunities to SWIM WITH WHALE SHARKS! This was what I was yearning for! A tour boat will bring you out to a marine preserve, provide you with a safety briefing, a wet suit, flippers, a mask, and snorkel and you are ready to swim with whale sharks. The boat will approach these fish (they are the largest fish in the world growing to upwards of 40 ft). We were ready to go with legs hanging over the panga as it slowed down near a whale shark and one by one we jumped off the boat into the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez. It was very much like exiting an aircraft as a paratrooper.
Once in the water the guide, who is also in the water with you will point out the whale sharks (in case you cannot spot a 40-ft fish). You can see these magnificent sharks swimming and grazing on krill. We were fortunate enough to have several surround us, which got a bit harrowing as they were almost vertical in the water spinning like some type of aquatic ballerina while drawing in water filled with krill. As we began to close in on them we can feel ourselves being pulled into their mouth like a whirlpool. I instantly instantly became aware of their size and power.
It was at this moment I am certain the people topside heard some colorful Bostonian language being funneled up through my snorkel when I was too close for my own comfort. The whale sharks are peaceful and aware you are there and not a threat to them, but they are also aware they are bigger, better swimmers, and you are in THEIR habitat. One thing to keep in mind is that they will not move for you and if you get in their path, they may push you or run you over. This was an incident we all clearly wanted to avoid.
There were only four of us on the tour and we performed four dives over about 2 hours. Their overwhelming size and our proximity to the whale sharks never got old, and our adrenaline never died down. We used Red Travel Tours out of La Paz. Our guides Siyad and Mario were well informed and they had a passion for ensuring we had a once-in-a-lifetime experience while respecting nature. They were both genuinely as excited as we were when swimming with the whale sharks and educating us on the ocean they live in. For anyone traveling in Baja this is an experience and a tour company you want to go with to see whale sharks.
Awesome, Mike, and it’s something to put on the bucket list. Your adventure sounds like something we’ll have to do. Thanks very much for sharing the wonder with us!
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When I rode to the Overland Expo in Arizona a few years ago with good buddies Duane and Paul on CSC RX3 motorcycles, I met a bunch of interesting people. One man I saw at that event but didn’t meet was Sam Manicom. When this quiet and friendly-looking guy stopped by the CSC booth and left a flyer, I stuck the flyer in my pocket, from there it went into my saddlebag for the freeway blast back to California, and a week or so later I read it.
My first reaction when I read the flyer was that I had missed an opportunity. Had I known who Sam was back then I would not have let him slip by without a conversation. Just a few lines into the flyer I knew I wanted to read his books. I did (I bought and read all of them) and they were great. In fact, I’m wondering now why I didn’t include them in the Five Best Moto Books blog I recently wrote (they were that good). I should have, and I’m making up for that oversight with this blog.
Fast forward a few years, and I was at another adventure touring motorcycle event (the Horizons Unlimited gathering in Mariposa), and Sam was there as a speaker. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. I met Sam, we had a great conversation, and I attended his presentation later that evening. The guy is a mesmerizing story teller, and Sue and I enjoyed his travel descriptions. He has a voice and a manner of speaking that made us feel like kids listening to stories around a campfire. The word “hypnotic” comes to mind. Trust me on this, folks: Don’t miss an opportunity to listen to one of Sam’s talks or read his books. The guy is a master.
I wrote about Sam when I was doing the CSC blog, and the thought occurred to me I might post an updated blog here on ExNotes. I wrote to Sam to make sure he was okay with that, and he is. Sam sent materials and links to me for inclusion here on the ExNotes blog, and I’m sharing them with you today.
So who is Sam Manicom? Well, this is a man who went out and did what many have always wanted to do. Chuck it all in and set off on an epic motorcycle adventure.
A senior manager in retail, but wanting to do something completely different, Sam learned to ride a motorcycle and set off to ride the length of Africa on a 1991 BMW R80GS. He’d been riding a bike for just three months the day he arrived at the Sahara. This one-year trip turned into an 8-year, 55-country, 6-continent adventure (Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa again, South, Central and North America).
But there’s a twist. Sam now has four books published about the journey, and he never intended to write a thing. The point for him was to hunt out new adventures, but along the way other travellers encouraged him to write magazine articles.
He did this successfully over the latter four years of the ride, but he’s quick to point out, “Writing never took over as being the point of the journey. I was out there to learn, to have fun and to enjoy the freedom travelling by motorcycle was giving me. But sometimes you find yourself in places for longer periods of time. It might be because you are on a visa hunt that takes longer than anticipated, or that you have simply found yourself in a place that you really don’t want to leave in a hurry. I wrote all of my articles in times such as these. The journey is what really matters.”
Sam’s first book, Into Africa, was written as a result of readers’ letters to editors. His other books include Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns, and Tortillas to Totems. He’s been described as being one of the foremost and most readable adventure motorcyclists writing about their adventures on two wheels, and I will tell you that description is accurate.
Why attempt to write the books? As Sam tells it, “I guess it was a new challenge and I’d spent time during the last year or so on the road, wondering what I could do with all that I’d learnt. Not only would trying to write a book be a new adventure for me but I had another thought in mind. In part my books are aimed at those fortunate enough to know that they actually can go out and live the dream, with the hope that they might encourage them to just do it. But also for those who love the sound of travelling but are quite happy with adventure from the pages. I’ve also consciously written them for those who live in circumstances that may never allow them to ride into adventure.”
Sam writes for ADVMoto Magazine, Overland Magazine, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, Adventure Bike Rider, Motorcycle Monthly and various other motorcycle magazines and newspapers around the world. He is a regular presenter at BMW dealerships, and Horizons Unlimited, Overland Expo, and Adventure Bike Rider Festival events. Sam is also a co-host of the Adventure Rider Radio RAW show.
Sam has a fairly unusual background in that he was born in the Belgian Congo in Central West Africa. His parents worked and lived through the two rebellions that preceded the change of the country’s name to Zaire. They brought the family home to England when he was ten years old. For the first few years at school in the UK he was known as “Jungle Boy.”
Sam’s first solo journey was by bicycle age 16. His next big trip was a backpacking, seat-of-the-pants voyage of discovery across Europe, India and Australia, which often saw him down to his last $10. On arrival in Australia, no one asked him if he had any money and a return ticket. He had neither. What was needed, he earned along the way and this he says was a great learning experience.
Though not looking for a girlfriend, Sam met his partner Birgit Schuenemann in New Zealand during year two of his 8-year motorcycle trip. After riding pillion with him for 3 months through Nepal and India she joined him for the latter four years across Africa and the Americas. She was travelling by bicycle when they met but transferred steeds to ride her own motorcycle, a 1971 BMW R60/5. She started her ride in Africa with just 600 miles experience on a motorcycle. Sam’s BMW R80GS, at the time of writing, has 278,000 miles under its wheels and is still his only means of transport in the UK where he is based. He also owns an F800GS which he keeps in the USA for his regular trips to the States.
So there you have it: My thoughts on one of the best adventure motorcycle story tellers ever. Take advantage of the links we’ve provided above. You can thank me later.
A hidden treasure and one of Mexico’s national historic monuments, you might blow through Santa Rosalia on a trip through Baja and miss the Hotel Frances. That would be a bad thing. A stay in the Frances is one of Baja’s great pleasures, and Santa Rosalia is a fun town to explore.
Santa Rosalia is the first town you ride into after crossing from the Pacific side of Baja to the Sea of Cortez side.
Santa Rosalia is the first town on the Transpeninsular Highway along the Sea of Cortez after you cross the peninsula. The highway drops sharply as you descend Baja’s eastern seaboard through a series of dramatic and delightful twisties. The stretch is called La Cuesta del Infierno, and I could make the case that this road, all by itself, is worth a Baja visit. After that, it’s a short ride along the Sea of Cortez, and then you enter Santa Rosalia. There’s a main street that cuts due west (Alvaro Obregon) into Santa Rosalia, and the Hotel Frances sits high on a mesa to the right as you enter the downtown area.
The central part of Santa Rosalia runs roughly east and west, and the Hotel Frances is on the right as you enter town.
The Hotel Frances is constructed entirely of wood in a colonial style, as is most of Santa Rosalia. It was built in 1886 when the French Boleo company mined copper in this region. I started to say I could write a book about all this, but I guess I already did. Two, in fact. But I’ll give you the commercial at the end of this blog.
The gorgeous Hotel Frances wood lobby. It’s like stepping back a century, but in a good way.Fabulous balconies run all around the hotel. I like to savor a cup of hot coffee and watch the sun rise from that balcony. In the evening I do the same, but with a Tecate.An early evening photo. The Frances has a nice pool in the courtyard. After a couple of days riding through Baja (it’s at least a two-day ride from the border), it feels great.The view from the balcony, watching northern Santa Rosalia wake up. I can smell the coffee just looking at this photo.Spacious, luxurious, and comfortable describe the Frances’ balconies, as seen in this early morning photo.
I’ve taken more than a few photos in and around the Frances, but as I looked through them to write this blog, I only found one inside any of the hotel rooms. The rooms are wood, too, and they really are unique.
The floors, the walls, the ceiling…everything is wood and it’s more than a century old. It all creaks when you walk.
I shot that photo above as I was packing my Triumph Tiger’s panniers, and I guess I probably should have grabbed a shot with the bed made the night before. But that’s okay. It gives me a reason to return. Not that I need a reason beyond simply wanting to tour Baja again. In my book, that’s reason enough.
You might be wondering about security and safety. You know, if you read the papers, Mexico is a dangerous place. But not these small towns in Baja. One time when I stayed at the Frances, I noticed an older Mexican fellow in the parking lot. He was a security guard, the first I had ever seen in the area.
A well-armed graduate of the Barney Fife School of Hotel and Restaurant Security, and a charismatic Smith and Wesson Model 10.
The security guard didn’t speak English and I don’t speak much Spanish, but we had a nice conversation. Being a gun nut, I asked him about his Smith and Wesson. He took it out of his holster and handed it to me. I was shocked, but I quickly saw that his well worn revolver was unloaded. I asked about that and he smiled a knowing smile. My new friend reached in his shirt pocket, withdrew a single crusty old .38 cartridge, and held it up to show he was strapped and ready for action. What do you know…I was having a conversation with the real deal: Baja’s very own Barney Fife!
The mesa the Frances sits on is an interesting part of town. There’s a mining museum there, an old steam locomotive, and other mining things. Santa Rosalia, you see, used to be a mining town until the copper played out. But then the price of copper went up sharply, and now it’s being mined again.
Santa Rosalia grew up as a company mining town, and Boleo was the French company that owned it.Tools on display in the Santa Rosalia mining museum. It’s across the street from the Frances.
I’ve always liked Santa Rosalia. There are good restaurants in town, the place has a nice feel to it, and there’s the Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, an old all-metal church unlike any I’ve ever seen in Mexico (or anywhere else, for that matter). I first heard it was designed by Gustav Eiffel (the same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower); more recently, I’ve read that story wasn’t true. Whatever version you subscribe to, it’s a beautiful church that was built in 1897 and it’s right at the bottom of the hill from the Frances.
Santa Rosalia’s Iglesia de Santa Bárbara. This church, all by itself, is another reason for a trip to Santa Rosalia.Stained glass in the Iglesia de Santa Bárbara.Ah, the wonders of shooting RAW photos. The camera catches details way beyond what I could see when I grabbed this Iglesia de Santa Bárbara interior shot. You can get photos like this, too, with the entry-level Nikon digital single lens reflex camera.
The El Muelle restaurant is catty-cornered one block away from the church, and the seafood there is excellent (El Muelle means “the dock” in Spanish). There’s an old bakery a block or two west on Alvaro Obregon, the Boleo Panaderia, that offers outstanding pastries. There’s a Chinese restaurant, the Comida China, about a half mile south of town on the Transpeninsular Highway that is surprisingly good. And there are taco stands and other interesting spots throughout Santa Rosalia. At night, Santa Rosalia is a hopping place.
A pleasnt young tortilla lady on Santa Rosalia’s Alvaro Obregon. To me, this photo defines Santa Rosalia’s friendly feel.After dinner at the El Muelle, it’s a short walk for pastries to the Boleo Panaderia. When I asked if I could take a photo, these ladies laughed and responded with a quick “Si.”
A walk through the downtown area is a rewarding experience. Like I said earlier, all the architecture is wood, as is fitting for an old mining town of French ancestry. It’s just a fun place, and it’s one of my favorites in Baja. Trust me on this: You’ll enjoy a stay in Santa Rosalia.
The phone number for the Frances Hotel is (011-52-115)-2-20-52. Last I checked, there’s no email address. The lack of an email address notwithstanding, the Frances Hotel has great wi fi coverage and I’ve posted more than a few blogs from there during my several visits. I love the place and I think you will, too.
On that book commercial I promised above: I’ve written two books in which Santa Rosalia figures prominently. One is Moto Baja; the other is 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM. You will enjoy both.
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You probably don’t see me as a TV junkie who could spend 60 hours in maybe three weeks watching all 60 episodes of a telenova, yet here I sit after doing exactly that. And I’m not ashamed to admit I enjoyed it immensely. The series is Bolivar, it is currently running on Netflix, and both Sue and I were hooked on it 10 minutes into the first episode.
Three different actors played Simon Bolivar at different stages in his life. It was confusing when they changed from one to another, but we caught on quickly.
I think what made it special for me were my two trips to Colombia, one about 15 years ago for work, and the other 5 years ago (Good Lord, has it been that long already?) for our Zongshen-mounted circumnavigation of the Andes Mountains. Bolivar was filmed entirely on location in Colombia, and having been there myself, I recognized many of the places in the series.
When we stayed at Villa de Leyva in Colombia, Juan and Carlos explained that it was often used as a filming location. While we we were there, a crew was filming a scene one evening. Juan told me that one of the actors was well known in South America. I didn’t know who she was at the time, but in watching Bolivar, I realized the woman I had seen that evening in Villa de Leyva was, in fact, the famous Colombian actress Andrea Gomez.
Andrea Gomez, who I saw in person in Villa de Leyva without realizing who she was.On a movie set in Villa de Leyva. Andrea Gomez would emerge seconds later, but I did not get a photo of her.An evening scene in Villa de Leyva. The Colombia ride was one of the great ones. I had a fabulous time.
The Colombia ride, as mentioned above, was not my first trip to Colombia. I had been there about 10 years before on a business trip and we spent a day in Cartagena. It was a fun trip, too. Here are a few photos from my 2006 trip.
A street scene in Cartagena. The photos almost take themselves.Colombia is known for its emeralds. The place is a photographer’s paradise.One more street scene in Cartagena. One of the amazing things about this city was the parrots. You see them like you see pigeons in a US city. They were everywhere. Cartegena is a city that explodes with color.
So there you have it. Bolivar, Colombia, and more. The Netflix series hit home for me, probably because I had visited Colombia, but even if you haven’t I think you’ll enjoy it. I’m lucky because I’ve been there, and because I always travel with a Nikon, I captured a bunch of digital memories on both trips.
Want to see more of Colombia from the seat of a motorcycle? Check out the Colombia adventure on our Epic Rides page!
I had the 300 H&H Mags out last week, and when reloading the brass from that range session, I noticed a bright ring around some of them about a quarter inch above the belt. I did the inside-the-case check with a bent paper clip and sure enough, I could feel the sharp step of the brass thinning. Uh oh. Impending case separations. I had reloaded this brass once too often.
Case separations are caused by case stretching, which progresses each time you reload a cartridge. You can check for impending separations by examining the cases closely (you’ll see a bright ring, maybe evidence of gas escaping, or maybe even the beginnings of a crack above the case head). You can also make a tool from a paper clip to feel for a circumferential notch inside the case. That’s what I do, and I could feel the notch on these cases. They were at the end of their useful life.
I don’t know how many times I had reloaded these cases (maybe something like 3 to 5 times?), but rather than risk an impending case separation, I tossed the brass (all 50 pieces). It felt like a crime against nature, but it was necessary. I had two more boxes of 300 H&H brass (100 rounds) tucked away, so that will be the next lot that I load. I had tumbled the old brass for several hours, and maybe that was a good thing because it let me see the warning signs and the faint beginnings of circumferential cracks. Time to move on and start with fresh brass.
Evidence of a escaping gas on a fired 300 H&H Magnum case. The “belt” is the larger diameter just above the case base.A classic impending case separation. You can see that the case has already started to crack. This would separate if I loaded and fired it again.
When I started this blog, I didn’t intend for it to be another reloading tutorial, but here we are anyway. Let’s get back on the two 300 H&H Magnums. I guess to start, allow me to tell you a bit about the magnificent and classic 300 H&H cartridge. It goes back to shortly after World War I, when the venerable English firm of Holland and Holland introduced it as an African plains game cartridge. I know, I’m coming across as snooty, and to tell the truth, I’m not entirely certain what “venerable” means. But it sounds like it fits.
300 H&H reloads. I use 150 gr Winchester bullets I bought about 6 years ago. I got a good deal on those bullets and I bought about 700 or so. I should have bought more, as I can’t find them anywhere online. I think I have about 200 or 300 left. You can see a bright circumferential ring above the case base on the lower cartridge, warning that this brass was past its useful life.
The 300 H&H was the absolute hottest .30 caliber cartridge in those days, and the belted 300 H&H cartridge just looks cool. It became the basis for nearly every magnum round that followed, including nearly all the Weatherby chamberings, the 7mm Remington Magnum, and a bunch more. The 300 H&H round won the Wimbledon 1000 yard match in 1935, and in 1937 Winchester offered it as a factory chambering in their Model 70 (assuring it’s survivability well into the future). Did I mention it just looks cool, too?
So to continue the story, I had to have a 300 H&H, and because I had a Weatherby 7mm Mag that I couldn’t get to group well no matter what I tried, to me the solution was obvious: Rebarrel it in 300 H&H. Which I did. 35 years ago. I’ve been shooting it ever since. It’s the one you see in the big photo at the top of this page, and if you don’t feel like scrolling up, here’s a view from the port side:
A custom 300 H&H Weatherby Mark V. This is a magnificent rifle.The cartridge stamp on my custom barrel.
The 300 H&H Weatherby is a fabulous rifle. It has a Timney trigger my Dad put in it while I was overseas, and it breaks like glass. I enjoy owning it, reloading for it, and shooting it.
Then I picked up another 300 H&H rifle maybe 7 years ago: A Model 70 Winchester. The Model 70 in 300 H&H is not a commonly-encountered rifle, and I searched a while to find this one on Gunbroker with the fancy walnut I wanted. Trust me on this: It looks even better in person. And this one is a shooter. It deserves a better scope, but it’s still a beautiful rifle.
Sometimes people ask why I always find rifles with the nicest wood. It’s because I look for them!The Model 70 stock from the right side of the rifle. It’s unusual to see this kind of walnut on a production rifle. I recognized that when I saw the rifle on Gunbroker, and I pulled the trigger.
Anyway, one day last week was one of those days when I woke up and knew I needed to get out and shoot some 300 H&H Magnum. So I did. These are some photos from that range session. I think it was a Monday. It was cold and windy as hell with gusts up to 60 mph (that’s the bad news), but because of that I had the range to myself (that’s the good news).
I shot my standard 300 H&H load. It’s one that has done well for me in the Weatherby, and it does equally well in the Winchester. The load is 60 grains of IMR 4320, a CCI-250 large rifle magnum primer, the 150-grain Winchester jacketed soft point bullet I mentioned above, and an overall cartridge length of 3.600 inches. You won’t find this load in any of the newer reloading manuals, but I still have the manuals I used years ago, before all the latest and greatest gee-whiz propellants came out. That’s where I found this one. And wow, does it work! Check out the 100-yard groups on the targets below, and remember it was a cold and windy day when I shot these.
The inexpensive Bushnell on the Model 70 was at the end of its elevation adjustment range and the rifle still shot a little high at 100 yards. I shimmed the front of the scope up .010 inch, which should get me a foot lower on the target at 100 yards (if you do the math, each 0.005 gets you 6 inches at 100 yards). I should be in the scope’s adjustment range after shimming, but I haven’t fired it again to make sure. I’ll check it the next time I’m out there. Longer term, though, the Model 70 will get the scope it deserves (and that will be a Leupold).
Edit: I learned that the manufacturer has discontinued IMR 4320 propellant, so the bad news is that when I deplete the little bit of this wonderful powder I have left, I need to develop a new load (and I guess that’s also the good news, as it means I get to play around with developing a new accuracy load). I’ll probably start with IMR 4350, as my research indicates it’s the go to powder for .300 H&H. Nobody has 4350 in stock right now; hopefully, that will change soon.
One more update…on a subsequent trip to the range, the shims did the trick for the Model 70; the Bushnell scope can now be adjusted to put the shots right where I want them.
More fancy walnut: Check!
More accuracy loads: Check!
More gun stories: Check!
Riding in a group is a lot like sex: Most of us think we’re better at it than we really are.
This blog focuses on how to play well with others on a group ride. It’s told from the perspective of a guy who has organized and led group rides (that would be me) and who has been a participant on group rides (that would also be me). You can have a lot of fun on a group ride and go places you might not otherwise go, like Seda in the photo above. Seda is a town that will take your breath away…it’s the largest Tibetan Buddhist school in the world, it took days to reach, and I would have never visited it had I not done so on a group ride. You can read all about that in Riding China.
Riding AKT Motos RS3 motorcycles in the Andes Mountains. This was a fabulous group ride organized by AKT Motos and my good buddies Juan and Carlos. The RS3 is a carbureted RX3. You can read that story in Moto Colombia.
I make a distinction between organized group rides and simply taking a ride with a buddy or two. This article is not about rides in that second category. In this blog, I’m describing organized rides with several riders, rides that are usually put together by a club, a dealership, and on occasion, by a manufacturer (like the ride I did with AKT Motos through the Andes Mountains in Colombia).
Tip 1: Don’t Be A “Maybe” Rider
If you’re not sure, don’t commit to the ride. Don’t be a guy who says he might go if he can get off work, or if his girlfriend says he can go, or if he feels like going that day, or any of the myriad of brainless “ifs” folks put on their potential participation. You know the drill…you start out with a whole platoon of guys who say they’re going, a week before the ride it’s down to five people, and the morning of the ride it’s you and one other guy. If you can go, put on your big girl panties and go. If you’re not sure, don’t say anything.
Tip 2: Don’t Invite Others Without Checking First
I’ve had this happen to me a few times when I’ve planned rides: Folks I invited invite others. Consider it from this perspective: I invited you because I think you’d add something to the ride and I think I know how you ride. I don’t know other folks you might want to invite, I don’t know how they would fit in the group, and I don’t know how they ride. My suggestion is this: Ask the ride organizer if you want to invite someone else. Don’t just invite others along.
If it’s a marque-specific ride, don’t invite others along who ride other motorcycles. The ride organizer is promoting a manufacturer’s motorcycle. It’s weird; folks would badmouth Chinese motorcycles but then get their shorts in a knot because we wouldn’t allow other brands on the CSC Baja rides (you can read about those in 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM and Moto Baja). Call Brand X and complain to them if they don’t have a ride for you; don’t bitch at me because I don’t want your bike sneaking into my marketing photos.
Tip 3: Don’t Ask To Join The Ride Along The Way
This seems to be a recurring request, and the only thing I can attribute it to is laziness and that all-too-common sense of “You don’t understand…I’m special.” It doesn’t seem to matter if we’re organizing a 300-mile ride or a 5000-mile ride. There’s always that guy who doesn’t want to ride an extra 15 miles to join the group at the starting point. He wants the group to pull off the highway to meet him somewhere along the way.
Don’t do this, folks. Either make it to the start of the ride or stay home. The ride organizer has enough going on without adding additional stops to save you 15 miles (and we don’t want to inconvenience everyone else who made it to the start point). Find those big girl panties. Pull ’em on.
Tip 4: Attend the Pre-Ride Briefing
If there’s a pre-ride briefing, go to it. Ride organizers do this to provide critical information and to emphasize safety. Don’t ask if you can skip the pre-ride briefing.
A combined dinner and pre-ride briefing before our Western America Adventure ride. It was an awesome ride: 15 guys, 5000 miles, and no mishaps.
Tip 5: Don’t Push Alternative Routes
Trust me on this: The ride organizer has put a lot of thought into the route. I know when I plan a ride I have a lot of things in mind (start times, how long the ride will take, getting in before dark, the group’s safety, things to see along the way, the route, fuel stops, etc.). If you have a better idea, do your own ride.
If the group isn’t going somewhere you want to go, you might ask the ride organizer privately if it would be okay to split off, see what you want to see, and then meet up with the group later that night (or just finish the ride on your own). I’ve had guys do this and I’m fine with it. What ride organizers don’t want is a debate during the pre-ride briefing.
Tip 6: Arrive Early
This is so obvious it almost seems silly to mention it. When I plan a ride and specify a departure time, that’s when we’re leaving. If you’re not ready to go at that time, we’re leaving anyway. I won’t delay the group because you can’t get there on time.
It was the morning we departed California for a 5000-mile ride through the western United States. Everyone was there on time except the chase truck driver. Always show up early for any group ride.
Tip 7: Arrive Fully Fueled
Stop for fuel someplace close to the departure point and fill up, and do so such that you can arrive for the start on time. There are few things more frustrating than a rider who announces he has to stop for fuel when the group is ready to leave.
This applies to breakfast, too: Eat your breakfast early, unless the group plans to stop for breakfast. I’ve had guys announce when the group was ready to leave that they needed to eat first. Seriously?
Tip 8: Make Sure You and Your Bike Are Ready
If you need to adjust your chain, check your oil, charge your cell phone, clean your faceshield, tweet, post on Instagram, adjust your jockstrap, or any of the other things I’ve seen guys do at the start of a group ride, do all that before you arrive. I used to ride with a guy named Dick who did that sort of thing constantly, and he always did it just as we were ready to leave. “Wait a second,” Dick would say, “I think my chain is loose.”
Yep, I needed to clean my faceshield. But I didn’t make anyone wait while I did so.
The advice here is simple: Don’t be a Dick. Do whatever you need to do so that you’re ready to roll at the designated departure time.
Tip 9: Keys, Gear, and Mount Up (in that order)
Put your key in the ignition before you suit up, suit up, and then get on your bike. Don’t get on your bike before you put on your gear, and don’t pull your gloves on when your key is still in your pocket. I know, this all sounds obvious. But people do these things. I’ve seen guys drop their bikes because they suddenly realize they need to put on their helmet, jacket, and gloves as the group is leaving. They’ll jump on their bike, try to balance an 800-pound motorcycle while pulling on their gear, realize the key is still in their pocket so they have to remove their gloves…and in the middle of it all: Bam, down goes the bike. Dick used to do that all the time.
Put the key in the ignition, suit up, and then get on your bike. And do it so when the group is ready to leave, you are, too.
Velma and Orlando at speed in Death Valley. She was wonderful…always on time and always reminding Orlando that orange is the fastest color.
One more point on this: If you want to bring your significant other along and he or she is one of those people who takes a long time getting ready, explain that motorcycle rides are different. They just are. If your significant other can’t adapt, maybe you need another significant other.
Tip 10: Refuel When Everyone Else Does
Your ride organizer will have considered the bikes and their fuel ranges and selected stops accordingly. Don’t assume you can make it to the next fuel stop when everyone else is refueling. I’ve had guys do this and then run out of gas at inconvenient times and in inconvenient places. One guy did so coming home from a Baja ride. We spent the night in Tecate and fueled the bikes there, but for whatever reason, he decided he had enough gasolina and he didn’t top off. He ran out of gas on I-5 somewhere north of San Diego. For all I know, he’s still sitting by the side of the road.
Tip 11: Keep Your Helmet On At Gas Stops
A fuel stop can be 10 minutes if everyone pulls up to a pump, keeps their helmet on, and is efficient. Or it can be 45 minutes or more if folks take their helmets off, start kibitzing and posting on social media…you know. Listen to what the ride organizer says about this during the pre-ride briefing. I like to keep my helmet on and keep things moving.
Drink enough to stay hydrated. Use the restroom every chance you get, even if you don’t have to (so you won’t have to while underway).
Fuel stops are a good place to use the rest room, too, but be quick about it. Most ride organizers will make a pit stop every hour or so (hey, we’re mostly a bunch of full-figured mature prostate patients), so take advantage of every stop and hit the head.
Tip 12: Eat With The Group, and Be Nice
Don’t decide you don’t like the restaurant the ride leader selects for lunch and wander off looking for your idea of the perfect place, and don’t suggest different places to eat when the group stops at a restaurant. Give the ride leader credit for having thought about things like how long it takes to get served at a restaurant, cost, etc. On the wandering off thing, I’ve had guys do this and I left without them when we were finished eating. Sometimes they got back in time and sometimes they didn’t, but I wasn’t going to inconvenience everyone else waiting for my vagabundos to rejoin the group.
If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you know large groups are tough. The wait staff may be leery of your group for a couple of reasons…you’re a bunch of people dressed like Power Rangers (so you may be a little intimidating), and most groups tend to leave scanty tips (or no tip at all). Be nice and leave a good tip. The ride organizer probably has a relationship with the restaurant from prior visits, and he ‘ll probably want to bring other groups on subsequent rides. Don’t poison the well.
That ketchup bottle belongs where you see it. Gresh knows this now. We are not alone.
Don’t take up other tables by stacking your helmets, your jackets, and other stuff on them. Leave other tables free for the restaurant’s other customers.
Some folks take forever choosing from the menu, or they have special requests (you know, put this on the side, add this but subtract that, can I get goat cheese instead of American cheese, etc.). That makes things difficult for the restaurant and the other riders. Choose from the menu, be quick about it, and don’t delay the group.
Here’s another thing I want to mention: I’ve ridden with guys my age or older who mostly look like me, yet they somehow feel compelled to hit on the wait staff. For the record, I’m overweight, I’m bald, and I’m not tall, dark, or handsome. Read that sentence again, because whether you realize it or not, I may have just described you. Do you really think a young woman working in a restaurant is going to be impressed by a short, fat, and not-so-handsome guy three times her age hitting on her? Give it a break, guys.
Tip 13: Ride Safely
Safety trumps everything else on a group ride. Go to the safety briefing, ride in a staggered formation, don’t crowd the rider in front of you, and don’t try to carry on a conversation by riding alongside another rider.
Good spacing and a staggered formation make for a safe ride. If you’re wondering, I shot this photo in Baja.
Riding in a group also means keeping up…you don’t want to tailgate the rider in front of you, but you don’t want to ride so slowly that it opens up huge gaps in the group.
If a traffic light changes to red, don’t blow through it just to keep up with the group. The ride leader will most likely stop to wait for you. You should know the route so that if you do get separated, you can join the group down the road. And if a car needs to change lanes to exit in front of you, allow it to enter and cross your lane.
Finally, know your capabilities and consider the group. If you’re a loud-pipes-saves-lives kind of rider and the group is a bunch of loud-clutches-saves-lives canyon carvers, you may be praying at the wrong church. If the group is riding at a pace beyond your capabilities, drop out and ride your own ride. Don’t get in over your head, and don’t assume because the guy in front of you made it through that corner at 80 mph you will, too.
Tip 14: Avoid Alcohol During the Ride
I’ll only ride with folks who won’t drink at all on a ride. Once the bikes are parked for the evening, that’s another story, but during the day, it’s no booze. Period. I’ve played the game with guys who think they can have a beer during the day. Then it becomes two. Then three. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not with me.
Nothing is better than a Tecate with lime and rock salt around the rim once the bikes are put away for the evening.
There are liability issues here, and it’s likely that folks sponsoring a ride simply won’t risk the extra exposure that goes with allowing alcohol consumption on a ride.
Tip 15: Be An Extremely Careful Photog
You can have a great motorcycle ride or you can make a great video, but you can’t do both at the same time.
If you want to do a video on the road, get a mount (Ram makes good gear) to mount your Go Pro or cell phone to the bike so you don’t have to screw around holding it or looking through a viewfinder while you ride. If you’re using a wide angle lens, don’t try to make up for it by crowding the rider in front of you to get a better view of his bike. Safety first all the time is the rule here.
If you’re using a digital camera for still shots, never try to use the viewfinder or look at the LCD screen to compose the shot while you’re riding. Digital film is cheap: Take a bunch of photos without looking through or at the camera. One or more of your photos will be good. You can’t control your motorcycle trying to compose a photo, and you put yourself and the riders around you at risk if you attempt to do so.
Riding China. Buy the book (don’t wait for the movie). It was a glorious 6,000-mile group ride without a single incident.
Last point on this topic: Don’t delay the ride so you can get the perfect photo or an artistic video. There’s a lot more at stake here than the number of likes you’ll get on Facebook.
Tip 16: Pay Attention To Your Turn Signals
Keep an eye on your turn signals. Dick used to put his turn signal on, he’d make the turn, and then he’d ride the next 72 miles with his turn signal flashing. Again: Don’t be a Dick.
Tip 17: Pack Your Bike Safely
One time I rode with bunch of guys from the place I was working at the time, and the plan was for a 3-day trip to San Felipe. I had my KLR, there was another guy on an FJR, and there was another guy on a full dress Harley. We met up at a Denny’s and I was shocked, although I guess I shouldn’t have been. The Harley guy’s bike had saddlebags and a tailpack, and he still had a bunch of stuff strapped down on his rear seat and the top of the tailpack. “I brought everything I needed for the three days,” Mr. Harley announced (his name wasn’t Dick, but it could have been).
I had everything I needed, too, and it was all in the tankbag on my KLR (including a camera). I pointed that out to my portly V-twin buddy. Learning how to pack (and what to pack) comes with experience, I guess. New riders tend to overpack. I used to do that. I travel light now.
My Harley on one of my first Baja rides. Cue in the music from the Beverly Hillbillies.
The drill on a ride for me is this: If I can’t get it into the panniers and the tailpack, I don’t need it. And that includes tools, a laptop, my camera, and a couple of lenses. I mentioned this on one of the week-long CSC Baja rides, and one of my friends said, “I don’t know how you do it. I have the same bike with the same bags, and I still need to strap a bag down on the rear seat to hold everything. And I only brought enough underwear to change every other day.”
My response? “You brought underwear?”
Tip 18: Let Others Know If You Bail
If you’re going to leave the ride, let others know. It’s okay to do that; it’s not okay to do it without letting anybody know and just disappearing. That happened to me once in Baja and it scared the hell out of us. You don’t want to make people nervous (and maybe become the object of a search party, like we had to do in Baja) by simply changing your mind about the ride or the route. Be a nice guy and let someone know if you’re going to bail.
So there you have it. If I’ve offended anyone with the above list, my guess is you’re young and you’ll probably get over it. If not, mea culpa. And if you have more suggestions on how to ride well in a group, we sure would like to hear them. Please leave your comments here on the ExNotes blog (don’t post your comments on Facebook; be one of the cool kids and post them here).
Ride safe, folks. And ride extra safe if you ride with a group.
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Some folks called it the Christmas Star, but it’s actually Jupiter and Saturn, two planets that came into alignment earlier this week. It won’t happen again for another 800 years, they tell us. I don’t really have the right lens for this sort of thing and I was fumbling around in the dark trying to find the right shutter speed and aperture. Yeah, I could have done better, I suppose…I would have liked to get the two planets a lot sharper. The one on the left is Jupiter, and it’s a cool 500 million miles out there (you can see all four of Jupiter’s moons). The planet on the right is Saturn; its oblong shape is due to the rings around Saturn. Saturn is 750 million miles away.
So here we are: Christmas 2020. Our best wishes to you and your families for the holidays. Christmas is different this year, and it has been a different year in many ways. The Covid 19 pandemic has dominated nearly everything in 2020, and like everyone else, we sure will be glad when this curse is in the rear view mirror. One of my daughters works in the healthcare field and she was one of the first to receive the vaccine earlier this week. We’re hoping to all get vaccinated in the next few months. Sue and I will get prioritized because we’re geezers (some of you are, too). 2021 will be a better year.
We’ve been staying home, which is what most folks here in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia are doing these days. It’s tough being on lockdown, but there are still things worth doing. A couple of nights ago we watched a live Blind Boys of Alabama concert (that’s them above) on the computer and it was awesome. We’ve seen the Blind Boys in person a couple of times. If you ever have a chance to listen to this gospel group, don’t let it get away. Trust me on this; these guys are amazing.
I’ve been catching up with a lot of my friends the last few days…some on Facebook, some on Facetime, some on the phone, and one or two in person at the rifle range.
Baja John and I caught up via Facetime yesterday (that’s him above with his family at home in Mexico). I miss riding Baja with John; we’ve done some great rides down there.
Other than that, we’ve been homebodies for the last several weeks. I’ve been doing a little writing, a little blogging, a little reloading, and a little shooting. The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site story just published in Motorcycle Classics (I was there in 2019); you can read it here but you would do better to subscribe to the magazine…it really is a first class publication with awesome stories and photography.
So that’s it for today. Here’s hoping Santa was good to you, and here’s another wish for a happy and healthy 2021. Merry Christmas, folks!
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We’re starting a new series here on ExNotes, and it’s one I think you’ll enjoy: A series on our favorite hotels in Baja. There are some great places to stay in Baja, and unlike hotels here in the US, they are not part of any big hotel chains. I love exploring Baja, and the hotels are part of the experience.
That’s enough introduction…let’s get to my all time favorite Baja hotel first: The Las Casitas Hotel in Mulegé. It’s the hotel you see those little CSC-150 Scooters parked in front of in the big photo above.
Mulegé is a special place. It’s about 630 miles south of San Diego, and you can get to it by either riding south from Tijuana on Mexico Highway 1, or you can take what is now a paved road all the way down from Mexicali on the Sea of Cortez side. Either ride is stunning.
Mulege is on the Sea of Cortez about 600 miles down the road from the border.
One note we always add on any Baja story is to make sure you have Mexican insurance before you enter Baja. Our recommendation is to go with BajaBound (the insurance we always use).
Mulegé is one of my favorite towns in Baja, and the Las Casitas just adds to the experience. It’s not hard to find. Just bear to the right at the first fork in the road as you enter Mulegé and you’ll be there (the official address is Valle Vadero 50 Colonia Centro 89518 Mulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico). But like I said, it’s not that hard to find, and if don’t find it immediately, you’ll like riding around in Mulegé. If you want to make a reservation, you can reach the hotel at lascasitas1962@hotmail.com or you can call +52 615 153 0019.
The Las Casitas has two locations…the original one, and then one a block or two away. The original location includes a bar and a restaurant, and when I’m in Mulegé I put both to good use.
Good buddy Brian and yours truly at the Las Casitas Hotel, kicking back after a long day on the road.
Francisco Javier Aguiar Zuñiga is the proprietor (he has been for 40 years). Javier is an all around nice guy. If you’re going there with a group, let him know and he’ll prepare a special meal. I’ve done that on group tours I’ve led through Baja, and every meal at the Las Casitas has been a treat.
Dinner in the Las Casitas Hotel during one of the CSC Baja expeditions.Chile rellenos, as prepared and served by Javier and the staff at the Las Casitas Hotel. They were exquisite. Being right on the Sea of Cortez, the seafood is outstanding, too. Breakfasts are spectacular.
You know, I looked through my photos for the restaurant, and to my great surprise, I could only find a couple. I think that’s an indication of just how good things are there…the hospitality and the cuisine are so fabulous (and I enjoy both so much) that I only had my camera out a couple of times. The breakfasts are outstanding, too…Javier always has fresh orange juice ready to go, and trust me on this, you want to try it.
A great group of graybeards posing for photos in the Las Casitas Hotel courtyard. Javier is second from the left.
The Las Casitas has a central courtyard that is distinctly tropical in appearance and feel, and for good reason: Mulegé is only a few miles north of the Tropic of Cancer, where the tropics officially begin. Javier will let you park your motorcycle into the courtyard, although I don’t know that it’s necessary. On one of my trips, we overindulged in Negro Modelos and margaritas in the Las Casitas lounge and left our bikes parked on the street that night. They were just fine the next morning.
Entering Mulegé. The Mulegénos kicked our butts in the 1800s, but all has been forgiven and you’ll be treated like royalty today.
The town calls itself “Heroica Mulegé.” During a dinner at the Las Casitas one evening I was telling the story behind that name. The Heroica part has to do with the Mexicans holding off a much larger military force, except as I relayed the tale I couldn’t remember who they were fighting. “It was you,” Javier politely reminded me, and indeed it was. All this happened during the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War. As you might guess, relations have improved since then.
When you visit, be sure you make time to stop by the Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé (it’s one of the original Baja missions).
Inside the Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé.The view looking out from inside the Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé. There’s an observation deck up top, too, with a commanding view of Mulegé’s date orchards and the Rio Mulegé.
Mulegé also has an historic prison that is now a museum. Let me tell you how good life was (and is) in Mulegé: Back in the day, prisoners were allowed to leave during the day to work, and the prison had no bars. Things were so good in Mulegé that no one (including the prisoners) wanted to leave. I can understand why. You will, too, when you visit this magnificent little gem of a town and the Las Casitas Hotel. They are two of Baja’s best kept secrets.
If you’re planning a Baja trip, there are two books we’d like to suggest you consider to gain more insight into what Baja has to offer. The first is, of course, my book on motorcycling in Baja, Moto Baja. It’s good. The other is Jennifer Kramer’s Tijuana to Los Cabos, which is another excellent resource.
One more thing…if you’re making the trek into Baja, you’ll want to capture great photos, folks. You want a good single lens reflex digital camera for an adventure like Baja, and Nikon’s D3500 is one of the best. It’s what I shoot. Gresh works his magic with a comparable Canon digital camera, and they’re good, too.
Gougers. People who overcharge simply because they can when supplies are low. Someone who takes advantage of a bad situation. There’s a lot of that going on in the ammo and reloading components business today. What’s driving it is extreme demand induced by the pandemic, the breakdown in law and order in some urban areas, a change of administrations, and the resulting ammunition and components shortages. People are buying guns and ammo in unprecedented numbers because they are afraid. It’s being fueled by uninformed and malicious folks on the Internet.
Me? I’m not worried. We’ve been through this before. The pendulum swings both ways, and it always returns to center. It may take a while, but common sense always prevails.
Before all this shortage business began, primers sold for about $34 or $35 per thousand. Gougers have kicked that up to around $100 per thousand, and even at that price, they are difficult to find. Thanks, but I’ll take a pass. I’ll wait it out. It’s that pendulum thing I mentioned above.
I imagine it’s tough being in the ammo business these days. For the most part, the folks who make ammo are the same folks who make reloading components, and with the unprecedented demand for ammo, their components are necessarily being consumed by their own factories. I get that, too.
This video from the CEO of an ammo and components company popped up in my feed yesterday, and I think it’s a good one. You might want to watch it.
I get it, Mr. Vanderbrink. The trolls who start rumors, spread rumors, and post stupid stuff on the Internet are as despicable as the gougers, and I give Vanderbrink a lot of credit for calling it like it is. I’d call the trolls morons, but that would be an insult to morons everywhere. You folks in the ammo business keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll be here as loyal customers when the shortages end, as they always do.
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You’ll recall a recent blog where I waxed eloquent about Eleanor, my Ruger RSM .416 Rigby rifle. In that blog, I talked about reduced loads using 350-grain cast Montana bullets and 5744 and Trail Boss propellant. It was fun…the Trail Boss loads had milder recoil and “good enough” (but not stellar) accuracy. Take a look at these 50-yard targets:
The above target on the left was with 30.0 grains of Trail Boss; the one on the right was with 34.0 grains of Trail Boss. I could feel a tiny bit more recoil with the 34.0-grain load, but both were light loads with modest recoil. Weirdly, the point of impact shifted sharply to the right with the lighter load, but it moved back to the center with the 34.0-grain load (and it was slightly higher). The Trail Boss loads shot okay, but they weren’t running in the same league as the load I had shot the prior week with 5744 propellant and the same Montana Bullet Works 350-grain bullet, as you can see from the 50-yard targets below.
I could see what I was getting with the Trail Boss and I could see that it wasn’t grouping nearly as well as the 5744 loads at 50 yards, so that stopped my testing with Trail Boss (that, and the fact that I had used up all my Trail Boss cartridges).
I was curious: How would Eleanor do at 100 yards? I still had some of the 5744 loads left, so I posted a couple of 100-yard targets and let Eleanor have her way. I first fired a 3-shot group and after looking through my spotting scope, I was surprised to see how well they grouped.
I thought maybe that target was a random success, and I didn’t want to ruin it by throwing more shots at it. So I fired another 3-shot group at the second target, and then another three at that same target. That’s the one you see below.
Before all you keyboard commandos start telling me that these results are nothing special, allow me to point out that these are 100-yard groups using open sights on an elephant rifle. I’m calling it good to go. Like I said earlier, when the elephants become an invasive species here in So Cal, I’m ready. The load is 45.0 grains of 5744 (it’s the load the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook specified as the accuracy load, and they were right), the 350-grain Montana Bullet Works .416 bullet sized to .417 and crimped in the cannelure, Hornady brass, and a CCI-200 primer. I didn’t weigh each charge; I just adjusted my RCBS powder dispenser and cranked them out. If you were wondering, I use Lyman dies for this cartridge.
A bit more about Eleanor: The rifle is a Ruger 77 that the good folks from New Hampshire call an Express or RSM model (I think RSM stood for Ruger Safari Magnum). They made them in 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, and 458 Lott (kind of a magnum .458 Magnum). Ruger also made a similar one in a few of the standard calibers (7mm Mag, 30 06, and 300 Win Mag, and maybe one or two others). These rifles were a bit pricey when Ruger sold them in the late 1990s/early 2000s, but evidently not pricey enough. They were too expensive to manufacture, so Ruger stopped making them. When you see these rifles come up for sale today (which doesn’t happen very often), they command a premium. I wish I had bought one in 30 06 when they were first offered; to me, that would be the perfect rifle.
The rear sight on a Ruger RSM rifle is of the African “Express” style. The elevation adjustment consists of a fixed and two flip-up blades, and they all have a very shallow V. I guess the idea of that shallow V is that it lets you see more in case an elephant is charging. The sight has two flip up blades behind the fixed blade; as range increases, you flip up the second blade, and if it is an even longer shot, you go for the third blade. I got lucky, for me, the fixed rear sight blade is perfect with this load. I made a minor adjustment for windage, and the elevation is spot on with a 6:00 hold at both 50 yards and 100 yards.
Incidentally, that rib the rear sight sits on? It’s not a separate piece. It and the barrel were turned and milled from one solid piece of steel. It’s one of the reasons these rifles were too expensive to manufacture.
The front sight is the typical brass bead (you can sort of see it in the featured photo at the top of this blog), which I usually don’t like, but with these results I can’t complain. I’ve shot better groups with two or three other open sight rifles using jacketed bullets at 100 yards; this is the best any cast bullet has ever done for me.
Want to see the first installment of the Eleanor story? It’s right here.
Tough to get to a gunstore to buy targets? Range fees for targets too high? Do what I do and order them online. They’re delivered right to your door and they’re less expensive, too.
Need a calipers for measuring your group size? This is a great place to find great calipers at a great price.
Want to check out Montana Bullets? Here’s a link to their website. Tell them Joe sent you. Trust me on this: These are best cast bullets I’ve ever used.
, was written as a result of readers’ letters to editors. His other books include 
