Kacey Smith (alias: Lizard Lady) collects, manages, and
creates the Baja GPS guidebooks and events, but in all honesty...........
it was all John Franck's idea (better known as Juan Valdez). There
is never a dull moment in life when it's being spent with Juan. As we
planned our 6-week dirt bike expedition over too many beers one evening,
Juan says, "Hey, ya know, we should document our rides with a GPs
and turn it into some kind of guidebook". And, so the creation
was born and Juan had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.
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With my neurotic ways of taking the bull by the horns, we ended up
with full support from all the best product sponsors: Honda, Magellan
GPs, Baja Designs, Dunlop, FOX, Amrel Ruggedized Laptops, IMS, Fugawi
Software, Alpinestars, Arai Helmets, and many others. Juan and I saddled
up on our XR400's and headed south without a lick of GPs Experience.
We stumbled, we fell, and we got lost the whole way down the incredible
Peninsula. The Baja GPs Guidebook Volume 1 is a serious collection of
information that we needed to know on our first off-road trip in the
desolate desert. Within those 6-weeks, we learned, we got raspberries,
and we managed to put together the first ever system for retracing our
tread. Learning from our mistakes was costly, but damn fun.
The Volume 1 Baja GPs Guidebook took 6 years of the "poor mans"
type riding. After the first year, Juan's pocket book gave up, but I
continued the threat of green stamps. Alan Roach
from Baja Designs and my cousin Jason Lee
were the two responsible for keeping my sanity; it was a trying experience
to say the least. They gave up all their spare time to "test"
the routes and make sure they were as accurate as the GPs promised,
which all came to fruition in December 2000 when the guide finally published.
The Baja GPs Events were invented to educate off-roaders
how to use the guidebook and help keep us all on the right path down
south with the guidebook. The first ever GPs Event was held in 1998,
however, we waited until after publishing to hold the second event in
2001. And, we've continued the GPs Events annually ever since.
Although I spent most of my life on a dirt bike (since
I was 5) and many a weekend in Baja (riding or playing on the beach),
it wasn't until that first big 6-week expedition that made me realize
just how much there was to know and love about Baja. There are places
to stay away from and there are places to keep going back, but most
of all, there are some places to be shared with others. That is what
the guidebook is all about: keeping us in the RIGHT places accurately
and safely with the aid of the Baja GPs Guidebooks and Events! Enjoy.
