Slow Baja

Geoff Hill is back for an update on Baja Bound Insurance, spoiler alert --Baja Bound can now insure your home in Mexico! We talk Baja travel, trip preparation, where he's just been and where he's headed next. Geoff's not your average Insurance agent. Since his first surf trip in 1990, he hasn't been able to escape Baja's pull. After surfing his way to a degree at UCSD, he joined Baja Bound Insurance in 2003. He is the VP of Business Development, the face of the franchise --and as I say Geoff "lives the brand." When our Lucha Libre Racing Team took on the grueling La Carrera Panamericana in 2006 -we were honored to be the first racing team sponsored by Baja Bound Insurance. We are thrilled to have their continued support for Slow Baja sixteen years later! In this conversation, Geoff announces the new Baja Bound Home Insurance program. We dive into the phenomenal success of the Baja Bound Lifestyle and Travel Expo. The growth of Escapar ala Baja, and the van life explosion. The pros and cons of working remote with Starlink. The bounty of the Valle de Guadalupe, and driving in the NORRA Slow Baja Safari. Get a quote and buy your Baja Bound Insurance here Visit the Baja Bound Insurance Travel Guide here Follow Baja Bound Insurance on Instagram Follow on Baja Bound Insurance on Facebook

Eric Solorzano, the King of Class 11, is a humble mechanic from Tijuana. He’s been racing a Volkswagen in Baja for over 30 years. “Out of the car, I don’t know anything. In the car, as soon as I put it in gear, a calm comes over me,” says Solorzano. Honored by the Mexican Government as the Winningest Mexican in Off-Road Racing history. Solorzano has 11 SCORE Championships, 1 Baja 2000 win, 9 Baja 1000 wins, 7 Baja 500 wins, 11 San Felipe 250 wins, 9 SCORE Primm 300 wins, 4 SCORE Desert Challenge wins, and 3 Mint 400 wins. An iconoclast among his peers, Solorzano does not pre-run. Instead, he spends his time obsessively preparing his race cars. He is outspoken about the current state of SCORE racers and owners. Solorzano compares racing SCORE (with Sal Fish) in the 70s to the era’s music versus music today. I’ll leave you to draw your conclusions, but at 62, it’s safe to say he cherishes his memories of race days (and organizers) of the past. Listen for the story of the Baja 2,000, where Solorzano jumped a junkyard fence, came face to face with a pair of pitbulls, grabbed the needed parts, and went on to win his class in only 69 hours! Follow Eric Solorzano on IG here Follow Eric Solorzano on FB here Watch Eric’s ORMHOF induction film here Watch The Legend of Solorzano by Jonny Mass here

Matthew Schnitzer is a barber in Dana Point, California. Today's Slow Baja Podcast discusses how he formed Barbers for Baja. After organizing two immensely successful holiday toy drives, Schnitzer made a dramatic and ambitious pivot to focus on sending kids in need to college. "Barbers For Baja began at The Kings Club Barbershop with a toy drive for La Mision, Baja California, Mexico in 2019. We were shocked at how quickly our little community rallied together. Our shop was overflowing with toys for these children in no time! We decided to participate in the La Mision toy drive once again the following year. Only this time we reached out to our friends at surrounding barber shops asking them to get involved. Once again, we were shocked at how quickly everyone rallied together to help. In 30 days these barber shops raised over 7K in toys and funds for the children of La Mision. The generosity these barbershop communities had was truly overwhelming! Our hearts were filled with immense gratitude following that event, and we were eager to figure out how we could continue to help. So here we are, combining our barber shop communities to help children all across Baja California have better access to food, education, and medical supplies." Learn more about Barbers for Baja here. Follow Barbers for Baja on Instagram. Buy your box set or donate to Barbers to Baja here.

Michael Squier returns to Slow Baja to give us an update on the premiere of The Baja Bug Movie. The film has three screenings at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival. October 15th and 18th are sold out, but tickets (as of this posting) are still available for the closing night on October 20th. “When the Volkswagen Beetle was first brought into the United States in 1949, only two vehicles were sold. In the early 1950s, the “Bug” established itself as America’s budget car and was so adaptable, it could be turned into a dune buggy, which is exactly what Bruce Meyers did, creating the “Meyers Manx”. By 1967 Bruce Meyers, Vic Wilson, and Ed Pearlman had created the Mexican 1000, a race from the top of Baja to the bottom. Every type of vehicle imaginable, from big 4x4 trucks, stock Volkswagen bugs, motorcycles to home built creations was entered into the race; Bruce and his crew were laughed at when they showed up to the starting line with their little buggies. But to everyone’s surprise, when the first vehicle crossed the finish line 27 hours later, it was the Meyers Manx, paving the way for Volkswagens to take over off-road racing. Celebrities like Steve McQueen and James Garner helped catapult the sport and inspire weekend warriors seeking adventure. This is the story of the humble little car that conquered the desert.” -The Baja Bug Movie Watch The Baja Bug Movie trailer here Check out The Baja Bug Movie website here Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Instagram here Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Facebook here Buy tickets to the Newport Beach Film Festival here

Andrew Norton is a nerd. He freely admits that he's been nerding out on cars since he was a kid in Iowa. His first love was the bold and beautiful Mustangs and Cobras built by Caroll Shelby in the 1960s. Peter Brock was a childhood hero, and Norton often dreamed of the day he would find a dusty Daytona Coupe hiding in a neighbor's barn. By 16 years old, Norton, now living in California, would spend afternoons driving his 1965 Mustang "looking for cool Fords." When he spied an orange and white Bronco, his passion for Shelby's told him he was looking at something special. Fascinated by the bold paint and the "Baja by Stroppe" sticker on its fender, Norton went directly to his local library to research what he had just found. A full-fledged obsession followed, and soon Norton was flying to Texas to buy his first (worn-out) Stroppe Bronco. A web page dedicated to Baja Broncos (early days of the internet) followed to share information with the community. Norton launched Baja Broncos Unlimited and has become a leading source on Stroppe Broncos. He and Todd Zuercher raced a Stroppe Bronco in the NORRA Mexican 1000 for over a decade. They joined Big Oly in the Slow Baja Safari Class this year. Follow Andrew Norton and Baja Broncos on IG here Visit Baja Broncos Unlimited here Learn about the Slow Baja Safari Class here Check out Dusty Times issue 03 here

RIP Jorge Enrique Corral Sandez. The Baja Icon, better known as "Coco," was found dead at his residence. For decades, a stop at Coco's Corner was a must for travelers heading south of San Felipe.  Coco was the informal archivist of Baja's highway 5. He recorded every visitor in his guest registry. Every time we stopped, we would buy a beer, sign the book, and Ted would ask Coco about the road conditions. Coco inevitably would draw a map as he explained in detail the construction progress and the current state of the dirt sections. I recorded this podcast on July 9, 2021 Coco passed at his ranch, South of Gonzaga Bay, on August 30, 2022 Check out Coco's Facebook page here

Peter Brock is an American automotive design and motorsports legend. At age 19, while attending Art Center School, Brock became the youngest designer ever hired by General Motors' design department. In November 1957, legendary GM stylist, Bill Mitchell, selected one of Brock's sketches to become the iconic 1963 Corvette Stingray. After securing his SCCA racing license at 21 years old, he acquired an ex-Le Mans Cooper and returned to California to pursue a career in racing. He landed at the famed Max Balchowsky's Hollywood shop. His next move would be as Carroll Shelby's first employee, running the newly-formed Shelby School of High-Performance Driving. Soon he was working for Shelby American, where he penned logos, merchandise, ads, and car liveries. He designed the Shelby components of the Shelby Mustang GT350s, and his renowned Shelby Daytona Cobra coupe won the FIA GT World Championship. Following his success at Shelby, he founded Brock Racing Enterprises. Brock put the previously-unknown Japanese car maker, Datsun, on the map. The BRE prepared Datsun's dominated SCCA racing, winning on Sunday --and selling on Monday. In 1967, he ventured to Baja with Mary McGee to race in the first Mexican 1000. The experience led to an obsession with off-road racing, and the desolate peninsula. Brock returned to lead the Datsun factory race team for the next three years. Since those early days, he's repeatedly covered the Baja 1000 as a journalist.  In 2010, the Art Center College of Design awarded Brock their Lifetime Achievement Award for "Outstanding accomplishment in the fields of automotive design, technology, innovation, motorsports, and journalism." He was inducted into the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame in 2017. Follow Peter Brock on Facebook here. Learn more about Peter Brock and BRE here.

Mary McGee is an American motorsports racing pioneer. She was the first woman to compete in motorcycle road racing and motocross events in the United States. McGee started as a sports car racer in 1957. She drove the finest cars of the period, from her first race in a Mercedes Gullwing 300SL to racing Porsche Spyders, and Ferrari Testa Rossa's, McGee drove the best of the best. After legendary racer and Porsche dealer, Vasek Polak, suggested she take up motorcycle racing to make her smoother in the car, McGee started road racing bikes in 1960. At a New Year's Eve party in 1963, McGee's pal, actor Steve McQueen said, "McGee, when are you going to get off those pansy road racing bikes and come out to the desert?"  A few weeks later, she began riding dirt bikes and racing with McQueen and his stuntman pals. She raced a Datsun 510 in the first NORRA Mexican 1000 in 1967. McGee was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018 and named an FIM Legend for her pioneering motorcycle racing career. Her career accolades are as follows: Past Pacific Coast Champion SCCA Sports and Formula Cars First woman US MC/FIM motorcycle race in the US – 1960 First woman to finish the Baja 1000 in 1968 First woman to Road Race motorcycles in the US First woman to race motocross in the US First woman to compete in International motocross Only person to ride the Baja 500 solo - 1975 Follow Mary McGee on Facebook here. Learn more about Mary McGee via the AMA HOF site here.

I am pleased to share this 2021 Slow Baja archive conversation on RVing in Baja with Nicole Demme Kapturowski. With the Summer travel season in full swing, I've been fielding loads of questions from folks planning their first Baja trip. I love Nicole's enthusiasm, and her honesty as she shares her heart-felt endorsement for Baja as an RV travel destination. This lively conversation answers many questions and assuages so many concerns that I thought I would share it again. "We have a full plate. My husband retired in 2019 because he has stage-4 cancer, but he's doing well. We're just trying to make the most of our time and not be the cancer family—much the same way with my son, who's autistic. I try not to let that define us. We're not the family with the autistic child; we're just another family out there doing things and living our life. We try not to let those things define us." Moved by the kindness of strangers and stunned by the warmth, attention, and care shown to her autistic son, she eloquently posted about it on Talk Baja. The post received over 2700 likes, 410 comments, and 200 shares! Read her Talk Baja post on Facebook here.

Greg Tomlinson, aka GT, grew up in Dana Point, California. With Baja practically in his backyard, GT has nearly 50 years of Baja stories to share. A lifelong surfer, motorcycle rider, and adventure seeker, exploring Baja is where his wanderlust began. Reflecting on his first father and son camping trip in the early 1970s, "The dads rode in the cab while the kids rode in the back. As the pickup truck, piled high with dirt bikes, surfboards, and camp gear, cruised south, we could barely contain our excitement for the epic adventure to come." GT is the founder of Von Zipper Sunglasses and spent years traveling the globe as the host and webcast presenter of the Billabong World Championship Surf Tour. He's a national title holder in the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. He races classic 60s Triumph motorcycles on both road courses and dirt. During Winter, you'll find GT snowboarding, chasing waves in sunny climes, or riding Baja with his buddies on the Slow Baja Vintage Expedition. Follow Greg Tomlinson on Instagram  Follow Greg Tomlinson on Facebook Learn more about Von Zipper here Learn more about AHRMA here