Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Rosarito to Ensenada 50 mile ride on Singlespeed

For anyone who rode the supported rosarito to Ensenada semi-annual ride in Mexico, is there any killer hills? how's the terrain. Just wondering if I should take my singlespeed which has a 50x20 gear ratio.

or should I stick with my commuter bike?

Thanks

do it, nothing that bad.

though i dont know the exact route, all larger roads i have ever travelled are steady inclines.

when did you ride the Rosarito to Ensenada bike tour, Track Plague? Do you know if they change routes per ride?

I have never done it, so I dont know the route, but have travelled back and forth quite a bit, and have travelled most of the roads that go down there, main and local. If you are running an easy ratio, I wouldn't worry about it. Ensenada drops down, but i am assuming it will have to be one of the highways or easier roads since this is pretty much open to everyone. Though, I could be completely wrong, so take it all with a grain of salt.

For anyone who rode the supported rosarito to Ensenada semi-annual ride in Mexico, is there any killer hills? how's the terrain. Just wondering if I should take my singlespeed which has a 50x20 gear ratio.

or should I stick with my commuter bike?

Thanks

Go for it, it's a fun ride. Just watch out for all the crashes at the start. The first few miles are pretty sketchy.

Rode it a year or so ago, fixed with a 42x16 gear. If you're a reasonably fit rider it should be a piece of cake, especially considering you can coast the downhills on a singlespeed. I'm too chicken to ride with my feet out of the pedals, so I was spinning like crazy and throwing in the occasional skip/skid to check speed on the downhill.

There's only one climb of any consequence, it's only about a mile or so long, and not terribly steep. Though you'd think it was the worst hill ever from the comments of the people pushing their MTBs with triple-chainrings up the thing.

-Trevor

I've done it 3 times.

There is a ride profile on the main site, rosaritoensenada.com. 25 miles of near flat, then a 900 foot climb, 10 miles of rolling hills, 400 foot climb, 800 foot rather steep drop, 10 miles of flat road into Ensenada. It is always the same route -- it's the 'free' road on the map.

I wouldn't do it with a singlespeed, but there were some along every other type of bike and even rollerblades.

I haven't done that drive in 12 years, but I couldn't imagine someone doing it on a bike the way the roads used to be, and the way the drivers were.

They basically close the road down to motor traffic. 10,000 plus riders takes the entire highway. As others have noted, there is only one climb of any significance. A second climb is shorter, but still challenging. It's a pretty fun ride, but the newbs and dipsh!ts and drunks make it not the safest ride. I did it three times, then discovered domestic fun rides to be less hassle and much safer.

The ride is fun and easy. The logistics of getting you and your bicycle across the border and back is the most challenging. There are companies that will take you, for a fee, from San Diego to Rosarito, then pick you up in Ensenada. That's the best way to go, but it tacks on another fee. Check to see if you need a passport, too. I think this is the last year you can do the ride without papers, but double check me on that.

Mark

It's definitely doable. I've done this ride several times back during the 90's and I've seen wasted dudes on beach cruisers finish this ride.

They basically close the road down to motor traffic. 10,000 plus riders takes the entire highway. As others have noted, there is only one climb of any significance. A second climb is shorter, but still challenging. It's a pretty fun ride, but the newbs and dipsh!ts and drunks make it not the safest ride. I did it three times, then discovered domestic fun rides to be less hassle and much safer.

The ride is fun and easy. The logistics of getting you and your bicycle across the border and back is the most challenging. There are companies that will take you, for a fee, from San Diego to Rosarito, then pick you up in Ensenada. That's the best way to go, but it tacks on another fee. Check to see if you need a passport, too. I think this is the last year you can do the ride without papers, but double check me on that.

Mark
Passport restrictions to US and Mexico were lifted today, who knows how long that will last though.

Random thoughts on Baja....

I did some biking when I was 10 about 600 miles down Baja. We did a bunch of camping, Bahia de Los Angeles was beautiful, as I understand it is now relatively built up. One place we camped on the Pacific was absolutely deserted. There was one village about 5k down a path. There was an older lady who made corn meal tortillas and would walk from about 5k past our camp into town each morning at sunup to cook them.