No Wrong Turns: Off-road Race in the Baja

by Kelsey Mulyk on

Take a bunch of hardcore off-road racers, support teams, mechanics, motorbikes, ATVs, a host of other racing vehicles and throw them all into the Baja desert…what do you get? You get the Baja 1000.

Last week we ran into a guy at a local bar who competes in this race. He gave us a quick run-down of what it includes: the race begins in Ensenada, though it has started in Tijuana and Mexicali, and ends in La Paz or Cabo San Lucas. There are tons of different vehicle categories from four wheelers, which range from Baja Bugs (VW Bugs on steroids) and mini trucks, to motorcycles, which can vary from 125cc to 250cc or more. The guy who we chatted with swears by his customized bike and, after competing twelve times as well as sustaining numerous injuries (he wanted to show us all of his battle-wounds which we politely declined), didn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

The Baja 1000 began in 1967. Initially the race was 849 miles (the 1000 is a bit misleading as the course tends to vary yearly) and the winning team finished the race in less than 28 hours. These days teams are finishing under 26 hours, an astounding time to me since it took us about 3.5 days to get from Tijuana to La Paz and we were on the main road. These guys drive all day and night in attempt to win the race. The course consists of rocks, dry lake-beds, mountain passes, paved roads and a lot of desert scenery. Mechanical problems and flipped vehicles only reinforce the fact that this is a brutal course and it’s because of this that only half of the teams are actually able to finish the race.

Competitors usually enter as a team where they take turns riding so it is more like a relay race. Team members often carry a toolkit that can be used in case of a breakdown. They ride to a designated stop and then switch drivers after 6 hours (about 300km) of racing. There are some who attempt this race solo but they are few and far between.

According to our Baja 1000 source, competing in the race isn’t cheap. The racing vehicles cost a fair bit, tack on the add-ons and time spent customizing them and the price just keeps on rising. Fuel, pit teams and extra gear add to the overall cost. Geez, not only does it cost a lot of money, there is a fifty percent chance of not finishing…I had to ask why they keep competing, our rider guy (about eight beers later) just replied, “It’s just awesome man!” Well said.

For more information on the Baja 1000 click here and here.

“No Wrong Turns” chronicles Kelsey and her husband’s road trip — in real time — from Canada to the southern tip of South America in their trusty red VW Golf named Marlin.

Man smuggles iguanas in fake leg

by Iva Skoch on

I never get tired of people’s inventions when it comes to smuggling stuff across the border. Take Jereme James, a 34-year old Californian man, who tried to smuggle iguanas into the US inside his prosthetic leg.

James was caught and convicted on two counts of smuggling and possessing endangered animals. He allegedly stole three baby Fiji Island banded iguanas from an ecological preserve while on a trip to the South Pacific islands in 2002 and smuggled them by concealing them in the compartment of a prosthetic leg. The iguanas are threatened with extinction because of habitat loss and are considered an endangered species, AFP reports.

OK, so things didn’t work out so well for the iguana smuggler who now faces jail. But, how many people actually get away with stuff like that all the time? How many have I been on a plane with?

Kite flying weather

by Jamie Rhein on

This morning, as I was huddled in a jacket that was way too thin watching my son’s soccer game with the wind picking up by the second, I thought, if it was a little warmer it would be a perfect day for kite flying, particularly if it was warm enough to head to a beach. Rob & Shine posted this lovely YouTube video that was shot at Long Beach Peninsula during the Washington State International Kite Festival. This year’s festival is the third week in August, so you have time to make it. In the meantime, watch the video. It’s a real nerve tamer and I love the song. Enjoy!

Dalai Lama arrives in Seattle, his kind of town

by Iva Skoch on

The Dalai Lama arrived for a 5-day conference is Seattle on Thursday, NY Times reports. And, he’s going to be busy.

In addition to a Dave Matthews concert he is attending and a variety of other events, including an address at the University of Washington, he is to speak at Qwest Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play football. More than 50,000 people are expected there. It seems that the Dalai Lama is, like, totally mainstream in Seattle, dude.

Why is Seattle his kind of town? According to the NY Times article, spirituality and self-help sections in bookstores do well, neighborhood farmer’s markets thrive, and craigslist is the place to go this week if you want to buy tickets from scalpers to see the “simple monk” from Tibet. People move to the Northwest “to separate, to differentiate themselves from their families and their traditions,” said James K. Wellman Jr., an associate professor in the comparative religion department at the University of Washington in the NY Times article. “And then they get here, and there’s not many people, so there’s this sense of isolation. There’s an ambivalence about it. They both love it and they wonder, ‘Well, how can I connect?’ “

That theory could also explain why Seattle “invented” the coffee shop culture.

Waiting to the last minute can pay off: It’s called rush tickets

by Jamie Rhein on

Although, it’s true that living the Girl Scout motto “Be Prepared” can pay off, flying through life by the seat of ones pants also has merit. Take yesterday, for example. Yesterday, I got the urge to see Avenue Q. The touring company is in town for a few days, and because I’ve been busy, getting tickets became shuffled to the background of my life. Then, about 3 p.m., I had to go. I must go, even if no one was going with me. I’d be nuts not to. At 4:45 p.m. I dashed into the CAPA ticket office to buy my ticket.

The guy behind the counter said, “Ya’ know. At 6:00, you can get a $25 ticket. There will be 20 rush tickets for sale.

At 5:30, after a trip to the library to pay off a fine for overdue books, there I was, first in line, at the Palace Theatre box office, By 6:10, I had two tickets. At that price, my husband agreed to go with me when I called to tell him about our good fortune. By 7:50 we were settled into our third- row orchestra seats on the right-hand side, much better and cheaper than the ones we would have had if I had planned ahead.

There are two morals of this story:

  1. If you get the urge to go to a performance, even if it’s last minute, don’t assume it’s too late–you might hit pay dirt.
  2. If you want to plan ahead, find out if there are rush tickets and how to get them.

Here is a link to tips on getting rush tickets for Broadway shows in New York City, and here’s a link to Talkin’ Broadway’s On the Boards that has ticket information including rush ticket policies and standing room only details. Standing room only is another last minute, cheaper ticket option. Here’s Avenue Q’s touring schedule. I highly recommend it, but it’s bawdy. Good natured, clever and terrific, but bawdy.