Mexican Motorcycle Insurance Made Easy

Two words: Muy peligroso. They mean "very dangerous" in Spanish, which is what operating a freedom machine south of the border can be if you're not properly insured. Fortunately, Bajabound.com makes covering your culo in Mexico easy. For more information, click the link.

Almost Time

Alright, things are heating up. People are rolling into town already. Bikes are getting furiously worked on and last-minute shake-downs are happening all over. Here's a few things to note:

Turn right here, towards the 8 on S2. Or just follow the pack...

There will gas stops every 50-ish miles between Temecula and the border in Calexico.

On the map, I should have put highway S2 where it shows the Biltwell gas stop on 79. That road has a couple names on google, but it is clearly marked S2 with signs when you are actually on it.

Here's a more accurate and detailed map: http://goo.gl/maps/dPoFN

We are leaving the shell station at Front St and the 79 at 7:00AM on Thursday morning. (29115 Front St.) and will gather up near the border at the Jack in the Box (just north of the old Pizza Hut) at 703 Imperial Ave in Calexico. I'd imagine we'll be there about 11:00 and leave within an hour after everyone has had a chance to top off and grab some lunch.

First gas stop after leaving Temecula is about 50 miles in Santa Ysabel. (Warner Springs gas station is closed.)

Once we leave that stop, we will go through Julian. When we leave Julian, the road called the Banner Grade drops elevation fast and gets super twisty. BE CAREFUL. Someone is going to get hurt on this road, don't let it be you. Give some extra distance between yourself and other riders. You are not going to get lost, and you don't need to pass other people on this section. It's only a few miles, so hang tight.  DO NOT jam on your brakes and wad up the whole pack. DO NOT ride over your head.

At the bottom of Banner Grade, we hook a right on county road S2. I marked this 79 on the shop rag map, so be advised: I'm a moron. We have a gas stop set up on S2 between mile marker 48 and 49. There should be plenty of room to pull over into a little clearing and top off. It is about 50 miles from the last gas stop in Santa Ysabel to this set up. Gary and Kenzie will be filling gas jugs and it'll be up to you to fill your own tank. Yes, they work for tips! If you have a giant tank, save time and gas by letting the dudes with small tanks fill up. No need to top off your five-gallon tanks at this spot.

From the roadside pit stop to the Jack in the Box in Calexico is about another 50 miles. Like I mentioned, that's our rally point. We will give a little time to gas up and grab some lunch, then we're crossing the border. Once we cross, there is no way that we'll all stay together. This is where your adventure starts! Just keep pointing south, try to stay on highway 5 and follow signs to San Felipe. Once you get to SF, get to the lighthouse and follow the coast north for about a mile. We'll be at Kiki's and Ruben's campos.

EDR Trophies, etc...

Best in show on this year's edr is gonna get this sweet custom holster complete w/ skate knife/fire steel and Mizu fuel (or tequila) bottle courtesy of Bolts Action. If you've never been on the run, let me explain: there really is no official bike show. We just wander around and look at bikes during the trip and if the bike and rider are around on Sunday about 4:00 at the Desert Inn Hotel's pool, we'll pick our favorite and give him the "Best in Show" trophy. Other awards include a hand-made tool roll from Motostuka for the "La Cucaracha" and a custom solo bag from Ace Cycle Service & Supply for the winner of the prestigious "Iron Butt" award.

We've got some good stuff for the bike games, Circle of Death race and of course the cash prize of $500 for the king of the Coctagon. Bring your A-Game this year, folks!

We'll see everybody in nine days and a wake-up.

-Bill

Mas Cerveza, Por Favor!

JC at BajaVoyager.com sent us an update for what to expect when you roll into Ensenada on May 25…

There will be taco combos and plenty of beer for Diablo Runners at the cash bar and food cantina on the closed-off street in front of the Desert Inn Hotel in Ensenada starting 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Food and booze will flow into the night, and coffee and breakfast burritos will be served 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday and Monday. Drinking will be permitted on the closed street and in the fenced parking lot behind the hotel, but cops will be on the lookout for outside booze from non-authorized EDR vendors. In other words, please support the individuals and small businesses who support our event. Of course, beer will be served poolside in the hotel courtyard, and this is the place where prizes for the bike show will be announced 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. JC has promised local talent will be slinging comida and cerveza, so you can expect the fiesta in Ensenada to be muy caliente!

If you're an EDR sponsor, please see McGoo or JC at the Desert Inn when you roll in Saturday afternoon to get checked into your room. Everyone with reservations at other hotels should take care of check-in first, then roll back to the Desert Inn for the street fair and food fest happening at our host hotel.

We're less than two weeks away from the mass exodus to San Felipe on May 23. Is everyone ready?

EDR INK

Soul Expressions, our local tattoo shop is offering $20 EDR tats on Wed, from 1:00 in the afternoon 'til 1:00 in the morning. They're easy to find, right between Biltwell HQ and Hard Hats bar on Jefferson Ave. in Temecula. Aaron Mason is working on a sheet of flash specific for the event - you know, tacos, sombreros, lil' devils, etc. This offer is good if you happen to be in the area again after the EDR as well.

Patches

A big pile o' patches just showed up. There's only one way to get the dated, rocker version–ride your bike to Mexico and ask me for one when we get to Ensenada. We don't charge anything for 'em, but you gotta earn it. The round ones will be available to anyone for $5.00. We'll sell them at the Happy Hour on Wednesday, and then take 'em down to Baja as well. If there are any leftovers, we will put 'em up in the Biltwell online store. Less than a month to go. See ya' soon...

-Bill

"Hey man—when is the Circle of Death race again?"

Billdozer and I could scream ourselves silly telling Diablo Runners to be ready for this, that or the other thing and there would still be a dozen dudes who missed something because they didn't know when shit was going down.

NOT THIS YEAR.

Here's a schedule of events for EVERYTHING: our departure from Temecula day one all the way through the trophy presentation poolside in Ensenada on day four. Print this handy flyer and make sure everyone in your crew has a copy. We'll hand out copies at Biltwell HQ Wednesday afternoon, but supplies will be limited.

EDR is five short weeks away… are you ready?

How to stay out of jail on the EDR

Talking to Jake (two-time Curculo de la Muerte winner) over the weekend brought up a good point. He was telling the story about a couple of guys who got rolled up by the San Felipe cops last time.

Here's the deal and how to avoid the hassle: No Fireworks in Camp. It's simple as that. The palapas are roofed with old, dry thatched palm fronds and go up in flames pretty easily. The people who run the camps are our friends and let us get away with a hell raising good time, but they've nicely asked that we don't blow shit up in the camp. Go down the beach, fine. Wanna wrap your buddy's Honda in det cord and blow it to kingdom come? Drag it out to the Circle of Death track and have at it.

If it's your first time on the EDR, realize that it's a big party. It's loud, people get drunk, it goes all night and it's not the best environment for a good night's sleep. So, if that's a big deal to you, move further down the beach a ways, get a hotel or jam up the road about a mile north and camp there. Otherwise, grab a beer and have fun. There will be no lights-out at 10:00PM so get with it, or avoid it. This is an adult party; please don't bring kids or sensitive types.

Where the cops come in to the picture is if you do decide to disrespect the deal we have with the camp owners. The 60-year old securidad is surely not going to tackle a posse of a dozen dudes to get them to stop. He'll call his bros at the Policia, and they'll roll in later, pick a couple guys at random and off to jail you go. Depending on what you have in your pocket, who got hurt, etc you could be there for a night or two or maybe longer. We don't make these rules or enforce them, the last thing I'm interested in is baby sitting grown men or being the hall monitor. So come have a good time, but stay out of jail!

Enter the Coctagon if You Dare

When it debuted at the Slab City Riot in 2010, the Coctagon pitted man against man in a dick-shaped chamber of horrors in what instantly became the most famous freakout in Slab City history. Banned by Imperial County constables in 2011 due to its macabre nature, the Coctagon will rise again on this year's El Diablo Run when 24 men will do battle on the sandy shores of San Felipe. The rules for the Coctagon are simple:

• Helmets and eyewear required
• No dead end blows
• Lose your bat, you're out
• Step or get pushed out of the ring, you're out

The last man standing will win up to $500. This year the entry fee for the Coctagon is $10 per man, and must be paid in cash to Harold "McGoo" McGruther during yard games in San Felipe Friday afternoon.

At sundown Friday McGoo will issue bats to the 24 prepaid combatants and the fight will begin. The final purse will be determined by the number of bikeriders man enough to enter the Coctagon. If we sell all 24 bats, Biltwell will match the $240 entry fee with $260 additional prize money for a winner-take-all total of $500. If we are one man short of the 24-man max showdown, the purse will be 100% of entry fees received. Old racers call this "100% payback."

Here's a video to remind folks who missed the original Coctagon what's in store for them in San Felipe Friday, May 24:

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Comin' Soon...

It'll be time before you know it!

EDR V Bike Show Details

We've hosted a super informal motorcycle show on every EDR, and 2013 will be no different. We say "informal" for three reasons:

• The judges are rarely sober

• The prizes are never valuable

• Our esteemed MC never gets the brand of bike or name of the owners correct

Shit box production values aside, this year's EDR Bike Show will be conducted in the parking lot on Sunday in Ensenada, and it's event you don't want to miss.

Like years past, there will be three classes:

• EDR Best in Show—generally given to the hard-ridden machine with the highest build quality and production values, but sometimes our cast of judges has thrown a bone to some rusty runner just to keep things honest

• EDR La Cucaracha—Spanish for "the cockroach," La Cucaracha winners are generally guys whose asses have been so thoroughly kicked by whatever greasy piece of shit they rode to Mexico, they deserve a trophy just for showing up. The fact that these guys wrench morning, noon and night to keep these tired bikes on the road is icing on the cake

• EDR Iron Butt Award—Bestowed upon the man (or woman)  who rode the farthest or took the biggest risks to cross the border. In its five-year history, two women have won the EDR Iron Butt award—a testimony to the fortitude of the fairer sex if ever there was one

Generous sponsors usually pony up for some cool prizes, and when this happens you'll hear about it on this blog first. Good luck and have fun, Diablo Runners, and see you in Mexico!

- McGoo

Armchair Outlaws, Rejoice!

The video production team of Tyler Malinky (Lowbrow Customs) and Wes White (Four Aces Cycle) have been avid supporters and participants on the EDR since day one. On EDR IV in 2012 Wes and Tyler combined forces with a team of legit camera, lighting and editing professionals to create the first and only feature-length DVD of our little jaunt to Baja. "EDR—A Mexican Motorcycle Adventure" showcases a half dozen cool bikes and their owner/builders as they recount the trials and tribulations of life on the harsh desert highways of this treacherous foreign landscape. Celebrated by neophytes and seasoned chopper aficionados, "EDR" is a tour de force every serious film and bike buff should have in his arsenal of time wasters. Order your copy today by clicking the image. All proceeds from the sale of "EDR" go to finance stupid things like beer, pussy and rusty motorcycle parts.

Spartan George

One of my favorite images from the first (2006) EDR. Spartan George Counes blastin' down the highway east of Ensenada. -Bill
VPD Photo.

Google Map of El Diablo Run

Tip#32: Know the Route!

You might be surprised how many people show up with no idea where the hell they are going for the next five days–they're just here for a good time and know that they'll end up on a beach in Baja somewhere. That's a good plan, but knowing the route so you can split off from the pack and ride your own pace, etc is a better idea. The EDR blog has a cartoon map on the right side of the page and we'll hand out maps the night before and morning we leave. But, if you wanna be a good Boy Scout and Be Prepared, Nevada Phil just posted up this nice Google map for ya! http://tinyurl.com/bx97x97 Thanks, Phil.

And here's an detail of the new hotel location in Ensenada.

Pre Run Update

A few of us rode down to San Felipe (and beyond) a couple weeks ago, just to scope things out and see if anything significant has changed. It was really just a good excuse to get out in some perfect weather and carve up some great roads, camp under the stars and get our bromance on.

Everything is good to go in San Felipe. Kiki's hotel is full, there might be a few palapas open. Remember, we've rented out all of Ruben's Campo next door so those palapas will be free on first-come, first-served. The beach, right in front of the camps is also free, and open to all. Just pitch a tent. Kiki is working on some additional hotel rooms if you gotta have your blow-dryer and air conditioning. He swears they'll be ready by May and he's an ass kicker, so I wouldn't doubt that they may be available too. More info about lodging in both San Felipe and Ensenada can be found here: http://eldiablorun.blogspot.com/p/accommodations.html

Highway 5 south of Mexicali is finally NOT under construction. This could change by the time May rolls around, but as of January 2013, the road is in the best shape it's been in for years, maybe decades. Don't worry, Highway 3 is still total dog shit. It's Afghanistanish potholes are sure to punish you sufficiently.

One surprise that really validates these pre run trips – the gas station we always depend on in Warner Springs is now closed. Cerrado. No mas. It's about 70 miles from the Swing Inn (where we start in Temecula) and the first gas station in Borrego Springs. If you are running a ridiculously small cool-guy tank, be prepared. You have to be ready for the 110 mile-ish section from Mexicali to San Felipe anyway.

We are getting stoked and can't wait for this trip, hope you are too!

Pre Running

We've got a small crew riding down this weekend to San Felipe to make sure they haven't run out of potholes, fish tacos or cold beer. We will report back next week. It's good work if you can get it!