Irvine, Calif.  – Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Casey Currie saddled up his KX™450F this morning and ventured across the U.S. border into Tecate, Mexico to begin the 1,400-mile, eight-day adventure to the tip of the Baja peninsula. The Desert Assassin’s Rip to the Tip, which debuted in 2006, was created by Cameron Steele and Larry Badgwell who were originally looking to share their love of Baja with their closest riding buddies. They recruited 12 of their friends, known as the Dirty Dozen, and embarked on the challenging adventure from the U.S. border-town of Tecate, Calif., through the length of the Baja peninsula, finishing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Since its inception, the event has proven a success and has grown in notoriety over the past five years. This year’s event will host more than 40 riders, including Currie, who will spend over a week riding through blazing-hot desert, treacherous single-track mountain trails, sand washes, dunes, beaches, boulders, canyons, and steep grades in hopes to make the full-pull, all the way to Cabo San Lucas.

Recon Mission

Since the trek is so demanding, the riders do as much planning as possible before the official launch date. In the days preceding the event, several of the riders went down to Baja to perform recon missions. Currie loaded up his KX450F and blasted south of the border to scout the terrain with the Desert Assassins to get an idea of what the trek had in store. They stopped to take a few scenic shots atop the scenic La Rumorosa grade, eat lunch, and discuss their plan of attack.

Preparing for Launch

The night before the launch into Mexico, Currie stopped by Kawasaki headquarters to put some finishing touches on his KX450F. To ensure a safe trip over the duration of the grueling 1,400-mile adventure, the Kawasaki off-road team outfitted the bike with brand new tires, an 18” wheel on the back, a Baja Designs™ headlight, an IMS™ long-range fuel tank, and a GPR™ steering stabilizer. With all the necessary bells and whistles, Currie packed up and headed down to Tecate, Calif. to prepare for the 4:30 a.m. launch into Baja.

Blast-Off

At 4:30 a.m. the Desert Assassin’s Rip to the Tip posse crossed the border into Tecate, Mexico and began their epic journey. Upon entering Mexico the riders were met by the Mexican Board of Tourism and were wished a safe journey through the beautiful country-side. After a slow start at the El Hongo toll booth, the riders set off to hit the badlands of Mexico with La Rumorosa being the first of several obstacles they would encounter over the course of their adventure through the Baja peninsula. If all goes well, by the end of day-one they plan to stop and spend the night at Mike’s Sky Ranch. Stay tuned as we continue tracking Currie’s progress via GPS as he travels deeper into the Mexican wilderness over the next seven days.