Slow Baja

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

Josiah Roe is the co-creator of The Journal of Lost Time, a digital publication that shares stories of timeless immediacy. After acquiring a painters-tape green Vanagon, which he lovingly calls Barb, Roe set out for an extended Christmas vacation in Baja. An epic adventure ensued, and he vowed never to miss a winter exploring Baja Sur again. Upon his return, he left his tech job and his comfy apartment in San Francisco and embarked on being a part-time van lifer. Combining his passion for travel and photography, he began creating stories for destination marketing organizations. The Journal of Lost Time was born, and on a road trip to Baja Sur, he dreamt up Escapar a La Baja, a Vanlife and Overlander meet-up in La Paz. The first Escapar a La Baja in 2019 had sixty vehicles, and this year's event has grown to 250! The Lost Places event series, "a celebration of gathering in beautiful places," followed and now hosts meet-ups in six locations. Follow Josiah Q. Roe on Instagram Learn more about The Journal of Lost Time here. Follow The Journal of Lost Time on Instagram Learn more about Escapar a La Baja here. Read Baja Like Nowhere Else here.

This Slow Baja Podcast is an archive edition with Off-Road Hall of Fame Racer Curt LeDuc. I recently saw LeDuc at the NORRA Mexican 1000. He led the Ford Factory Bronco Team. In a test of engineering and endurance, Ford ran a stock 2022 Bronco Wildtrak with a Hoss 3.0 suspension. The only modifications were a roll cage and five-point racing harnesses for safety. The stock Ford Bronco ran from the start in Ensenada and finished without issue 1000 miles later in San Jose del Cabo. LeDuc is a salt-of-the-earth Baja racer with an impressive record of DIY accomplishments in off-road racing. When asked about his approach to building winning racers, LeDuc said, “I’m not an engineer; I’m an imagineer” He’s built and raced his vehicles at the highest levels of desert racing for decades. He’s won championships in Desert Class 8 -five years in a row and has two Short Course Off-Road Drivers Association titles, a Governor’s Cup, and a rare and valuable Borg Warner Cup. Inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall Of Fame in 2015, LeDuc, through all his successes, is revered for achieving it all with his own hands. He is a blue-collar racer who earned a reputation for fixing anything with almost nothing. Skills that got him hired by icon Walker Evans. Not only is Curt the guy you want with you in Baja for his mechanical aptitude, but he reportedly knows every mechanic, welder, and taco shop on the peninsula. Enjoy this Slow Baja conversation with Curt Leduc, a man that legendary racer Jack Flannery said was made of “gristle!” Visit Curt LeDuc’s Baja Legends Website Follow Curt LeDuc on Instagram Follow Curt LeDuc on Facebook Learn more about ORMHOF here

Today's Travel Talk with Slow Baja has me chatting with Leda Gamboa, the owner of Adobe Food Truck in the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja, California. Adobe Food Truck is a top-notch Tapas Restaurant masquerading as a food truck. I visited for lunch and asked Leda to pick something for me --she selected the spicy beef tongue and a Jardin Magico, Sauvignon Blanc, from Adobe Guadalupe Vineyard next door. I was delighted and a little surprised by the pairing. Later that afternoon, I returned to talk with her about her culinary journey and the food scene in the Valle. She was happy to have a Slow Baja conversation and shared several of her favorite wines, winemakers, and restaurants. Adobe Food Truck is dog-friendly and open to the public. It's located just before the main gate of Adobe Guadalupe Winery. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays Adobe Food Truck is Slow Baja Approved Follow Adobe Food Truck on Facebook Read about Adobe Food Truck on Tripadvisor Mentioned in today's show: Emevé Winery Christina Pino, winemaker, Santo Tomas Winery La Concheria 

Raul Aguiar and Caroline Kane are the affable owners of Rancho La Bellota, a 2800-acre guest ranch located in Tecate Baja, California. Rancho La Bellota is a portal to another era. Free from cell service and wifi, guests quickly adapt to the rhythms of ranch life. The coffee is ready at 6:30 AM, and after a cup on the porch, the guests gather in the sun-washed dining room for a hearty breakfast. Following breakfast, it's time for a ride. I select a cowboy hat from the rack and make my way to the saddled horses. Jan, a La Bellota regular, knows the hat's owner (he leaves it at the ranch) and says it looks good on me. It's been forty years since I've ridden a horse, so I'll take the compliment. The horses at Rancho La Bellota are retired from a life of working cattle. Hence, as I mount my handsome palomino, Raul gestures to the horse and says, "it's an automatic with power steering and power brakes," letting me know with a wry smile that it's an easy horse to ride. In addition to being an expert horseman, Raul is a devoted overlander and drives a pop-top 1969 Chevrolet Suburban that he designed. He regularly hosts overlanders on their way up and down the Baja peninsula. He's quick to stress that he's not running a free campground; he's a proud native of Baja California who gladly shares his knowledge and experience to help travelers enjoy their time in Baja. Rancho La Bellota is Slow Baja Approved Learn more about Rancho La Bellota here. Follow Rancho La Bellota on Facebook Follow Baja Peninsular on Instagram

Sandra Dibble is a veteran reporter who worked as a Tijuana-based foreign correspondent for the San Diego Union-Tribune for 28 years. She earned a master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University and worked at The Miami Herald for nearly a decade. Dibble was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for uncovering the Reagan administration's clandestine support of the Nicaraguan Contras. She wrote about Oaxaca, Mexico, for The National Geographic. She hosts the Border City Podcast for the Union-Tribune. "Border City: A podcast about beauty, violence and belonging in Tijuana from a journalist who spent more than 25 years reporting at the border. In this eight-part podcast, Dibble introduces listeners to Tijuana the way she was introduced to it — through the news stories she covered but also through her personal connections in the city's cultural community and her friendships with ordinary Tijuanenses." -The San Diego Union-Tribune Border City is available wherever you find podcasts. Follow Sandra Dibble on Twitter Follow Sandra Dibble on Instagram  Follow Sandra Dibble on Facebook

On Earth Day, I am delighted to share this Slow Baja conversation with Paula Pijoan. Paula is a native plant expert and a fierce advocate for the land and nature. She is a certified practitioner of shinrin-yoku, the Japanese art of forest bathing, also known as forest therapy. We met at Vinos Pijoan, her family vineyard in the Valle de Guadalupe. When I arrived, Paula was transferring native plants, so I sat down on the ample patio and ordered a cheese plate and a glass of Pink Convertible -- a dry rosé of Zinfandel + Grenache. "My relationship with wine is that I drink it --I don't get so involved in the production of it!" Paula said as she joined me in this conversation.  Enjoy! Vinos Pijoan is Slow Baja Approved!  Follow Paula Pijoan on Instagram   Follow Vinos Pijoan on Instagram Learn more about Forest Bathing at Respire Bosque   Follow Respire Bosque on Instagram   Learn more about the native plants of Baja here