CANTAMAR, MEXICO — "Got dirt?" That's the bumper sticker for the fast-paced, freewheeling lifestyle of all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs -- the most popular off-road vehicle around. The sticker is usually found on the windshield of a Ford or a Chevy or a Dodge that's packed with toys and headed out to nowhere.
Of course, you also need the ATV (which can easily cost up to $8,000), and the safety gear to ride it (which adds an additional $500) and the 4x4 or some other vehicle (for tens of thousands of dollars more) to haul it, which makes it a real commitment in terms of infrastructure.
But what if, like me, you don't own a pickup truck or ATV? What if you're a casual off-roader, interested in only occasional trips to the desert, dunes or forest? That's possible -- and for a fraction of the cost -- via various tour companies that don't just provide the ATV and the riding gear, but also a seasoned guide who won't get lost in the wild.
That's what I was looking for -- and easily found -- online. A quick search yielded a handful of companies offering ATV tours. I chose California Motorsport Adventures, based in San Diego, because it offered day trips, in addition to longer adventures, and the company did them in legendary off-road terrain -- Baja, Mexico.
After signing up by phone and paying a 10% deposit, I was instructed to meet at the border parking lot on a Saturday morning at 8:30. Because I live in Los Angeles, and the border is at least three hours away, I chose to drive down the night before and stay in a cheap hotel in San Ysidro -- the last U.S. town before Tijuana.
At 8 the next morning, I was awake and breakfasted when I got a call from the tour guide offering to pick me up at the motel in his van, which saved me the $9 in border parking. I was the first of two pickups, the other being a pair of twentysomethings from the Bay Area who thought four-wheeling south of the border would make a great bachelor party.
Only one of my fellow tourists had any ATV experience, and it consisted of a single day riding an ATV in Greece. The other had never ATV'd before, making me the most seasoned of our bunch, with three entire days of ATV-ing under my belt. California Motorsport Adventures caters to all experience levels, but I found it novice-friendly and conscientious in its matching of riders with similar skill sets (Riders as young as 8 have taken the trips, but acceptance depends on skill and strength levels.)
