Roundtrip Tour

Baja California, Mexico: Sand, Sweat, and Stars

13 min read

Baja. If you know, you know. The name alone feels legendary, carrying a certain mystery. For some, it represents a lifelong dream. For others, it’s an addiction. Some say it’s more than a place, that it’s a state of mind. Baja California, Mexico, is real, but the moment you set foot there, it’s almost impossible to believe.

The Baja California peninsula runs nearly 800 miles south from California into Mexico. This long stretch of desert divides the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. It ranges in width from 30 miles at its narrowest to 200 at its widest. All told, Baja boasts nearly 2,000 miles of coastline. For most folks, it’s a forgotten corner of the world. But for riders, it’s the perfect location for an adventure.

The coastal regions of Baja receive more moisture, allowing snapdragon bushes and wildflowers to prosper alongside the trails. Distant volcanoes hint at Baja’s geological history and formation.

This brings us to the Vintage 1000. Created by Adam and Jamie Sheard of Speed Deluxe, it’s more than just a motorcycle ride. The Vintage 1000 is a dust-covered tribute to an era when all you needed was two wheels and a tank of gas. Few modern modifications are allowed, and bikes need to be built in 1980 or earlier. It feels like stepping back in time, chasing the spirit of old-school rallies.

The beauty of this ride is its commitment to a bygone era. No GPS is allowed—our route is tailored for our adventure, and we follow hand-drawn roll charts and maps for the entire week. Each turn requires a scroll of the directions and a reset of your odometer. This year’s expedition took 20 of us across nearly 700 miles of Baja desert, over rocks, through cacti, and into five unforgettable days.

Motorcycle & Gear

1980 Honda XL500S

Helmet: Biltwell Gringo
Jacket & Pants: Klim Baja S4
Boots: Merlin Drax
Gloves: Old work gloves
Luggage: Giant Loop Coyote saddlebag, Giant Loop Diablo tankbag, Giant Loop Zigzag handlebar bag, Giant Loop Possibles pouch

Loose Bolts, Lost Time

Baja welcomed us with its usual mix of beauty and brutality. The sun hung high over San Felipe as the 20 of us rolled out. We were mounted on a variety of vintage machines, mostly Japanese big-bore singles like Yamaha XTs and Honda XLs. There were a handful who wanted to make it slightly more… Let’s say “fun” for themselves with bikes like a 1964 Honda 250cc Scrambler, Triumph 500s, or 1969 Victor 441s. It was hard to believe these motorcycles weren’t in museums.

Chastin Brand on the truest form of desert sled—his 1969 Triumph 650cc, with spare parts and tools packed onboard. Sand, sun, saguaros, and a desert range make for a perfect backdrop.

We were eager to see what the desert had in store. It didn’t take long to find out. The deep sand wastes no time humbling you, and the heat only makes sure you feel every bit of it. Not long into the day, Spencer Powlison’s 1969 BSA 441 decided to shake things up, literally, by somehow managing to lose all 10 rear sprocket bolts. One minute he was ripping through the desert; the next he was dead in the sand. The bike was still running, the chain and sprocket spinning like crazy, but the rear wheel wasn’t moving. Who knows where those bolts ended up, and it didn’t matter at this point. We dug through our collective stash of random hardware, and pieced something together with a cocktail of Loctite and safety wire. It wasn’t pretty, but it held. Hopefully.