Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Rosarito - Ensenada ride... fixed!

This is for the southern california folks.

Getting signed up for the rosarito-ensenada ride this year, and since I'm now road bikeless, I'll be riding it fixed. Anyone else going to be there? I've heard great things about the afterparty, but haven't made it down there yet.

http://www.rosaritoensenada.com/

See you in Mexico. *****ez.

Get out in front early on and stay clear of moms, pops, kids, and drunks. This is a fun course to ride fixed.

hey i might wanna do that. wanna carpool anyone?

or just ride through the border hah.

hey i might wanna do that. wanna carpool anyone?

or just ride through the border hah.

I was just trying to figure out the logistics. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid bringing a car into Mexico. I guess that means taking the shuttle ($20) from Ensenada back to Rosarito, then riding (maybe?) back over the border?

Thoughts from those who have done it?

edit: I ignored the original question Kyle. We can definitely figure out some sort of carpool if you want. Any other SD'ers interested?

-James

yeah, when i said carpool, i didn't mean my car haha.

we should try to get a good group together. this could be super fun.


i'm down to shuttle it up or whatever.

I'm interested, too. But this part worries me a little:

"The Hill is a mesa that towers 800 feet above the valley floor. The climb is 2 miles long and a 7.5% grade."

If I can go up Torrey Pines grade on my fixed, will El Tigre be much harder?

I think there's a big parking lot just before the Mexican border. So, like Nims, I'm probably going to park there and walk over the border, ride who knows how many miles to the start line, do the ride, party, then take the shuttle back to Rosarito.

can you go down torrey pines on your fixed?

rosarito? pssssssh! well, yes, but you gotta go to "lobster town"

i know you know about it. 20 bucks for what? 5 tails, chips, beans, rice and a beer?

can you go down torrey pines on your fixed?

Hmm, that's a good point. I've done it pedal-free (with my feet on the downtube) all the way down. I can also resist the pedals all the way down, but my back gets pretty tired from pushing back on the bars. But at least Torrey Pines is straight and even all the way down.

It says that El Tigre is steep and curvy downhill for a long 8 miles. I think I'll be putting my back brake on for this.

I'm interested, too. But this part worries me a little:

"The Hill is a mesa that towers 800 feet above the valley floor. The climb is 2 miles long and a 7.5% grade."

If I can go up Torrey Pines grade on my fixed, will El Tigre be much harder?

I think there's a big parking lot just before the Mexican border. So, like Nims, I'm probably going to park there and walk over the border, ride who knows how many miles to the start line, do the ride, party, then take the shuttle back to Rosarito.

I've ridden Torrey Pines, but never fixed, and have done Rosarito-Ensenada on a fixed-gear (42x16 Probably coulda geared a little taller actually.). Based on a familiarity with both climbs I wouldn't worry too much about "El Tigre", unless you're running a huge gear.

Keep in mind this is a "fun ride", with literally thousands of people of all abilities. From the standpoint of anyone who rides regularly, it's really not a particularly challenging ride (unless you're hung-over from partying the night before or something.). The biggest challenge on El Tigre is weaving your way through the traffic, half of whom are pushing MTBs with triples.

I actually found the descent down the other side more challenging. I had a brake mounted, but just for sh*ts & giggles decided not to touch it on the descent. Had to do the occasional little short skid just to keep the cadence down to a manageable rate, but never touched the brakes coming down the other side. Would be a piece of cake with a brake, if you didn't mind dragging it a bit to scrub some speed.

I did the Rosarito ride a couple years ago and back then they had a shuttle (coach bus) that would not only bring you down from LA but would also transport your bicycle across the border and back afterwards. It was a great setup and I don't remember it costing all that much.

The course itself was another thing, just like any fun ride, it was really crowded and there was a least one good size hill that had a lot of people walking up it.

I rode it on a geared road bike and apparently doing the Spring ride (as I did) is much better I heard than the dry, and warmer Fall ride.

Good luck!

This sounds really fun - I've been wanting to do that sucka for years now... I'll just be returning from a S.F.-.S.D. tour! Might as well take it a step further.