EL TOUR DE BAJA- DAY ONE

VIERNES 11/16/07

Ride stats

Start time: 9:23 am

Distance: 75 miles

Average Speed: 15.9 mph

Ride Time: 4 hours 42 min

Total Ascent: 3920 feet

Average Temperature: 76 F

Tecate to Ensenada

Spanish Word of the day: Propano / Propane
Estuche / Case

Today will be the last time that Andres makes fun of Julio for bringing a Mexican blanket. While he was nice and toasty in his tent, Andres spent a cold night with his sleeping bag; he missed his down bag he left back at home.

Cereal for breakfast set the stage for a beautiful morning ahead. We said our good bye to the camp dogs and departed towards the border.

We had a late start while looking for parking to leave the two extra cars that we had. We started riding in Tecate and easily navigated our way out to Ensenada. A warm day welcomed us into Mejico!

The road conditions were fairly good.   A few minutes across the border and we were reminded of the friendly nature of the Latin people.  All of the cars and trucks gave us plenty of space to ride on the narrow two way highway, only two truckers made a pass that was too close for comfort. We had never been so close to a truck with nowhere to go.   Most of the locals we passed smiled and waved.  Some wished us good luck as we rode by.
We made our way through the Baja Wine Country and hit some nice yankee doodle climbs with spectacular desert landscapes just like Simi Valley, Otto would feel at home.

We made one water stop at a local tienda and another stop to watch Julio fix his first international flat, it was a success, for the first time Shawn was not assisting Julio during a flat repair. No tears were shed. 
Our Ensenada arrival was a little more eventful than what we thought, it took a while for us to find our campground, after some off road adventures and hiking through a dry creek we started riding on the Federal Highway to find our camp. 

Bicyclist are not allowed on the federal highways in Mexico

though they are actually safer then the secondary roads.

Finally, after 75 miles we arrived at the ocean front campground that Natasha and Claire had found for us.
They had beer, our tents ready, and the location of hot showers scoped out for us by the time we arrived. It was perfect.

Beef and veggie burgers were served for dinner; we had grilled onions, salad, chips, salsa, and cookies for dessert.
Our trip into town got sidelined by true stories by the campfire, we all need the rest, and we have a long ride ahead tomorrow.
Tomorrow we have 100 miles to go. We don't know the terrain or what to expect, we do know that it should be "epic" once again.

Tour of Baja day two

Tour of Baja index