Baja Bandits. Real or fallacy?

[tmotten]

Read an article in a trail bike mag mentioning how if you get waived down in the Baja desert you don't stop or risk losing everything.

Now I heard stories like this before, but wondered what the experience was with people on RTW trips.

Apparently some famous dirt rider (Baja 1000 fame or something) got stopped and because he was famous they let him keep his bike or something.

Just though I would check here.

[BklynDakar]

A good friend of mine was traveling off road south from San Felipe, Baja and in the a group of guys with a pickup were waiving at him trying to get him to stop. He was convinced it was a robbery attempt and took a long way around them. Fortunately he is an ex-moto cross rider.

As much as I love Mexico, Baja is gringo land and a prime target for the such people.

[Haakonbj]

I have been up and down baja couple of times, and have encountered no problems. Except small mechanical ones :-) A few times I have been waived down in desolated places, but as a single mc, I allways take xtra care.

There is also quite a few people following highway 1 on their way north to a "better" life in US, so when camping i look for a nice secluded spot away from the main road.

Going south, there are small excellent beaches, without those grose american retirement homes on four wheels, on the east side after crossing the desert from the west. A few even contains small huts for fishermans, which makes a good camp for a couple of days.

By youself a hamock.

Happy trip!


Cheers
Haakon

[yuma simon]

Don't ride/drive at night. I do think that the bandits are targeting Mexicans. There are often news stories of Mexicans living in the US visiting relatives, and getting robbed. One of the more memorable stories was told in the local Yuma paper during Christmas of '05 (maybe '04 if you want to research) in which a Mexican family from Yuma went somewhere into Mexico to visit relatives. They stopped on the side of the road to rest (at night), and some "bandits" with AR-15 assault rifles tried to rob the family. One of the family members was shot in the arm, and was treated at the nearest hospital. Mexican federal police officers, assisted by local police officers, went to take a report, and the shooting victim recognized the local officers as the robbers!

My suggestion is, again, avoid the night as far as being out in the open. (That is pretty much the advice anywhere in the world)

[mollydog]

shit does go down from time to time.

[The Big J]

Originally Posted by mollydog

Best not to go solo if you are the nervous type...for the most part it's very safe everywhere in Baja. I've been going down there since about 1962 or so.
Traveled the length of it first time on a bike in 1970. Hope you never get between a drug gang and the Federales. They've had some shoot outs where
10 or 15 guys (on both sides) were killed. Once again...very very rare, but shit does go down from time to time.

Patrick

Although this sounds dramatic, you have occasional outbreaks of violence in the USA also correct?

That said the drug economy is real in Mexico, use your common sense and you are unlikely to hit any trouble. Don`t put your name in the hat for Mexican sheriff at any border towns...