Randoms

Sponsorship Info

We put up these wheat paste posters back in 07 on an abandoned building between Mexicali and San Felipe. No wonder Shepard Fairey likes this stuff so much, it's crazy durable. That building smells like poop but looks good from the highway.

Here's the deal on sponsorships. There are way more grass roots events now then there were when we started this thing back 2005. Supporting these events for small chopper companies takes a financial toll, even if it is totally worth it and fun to do.

We don't want the EDR to be one more responsibility for these guys, or one more thing they've got to pay to sponsor. We want this to be fun, not work.

So, if you've got a company, blog, whatever, and would like a link on the El Diablo Run home page, give us a link on your page, and let me know: bill@eldiablorun.com and we will put your link up on ours.

Only one catch. You have to commit to going on this thing. Even if we are bros and swap manhugs every time we see each other, you have to pinky promise that you will ride your motorcycle to Mexico and drink out of coconuts with us, or no link for you!

I already added a few of you old favorites, if for some reason you aren't going, let me know and I'll take you off the links and then cry myself to sleep.

TJ riding

Splitting lanes through the busiest border on earth is on the tops of my list for "must do" motorcycle activities. Nothing makes me love my motorcycle like saving two hours of sitting in traffic. That, and pissing off a thousand angry drivers who wish they could do it too. Yes, that's a cop in the pickup truck. The game is to see how few times you can put your foot down. My personal record is dabbing twice, on my old Triumph which was perfectly narrow for such things. Too bad the camera card filled up before we got all the way through on this trip.

Done Deals

Pre run update #1

McGoo, Mike D. and I just did a blast through the route yesterday and today. We spent most of the day on the road or in San Felipe. The good news is, we got the campgrounds sorted. The better news is, Ruben's is going to be free to anyone who rides in on a motorcycle. Between Ruben's camp and Kiki's camp/hotel, San Felipe is dialed in and it's good.

Read below to get the scoop on the new place in Ensenada. The same guy "JC" who made the fiesta happen the last two years at the hotel is now working across the street for the Villa Marina. Better pool and a whole lotta upstairs discoteca, aye-aye-aye muchachos!

The road to San Felipe from the border was in a fine shape, lots of new pavement and no more detours in the dirt on the side for miles like we dealt with on the 2009 (non-EDR) trip. Highway 3, from the turn off at Three Poles to Ojos Negros is in rough condition. Probably 50% of the road is littered with the infamous potholes, under construction or just plain old and beat up. It's totally passable and not that big of a deal, just a little challenging like it's always been. Right now there are a couple smooth gravel detours around construction on the highway that will actually be pretty fun to bomb through on bikes if they are still there in May. The usual fun twisty bits are just as fun as before and in pretty good shape. The road out of Ojos and into Ensenada is in great condition and will fun to ride again. We will do another prerun or two before since road conditions are likely to change over the next seven months anyway.

See below for details on accommodations in both towns. 

San Felipe

Ruben's Camp

We've reserved all 30 of the palapas at Ruben's Camp. These will be available on a first come, first serve basis. You can gang up in one of these rustic tree forts, or pitch your tent on the beach. You don't need any reservations or anything here, and it's all been paid for in advance by Biltwell and Chop Cult. The outdoor bar area, massive palapa and fire pit area will be located at Ruben's. The actual restaurant there is closed but there should be a taco cart or two and plenty of beer.

The Grande Palapa at Ruben's Camp. Right on the beach

First come, first served at Ruben's Camp

When camping in palapas you can stay in a tent, 

hammock, sleeping bag or just go face down 

when you've had enough.

Kiki's Camp & Hotel

Right next door, only separated by a low wall and some chain link is Kiki's Campground and Hotel. Here there are about a dozen hotel rooms and 30-ish palapas. This is for the EDR traveler who wants to know in advance that he's got a spot reserved. You can email Kiki directly kikimr.baja@hotmail.com His English is great and he is a trusted friend of ours that we've known for years. The rates are $25 per palapa per night. You can fit up to five people in these at that rate, but that is pretty tight quarters. We'd count on two or three being a little more comfortable. Each palapa has a shade cover up top and a picnic table down below. The hotel rooms are all large double rooms, in great condition and go for $60 per night. There is free wi-fi at Kiki's.

You can walk about 1/4 mile to town from these locations, and both are right across the street from the Circulo de Muerte track...

Inside a palapa at Kiki's

Bathrooms and hot showers will be a welcome sight

Happy campers

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Ensenada

Villa Marina Hotel

This is a new venue for us this year, but is through our old friend in Ensenada, Juan Carlos. The VM is the tallest building in town so you can't really get lost trying to find it. It's an older hotel showing some signs of age but the staff is friendly and the prices are great. The parking lot is big enough to hold plenty of bikes and there is an all night security guard on duty. The rooms are adequate, hot water in the showers and the whole top floor is a disco for our enjoyment. The pool area in the back is well kept and we'll be having some bbq back there and handing out the awards on the last day from this location. 

Making reservations here is easy, you can email: hvillamarina@hotmail.com or call 1-800-336-5454 or 858 454-7166. Website: http://villamarinaensenada.net/reservar.htm

You really can't miss the tallest building in town

Sweet pool area

Get your disco on, son!

Pre Runnin'

This time next week, we'll be heading down to San Felipe to tighten things up and make sure these dates are going to work, check on the campgrounds, road conditions, etc. SF here we come!

EDR Pics

Here's some photo sets from 2006, 2007 & 2008. This is really just a test to see if we've got this whole blogger+facebook thing linked up and running...

Tentative Schedule for 2011

Alright... Yep, we're going to give this thing a go. Nothing official yet, we have some stuff to lock down but the tentative dates you should pencil in on your calendar are May 5th thru the 9th, 2011. You can subscribe to this blog, or join the event on Facebook and stay up to date on things as they progress. The basic plan is this, do it exactly like '07 and '08. So, start getting your shit together, it's sure to be a banger one way or another!