This past Saturday Tanya and I traveled south of the border to ride in a big party on wheels. This year was the 26th year of the event held twice a year in Sept and April, with April being the larger of the two events. www.rosaritoensenada.com. We have ridden this ride two 2x's in past years, but this year instead of driving we chose to go with a tour company called www.outback-adventures.com/ , and left the driving to them. The company was very efficient, punctual and really took care of the bikes; they made crossing the border easy especially returning back to the US.
When we boarded the bus in the morning we met members from a riding club Dock Riders www.dockridermag.com/ based out of Los Angeles. We were invited to join them on one of their Saturday morning group rides; which we may do in the future. It is always great to meet fitness minded people.
We arrived in Rosarito beach around 9:30am. The race began at 10am, but we where at the back of the line with 10,000+ other riders in front of us. But that was fine, we had come to enjoy the day and the beautiful shoreline not to race.
After a short while we where on our way, weaving in and out of riders trying to find our pace. The roads are at times rough, but the previous day’s downpour added mud and rocks to the mix. The mud and rocks seemed to create an atmosphere for flats which proved true; many riders had them in the first 2-3 miles. Tanya and I escaped the day without one, we where lucky.
The ride travels along the Baja coast through small villages and beach cities for the first 23 miles; then turns inland to the hills. At mile 24 we reached the first major climb El Tigre which is a three mile climb, it had been cool running until this point. El Tigre separates the fit from the unfit, I felt for those who had been enjoying to many cervesa’s along the way. Tanya and I tucked our chins dropped the gears and powered over El Tigre with relative ease. After summitting this climb the landscape opens into vast open fields with ominous mountains standing to the distant east. After 8 to 9 miles of rolling hills the fun begins an equal trade for the major climb, it’s time for the downhill! A great section of 5-6 miles to just cruise and feel the breeze on your face and though your hair.
Finally back to the coast and the final stretch into Ensenada we finished in 3hours 50 minutes, and hour faster than our previous ride there. We made it safely without incident.
We could not have asked for a more beautiful day!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Spinning Fear
Unbalanced reporting of crime in Baja impacts popular cycling event
San Diego, March 25 - The 29th Anniversary Rosarito Ensenada 50 Mile
Fun Bicycle Ride will take place on April 19. And while a fearful few
are still avoiding Baja due to negative media reports on safety,
security surrounding the event is actually at an all-time high.
"Security for tourists in Baja has dramatically increased and we're
seeing positive results," said Gary Foster of Bicycling West, a San
Diego sports marketing company that promotes large-scale participatory
events in Baja California. "Rosarito Beach hosted 150,000 visitors for
spring break and there were no crimes reported against tourists."
Foster attributes recent decreases in Baja tourism to not only a weak
U.S. dollar, but also a fearful public that has been misled by the
media. "News is a product, and fear sells. Violence anywhere is
tragic, but the tragedy here has been compounded by unbalanced media
coverage. Crime rates in Tijuana are no worse than Los Angeles, yet
the headlines have focused on Baja."
"The truth is there's a lot more security now and crime has dropped
off," said Foster. "The state secretary of tourism has implemented
security along the road between the San Ysidro border crossing and the
beginning of the toll road in Tijuana. Federal Police have increased
patrols on the toll road between Tijuana and Ensenada, and so have the
federal Angeles Verdes tourist police. State police are posted at
exits, on-ramps and toll plazas, and the city of Rosarito Beach
launched a new tourist police force."
"We're impressed by Mexico's efforts, and we're pleased to see that
it's working," concluded Foster. "We're looking forward to a great
season of events." The Rosarito Ensenada bike ride is semi-annual and
will take place on April 19 and September 27 in 2008.
The Rosarito Ensenada events begin at 10:00 a.m. in front of the
Rosarito Beach Hotel. The course is 50 miles of paved highway along
the Pacific Coast and inland through rural countryside from Rosarito
Beach to Ensenada. Registration is open to the public and available
online for $35 and at the event for $40. Round-trip transportation is
available from San Diego to the event. Maps and detailed information
is available on event's official website at www.rosaritoensenada.com.
Post a Comment