Hey, What is the usual range of temperatures in which we'll be riding? I just want to make sure I bring the appropriate gear so that I'm neither freezing nor roasting. Thanks, Y
Its a good question. I did post that the first day would be cold, even a chance of snow... Temps could possibly be in the high 40's or low 50's when the ride starts. Smart riders will have glove liners, balaclava (head and face covering under helmet), and a jacket is almost mandatory. It will quickly warm up a little bit during the first part of that first day. We will be at 4000ft. By the afternoon we will descend into the desert to sea level and temps can be 60's even low 70's on a good day. Thats day one. Days 2-3 temps will be in the 60's, great riding weather. Slowly warming as we head south. Days 4-5 temps will warm up into the 70's. Days 6-7 we will be south of the Topic of Cancer, in the sub-tropics. Temps will be 70's and possibly 80's. Heck it can even get in the low 90's. Point is: Its gonna be cold at the start, and warm at the end! Temps at night will be cold for the first few nights. Bring a fleece and stash it in the chase truck. Riding Jackets, glove liners, balaclavas on the first day, maybe day and a half, and you will be a happy camper.
I had a PM about radio frequency. We will be on VHF 151.490 (Best in the Desert frequency) Please make sure its programmed into your radio. I added that and more info at the first post on page one.
Thanks Mike. Hey I think there's um two guys who aren't going to be using their radios Anybody want to rent me one?
For varying weather i have always found fleece undergarments and a wind / water proof shell work great. EZ to adjust to temps and a simple fleece shirt and shell keep you remarkable warm. I use this shell http://www.rockymountainmc.com/prod...Apparel-MX Gear&webCatId=1&prodFamilyId=14522 And did a 26 degree ride the other day with just this and a fleece sweatshirt and was good to go.
Sorry buddy. I would loan you one of my radios, but my girlfriend and I use them every time we ride. Since we are not going on this trip we have plans to go ride and camp out in the dez over new years, and will be using both radios then. -Blake
no Worries Blake, I'm hesitant to buy one cuz I doubt I'll use it much. I looked into it and I got a couple quotes to rent them. One outfit was only $34 but they have an $80 min. order. Add in maybe $80 for a speaker/mic and that's reasonable. I found a co that makes speakers/mic with an adapter for the radio and a adapter for the iphone. So I could use that setup in the future and just rent a radio now. I also got a quote for a sat phone but it was like $350 so kinda steep from those folks anyway. Anybody else interested in Renting a radio vs buying?
I would post up a "wanting to rent radio &/or sat phone" in the classifieds, and probably on advrider, not sure about other places. Can't hurt. I would definitely make sure there were 2 sat phones and at least 2 or 3 radios + the chase truck radio if I were going on this trip cause sometimes those things break. These things may sound expensive but a family member can get a little upset if they are not kept up to date at least occasionally - and that could be REALLY expensive after the trip is over
Thanks coffee, good suggestion. I may still buy one, I'm on the fence about it. I also have a spot, and I'm looking into getting a epirb, If I can justify something to use on my boat as well it's easier to pull the trigger
I've got an 406MHZ epirb if you want. But that won't let the wife know things are ok. I've got a low tech gps that puts out lat lon (only). I can assure you that is much easier than using a sextant... although others will have gps I'm sure.
Somebody asked in another thread if I was sure it was not 151.940. which in the states is an unlicensed freq (which would make more sense) so I just wanted to double check that .490 is correct?
What other thread? I called BITD but they are at the races this weekend. So then i called PCI Radios in Long Beach. The nice lady looked it up and told me BITD frequency is 151.490 I guess she could have mixed up the numbers. Feel free to call them or BITD next week if ya wanna triple check. Please let me know what other thead there is. It will help me better understand what is going on. Just FYI: Common baja frequencies include those used by: SCORE (Weatherman), Mag 7, Baja Pits, BF Goodrich pits, JCR/Honda pits, and various others. Its worth having all these pre-programmed if you have the option. PCI or other radio sources can do it. All the above have websites with their various frequencies. BITD is often used south of the border too. Various race teams and clubs have their own frequencies, but even so everyone seems to have the above programmed, so odds are you can talk to other guys riding baja in the future, or even during this ride if we meet up with another group. Local Mexican ranches or businesses use these frequencies too, but mostly in the cities. Local military are a bit funny about VHF radios in baja, so be aware you might be asked about them. But dont worry, they wont confiscate them or whatever. Its worth buying the longer antennae for your radio. It does work better. Placement on the rider is best up high in terms of reception, but lots of guys keep them on their waist. Plenty of guys DONT own/use the push to talk, just have the radio in their backpack in case they break down or get lost and want to communicate with others. Thats an option too for ya, saves ya the $200+ for push to talk. Just reach in the Camelback for the radio and say "Mike, ive got a flat, im back by the dead cow" "ok, i will stop the group and come back and help ya fix it" "ok" Just some ideas. For the first time in a year i now have internet in my house. Kinda miss driving to the library and using their wifi, not.
I mentioned this before but will repeat the offer. I have a SPOT I will loan someone if they would like to have one on them. Fun for the folks at home to follow too.
Do you plan on stopping by George's shop (Uptite) in Santa Ana on the way down? If so, I'd just leave the unit in a box with him. I'll put in the holder and RAM mount (although I think it's better to just carry on the person) and the instructions and passwords information. I'm heading off on a trip for a week or so, but will be back by Dec. 20-21.
Yes, Gary (BentAero) and I plan on pulling into Uptite the afternoon of the 26th. I can put another RAM ball on my clamp if the unit needs to be level and open to the sky, else I will carry it on my person and activate it as needed. Thanks again; my wife will enjoy getting some "OK" messages.
Sorry if I confused things up. The other thread was one I started on ADV asking about radios. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=530950