J2 races Baja: Getting to Ensenada and settling in

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As kids riding dirt bikes together they dreamed about riding in the Baja 1000. Decades later, separated and then reunited, they set out to live their dream. This is the story of Jason Hill and John Lowe, J2 Racing, and the others who helped make it happen. Their bike, a 2001 Honda XR650R, is named "Grunt." Jason provides the narrative, and he’s a terrific story-teller. For photos, please view the slide show at bottom. For an introduction to the team, see Reunited riding buddies will fulfill Baja racing dream.

Getting to Ensenada and settling in

After a rather briskly paced 9 hour trip from Columbus, OH, to Columbus, GA, I immediately began helping Rod (Rod Pegram, crew chief and chase support) pack my gear into the trailer. We had to wait for John to get off work before having dinner, then finally hit the road for California by about 7-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12. We drove straight through to Las Cruces, NM, by Friday evening and had to stop for a decent night's rest in a hotel. It felt like we spent 3 days just crossing Texas!! Instead of asking the proverbial question, "Are we there, yet?” the running theme was "Are we still in Texas?!”

Descending into San Diego around 6 p.m. on Saturday evening, we immediately hit heavy traffic, but managed to keep the 40-foot truck/trailer combo steady as we made our way up to Pacific Beach.  I was feeling a little queasy and was hoping it was nothing that would hinder the trip. Whatever it was, it had my stomach in knots. And thoughts of racing in the mother of all off-road races in the western hemisphere for the first time weren't helping matters much.

John, Rod, and I shared a lot of laughs along the way, but the closer we got to Mexico, the more the reality began to sink in. We were excited and a little nervous. The questions kept swirling thru our heads: Are we prepared well enough? Do we have all the gear we need to run this race? Do we have all the info we need so communication goes smoothly? Can we get the beach house early? How do we manage the border crossing considering our schedule as well as that of our wives (mine and Rod's)? When do we start pre-running? What about a rental bike (since mine came up lame in the 11th hour leading up to my departure from Ohio and wouldn't be making the trip)?

On and on the questions and logistical planning kept building and the jovial nature of the trip turned to somber, focused energy directed at getting us to our final destination. Once in country we'd have a better feel for what was going on and what we still had left to do in the days leading up to the race.
The three of us finally decided that I'd stay in San Diego with my friend Andy and wait for the girls to arrive, while John and Rod would go to Ensenada and get settled into the house. Ashley arrived first, so she, Andy, and I headed back to Pacific Beach for lunch at Lahaina, a beachside bar with some killer fish and shrimp tacos. We spent the rest of the day driving around different parts of the greater San Diego area before picking up Liz around 5 p.m. From there, we headed south toward the border. Andy was kind enough to drop us about four trolley stops from Tijuana.

We caught the train in and hiked across the border around 6:30 where we met Jaime Fuentes, the man who would be our personal guide around Ensenada for the rest of the week.

Andy advised us to "follow the stench of urine once you cross into Tijuana. The taxi stand's not far from there." He was right on the money. We found Jaime in a gated lot beyond the first taxi stand you come to after crossing over. Jaime greeted us and we made our way slowly out of the quagmire of Tijuana, headed for Ensenada in the dark, hungry and eager to get down there.

Jaime is a local taxi driver there who Rod hired to show us around and help us get acclimated. He also enlisted him to help us with swap point logistics and navigation during the race as well as assist with a bit of translation since my Spanish is a little rusty. Jaime would prove to be worth his weight in gold before it was all said and done.

Next: Preparation and pre-running

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