You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: Baja is off-roading paradise. If you can’t make it down to Mexico to experience the freedom, beauty and challenge of this amazing peninsula yourself, the Monster Energy Rip to Cabo might be the next best thing.

What started 11 years ago as a group of 12 buddies going on a ride has blossomed into an annual event featuring around 40 bikers filmed by a professional crew (including a helicopter) and shown on television.

The Rip to Cabo is 1,500 miles of sand washes, rocks, desert single track, hidden gems and empty beaches. Every year the track changes. This year the route starts in Tijuana and, as usual, ends in Cabo San Lucas.

To get in on the Rip, riders apply online with the organizing group, the Desert Assassins. In 2015 there were 38 spots, most of which were filled by returning riders. New riders have to show that they have the skills to pound out 200-plus miles of gnarly terrain daily for a week straight. Veteran riders call the noobs “fresh fish.”

Riders lucky enough to be selected are treated to a handlebar tour of the best riding Baja has to offer. Past years have included legendary Baja features like the Rock Trail, which lives up to its name with miles of bowling-ball sized rocks; Widow Maker, a puckering climb full of ledges and loose stones; the remains of Santa Maria Mission; and the throttle-to-the-stop Chapala Dry Lake Bed. This year’s ride includes a visit to a 300-foot waterfall that’s so remote it’s never been shown on TV.

And of course this being Baja, there is always something unexpected. In 2014, five bikes fell off a small boat into the Sea of Cortez and had to be retrieved by divers.

Hundreds of riders apply for the ride each year. Those that don’t make the cut, and the rest of us mere mortals, can at least grab a cold beverage and watch the action on TV.

The 2016 ride debuts on ABC’s World of X Games at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time July 16. Dessert Assassins will also make the ride available on YouTube August 2016!

Author: Bob Whitby

Bob has been riding motorcycles since age 19 and working as a journalist since he was 24, which was a long time ago, let’s put it that way. He quit for the better part of a decade to raise a family, then rediscovered adventure, dual sport and enduro riding in the early 2000s. He lives in Arkansas, America’s best-kept secret when it comes to riding destinations, and travels far and wide in search of dirt roads and trails.