# Rosarito to Ensenada Bike Ride



## Edster (Aug 22, 2004)

I plan on doing this ride on September 30th and wanted to know if anyone has any experience (good or bad) about the shuttle service that takes you from Ensenada to the start in Rosarito. My family plans on staying in Ensenada and I was thinking of taking the shuttle service up to Rosarito that day of the ride. I want to know how they secure and treat the bikes, etc. I'm debating whether or not to take my Orbea Opal or my 5 year old Litespeed Tuscany.

Thanks!


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## Carbon Racer (Apr 16, 2005)

*Ensenada*

I've done the ride several times and have always stayed in Ensenada and taken the shuttle. The bikes are packed in pretty tight, so if you're afraid of a scratch or two on your paint, I'd bring the older bike. If you have'nt done the ride before, make sure you start near the front unless you want to be dodging riders for 50 miles. The course is excellent and fast.
On a side note , I have an amusing and disturbing story that will preclude me from any further trips south of the border. My wife and I went down for the spring ride and stayed at a luxury resort hotel we had stayed at previously (Corral Inn and Marina). Shortly after arriving, my wife decided to take a bath in the tub. A loud scream from the bathroom brought me running. My wife is recoiling in the tub and pointing at a floating object in the water. I quickly grab some kleenex and retrieve the object, which turns out to be Mr. Hanky. My wife said when she turned on the water, it was'nt flowing freely until....Hi dee Ho.....plop. We tried to pretend it did'nt happen, but after going to bed and tossing and turning for several hours, I said to my wife, "Honey, do you suppose they wash these sheets in the same water you were bathing in?" That was it. We were up, packing, and driving back to the good ole USA. 
So if you decide to go, heed the warnings about the water. Don't drink it. Don't brush your teeth with it. Don't bathe in it. Other than that, have fun.


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

Carbon Racer said:


> So if you decide to go, heed the warnings about the water. Don't drink it. Don't brush your teeth with it. Don't bathe in it. Other than that, have fun.



This is why I'm taking the shuttle out of San Diego :thumbsup:


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

*Just remember one thing....*

I grew up in Mexico and have done that ride several times. Americans tend to be too trusting with there bikes and leave them unattended. Just remenber one thing...Never, Ever leave your bike unattended. As far as the shuttle goes, bring a bike that you're not afraid to scratch. If you can do 50 miles in two hours plus, meet up with a group that meets half a kilometer down the street at a restaurant called Rene's. See you there.


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## Grumpy Pig (May 31, 2006)

+3 on the bike shuttle. Bring the beater.


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## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

Okay, another question on this one. I'm staying at the Rosarito Beach hotel.

Beater bike: check
Hotel: check
Shuttle to Ensenada: check

Getting from San Diego to Rosarito on Friday and back on Sunday? I know there are shuttles on the day of the ride, but any good transportation the other two days? I could drive down, done it before. But I have a much more expensive car these days, so I'm a little concerned about taking it down there and leaving it at the R-B hotel.

Any suggestions? Find a car pool buddy who's not driving a nice car?


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## Fender (Feb 26, 2002)

*Transportation*

One option some friends have done in the past is parking in San Ysidro and crossing the border on their bikes. Ohce their, they''ll take a station wagon cab to the start for cheap. For the return trip you can always take a cab back or a luxuary bus from Ensenada to Tijuana. There are some that will drop you off at the border so make sure you ask for one.


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

*how nice?*



magicant said:


> Okay, another question on this one. I'm staying at the Rosarito Beach hotel. But I have a much more expensive car these days, so I'm a little concerned about taking it down there and leaving it at the R-B hotel.


I've stayed at the RB Hotel and done the ride several times. Only way to go IMO. Leaving the car at the hotel isn't the problem. It's a nice place with a set-back parking lot, underground too. More of a matter if you want to drive said car through TJ and down to RB and back or not.

i took the shuttle back from Ens. last time. Bike paint: chipped. Although we did get the driver to stop for beer and tequilla, so I cared a little less about the paint when we arrived in Rosarito 

have a great ride. stay on your toes the first 5 miles - it's noobie wreck-fest.

oh, and fill your pockets with hard candy to toss to the kiddie spectators along the route.


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

Did the ride this weekend (first organized road ride long time DH'er :blush2: )

2:55 avg'd 17.2 paused once for about 2mins at the top of the climb to grab water


def a good time had a friend drive us down and then meet us in Ensenada and we camped at Salsapuedas sat night :thumbsup: 

Next time we'll either stay in rosarito or camp at La Fonda :thumbsup:


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## Fender (Feb 26, 2002)

We stayed at the La Paloma resort about 3/4 of a mile from the start. The ride was a blast. My gf completed her first 50 mile ride. She was tired and needed a little help in the last 10 miles, but she did really well. The other people in our group also had a blast. No crashes or even close calls. Tons of fish tacos and beer. 

As for lodging in La Paloma, I would advise against it. Dealt with a private owner who advertises in several websites and he is just a dishonest business man. His wife quoted my gf a price and when i went to pay (he lives down the street from me in Long Beach) he charged me higher price. I wasn't sure what the original price quoted was so I paid only to realized later that we had been overcharged. The next day we called and he was reluctant to honor the original lower price. After much going back and forth he finally agreed to charge us the lower price. One the day we went to make the final payment he stated that if we wanted to bring in more than 7 people we were going he would be charging us more despite the fact the condo could hold up to 9. Long story short, he is shady. The condos were okay. Old, dingy smell, probably some mold in them. One door knob was broken and the glass table was cracked. Other than that it was okay.
________
MOTOR NORTH AMERICA


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

Fender said:


> We stayed at the La Paloma resort about 3/4 of a mile from the start. The ride was a blast. My gf completed her first 50 mile ride. She was tired and needed a little help in the last 10 miles, but she did really well. The other people in our group also had a blast. No crashes or even close calls. Tons of fish tacos and beer.
> 
> As for lodging in La Paloma, I would advise against it. Dealt with a private owner who advertises in several websites and he is just a dishonest business man. His wife quoted my gf a price and when i went to pay (he lives down the street from me in Long Beach) he charged me higher price. I wasn't sure what the original price quoted was so I paid only to realized later that we had been overcharged. The next day we called and he was reluctant to honor the original lower price. After much going back and forth he finally agreed to charge us the lower price. One the day we went to make the final payment he stated that if we wanted to bring in more than 7 people we were going he would be charging us more despite the fact the condo could hold up to 9. Long story short, he is shady. The condos were okay. Old, dingy smell, probably some mold in them. One door knob was broken and the glass table was cracked. Other than that it was okay.



nice! yea gonna do the april ride also next spring think I'll camp again at least my tent is always nice and clean :thumbsup:


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## Edster (Aug 22, 2004)

*Rosarito - Ensenada Ride*

This ride was a blast. My first and not my last ride in Baja! We actually stayed in Ensenada Friday evening and took a shuttle up to Rosarito the morning of the ride. My buddy and I were actually a couple of rows back from the main stage. A lot of "eye candy",  especially some of the models from Corona and Powerade. The start was a little concerning and you definitely have to be alert during the first couple of miles as you have some slow riders and really agressive ones weaving in and out. However, everyone I met or talked to, were really nice and pleasant.
I especially liked passing through the little towns during this ride. It seemed like the locals would be on the side of the road cheering everyone on - just like the TDF. Little children would be yelling "candy, candy" and some cyclists would dig into their jersey pocket and throw candy into the air. Folks on the toll road would stop on the side of the road cheering everyone on as well.
We did come upon some crashes during the middle of the ride. There was one pile up at one strecth and there were some individuals laid flat out in a ditch and luckily some locals were attending to them.
The ascent up "El Tigre" was not as difficult as I was led to believe. My buddy was obsessed with this "hill" all of last week and I guess he suffered because he fell way behind. He even changed out his cassette to a 13-29, but I was fine with my 12-25.
My total ride time was 3:20 and I think that long descent probably helped a bit. The finish line fiesta was a blast and we road back to our hotel room, showered and went into town and finished off with steak, lobster and a margarita.
Now coming back on Sunday was a little bit of a challenge. The border wait was like 4.5 hours! :cryin: For whatever reason, the police in Tijuana diverted us to the Otay border crossing and that was a nightmare. I think next time we will come back on a Monday. My buddy took some pics and I will upload onto this thread once I get them from him.


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

Edster said:


> This ride was a blast. My first and not my last ride in Baja! We actually stayed in Ensenada Friday evening and took a shuttle up to Rosarito the morning of the ride. My buddy and I were actually a couple of rows back from the main stage. A lot of "eye candy",  especially some of the models from Corona and Powerade. The start was a little concerning and you definitely have to be alert during the first couple of miles as you have some slow riders and really agressive ones weaving in and out. However, everyone I met or talked to, were really nice and pleasant.
> I especially liked passing through the little towns during this ride. It seemed like the locals would be on the side of the road cheering everyone on - just like the TDF. Little children would be yelling "candy, candy" and some cyclists would dig into their jersey pocket and throw candy into the air. Folks on the toll road would stop on the side of the road cheering everyone on as well.
> We did come upon some crashes during the middle of the ride. There was one pile up at one strecth and there were some individuals laid flat out in a ditch and luckily some locals were attending to them.
> The ascent up "El Tigre" was not as difficult as I was led to believe. My buddy was obsessed with this "hill" all of last week and I guess he suffered because he fell way behind. He even changed out his cassette to a 13-29, but I was fine with my 12-25.
> ...


Yea I saw that same crash guy in a yellow jersey lay'd out face down, didn't look good  hope he turned out ok! people kept looking back rubber necking almost causing more accidents! I yelled at a few to look forward and keep riding!

the kids askign for candy was funny, a few guys at the start were telling everyone stuff candy in thier jerseys and handed out bags of candy....I stuffed one whole jersey pocket full! and kept a lill box of nerds for myslef 

"El Tigre" was not that bad! I was also expecting more but I trained on bigger hills so I had plenty left to CRANK the decent! was fun the crowd def thinned out at that point and I topped out at 47.7 coming down 


I think I will def camp again next time was no hassle no fuss and probably just as clean as most of the hotel  

as for the boarder yea I've had friends get deverted to Otay Mesa or even Tecate trick is get out early. We grabed breakfast in La Fonda and hit the road we were at the boarder by 11am only waited 1.5hrs. not so bad considering :thumbsup:


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## Edster (Aug 22, 2004)

*Rosarito - Ensenada Pictures*

Some pictures from this past weekends ride
- Nice scenery at the start line
- The mass of cyclist behind us during the start
- The start
- Coastal stop
- Last three pictures - the "El Tigre" climb


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## J.D. (Jun 9, 2007)

It is so much fun. This will be my 3rd time, and everytime we've stayed at the Rosarito Beach Motel. I like parking one time for the whole weekend, sleeping in a little bit the next day, walking down stairs, hopping on my bike & taking off. Then after the fiesta taking the shuttle back. Plus it's alot less driving on Sunday when it's time to go home. Every bit helps when your heading back to Tucson. I did it in 2:39 last September and I've set a goal of 2:30 this weekend. My only bike is a Scott CR1 so it freeks me out about the trailer on the shuttle. My advice to you all is pick a trailer with padding that will protect the down tube. One time I didn't with my Klein and it wore the paint off. If you pick one with carpet or some type of padding you should be ok.

JD


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

I take the shuttle down from San Diego. They drive you down saturday am, have FREE beer and tacos for you at the finish line. Change your clothes and head out to Papas and Beer and they drive you home :thumbsup: 

This is also my third time my goal is 2:45 (took me 3:00 the first time, but I've only been riding road for 1.5 yrs so realistic goals)


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

protijy said:


> I take the shuttle down from San Diego. They drive you down saturday am, have FREE beer and tacos for you at the finish line. Change your clothes and head out to Papas and Beer and they drive you home :thumbsup:


got more shuttle info? sounds good.



protijy said:


> This is also my third time my goal is 2:45 (took me 3:00 the first time, but I've only been riding road for 1.5 yrs so realistic goals)


I'm shooting for < 5 hours. Depends on how many beer / nap stops I take.  Who wants to do a fun ride in 2 hours??? 20 mph average?


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## protijy (Oct 1, 2004)

shuttle is run by 
http://outback-adventures.com/

good stuff they know what they are doing!


Ride hard! party harder  See you at Papas and Beer!:thumbsup:


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