Leaving NYC: Baja Motorcycle Adventure (Part 1 of 7)
Published June 29, 2021 · 10:24 · 137,292 views
About This Video
This is Part 1 of a seven-part Baja motorcycle adventure. Footage Van shot in 2009 and waited twelve years to edit. $750 for the truck alone. The delay itself is the tell. Most creators would have published this immediately; sitting on material that long means either paralysis or reverence, and the quality of the edit suggests the latter. The setup is deceptively simple: leaving New York City, gearing up for an off-road motorcycle trip down the Baja Peninsula.
What lifts the episode beyond a standard adventure-vlog opener is the tension between Van's New York identity and the desert emptiness he's heading toward. The series format is rare for this channel. Seven parts is a commitment that signals this trip meant something structurally different from his usual standalone essays. The Baja Peninsula operates here less as a destination than as a stripping-down mechanism, removing the urban scaffolding that most of Van's work is built around.
Transcript
two videos per week this spirited man must make two videos per week in order
to optimize the algorithm and provide for his family and so forth
sounds easy but it's a brutal pace especially if he wants to live a life
in a few weeks he begins a six day off-grid adventure with his
three-year-old son no phones no internet can't make two videos that week the videos for that week he must make this week and next week this week and next week he must make
three videos per week in order to bank two videos for mr slace to upload
so today he has resolved to make a video from start to finish you're watching it right now
he made this today because yesterday whilst mining footage
from his archives he found a vein of gold footage from a start to finish adventure
one of his lifetime favorites from 2009. as he clicked through the footage he gained some insights and reflected upon wisdom he's acquired
over the last dozen years subsequent to the adventure the answer is in the attempt maybe he
can put some of that in this thing today i have to buy a new car today i have to buy a used truck today
for the baja trip [Music] so this is what happens when your car costs the same amount as your suit all right where you gotta go um can i
take it to your shop how far is that do you think we'll get this truck to san diego definitely nice that's what i want to hear
chevy just need a little bit of maintenance got the ramp built the ramp got neve's bike what do you think i mean i think it looks
sick dude those tires are totally gnarly 750 later [Music] i just read a scary baja article on the internet
[Music] that means i have to be careful i'm going to the dmv got the trailer plates this is where i registered my first car when i was 17.
this flower survived 200 mile ride got the trailer hitch got the receiver lock got the coupler latch lock
got the trailer this is what connecticut looks like
scott so this is the bike matt's taking time for the off-road section of do you say oh you think those tires are
going to be gross you said baja was all paved i don't think i don't know dude and i also think somebody might steal that
was that bike expensive or no i got it in a box of cereal
[Applause] [Music] smokey has ridden a total of 60 miles on everyone is your kickstand down no go ahead don't touch the throttle when you do it
nice pipes dude thank you rodney so rodney tells me i'm the first person with this motorcycle to put 24 000 miles on it tom sax's studio
[Applause] okay thank you obi-wan there's no try i only do we're doing a motocross grade modification on this so we're doing i'm gonna use loctite and
a washer and a lock washer [Applause] perfect sam is in on baja that's him got the gas can mounts got the saddlebags sam's two-year-old daughter just had to
be flown to a hospital in a helicopter i got the gas tanks
i'll show you how they work for one of the legs and even i have to go on an adventure and find gas so i had to get these auxiliary tanks
got the luggage racks got the headlight got the fender
i'm finally finished with the bike and i'm so happy
it snowed on the first motorcycle trip i ever went on three days before we leave for baja
got the bed buddy this baja trip is bringing me very close to being broke peter's friend has a relatively new car it's at all six i got how this guy's dressed it's 50 degrees out
this is like heaven look at this place look at my blue us purdue what's your strategy for baja
keep the rubber down baby keep the river down [Applause] have i told you how much i admire you brave soldiers have i told you lately
how i love you you matt you know i can't afford the rights to that song
you just cost me ten thousand dollars close your eyes anymore when i kiss your lips
why don't you sing some beatles songs just to break the bank 6 25 a.m wilton connecticut
time to drive to san diego it should be said that in no way shape or form i qualified to drive a pickup truck with four motorcycles
including two on a trailer all the way from connecticut to san diego but you know what i'm doing it anyway
well what do you say guys get off my property get you get in your car and get off my
property is this private property i thought this is a state park this is private property and you are
trespassing my friend this is what connecticut looks like when you're on your way to california [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you
Products & Tools Mentioned
- Kawasaki KLX uses — motorcycle with 24,000 miles used for Baja trip
- Chevy truck mentions — truck mentioned in departure from NYC
- Loctite uses — adhesive/thread locker used on motorcycle maintenance
People Referenced
Tom Sachs