EL TOUR DE BAJA- DAY FIVE

MARTES 11/20/07

Ride stats

Start time: 8 am

Distance: 80 miles

Average speed: 16 mph

Ride time: 5 hours 2 minutes

Total ascent: 4420 feet

Average temperature: 74 F

Campo Mayor to La Rumorosa

Spanish word of the day: Abarrotes / Supplies

We had a nice sleepy time at the "Campo Mayor" , they said that Andres snored , but no evidence could be found. Some truck noise as the previous nights was heard but not as bad as the karaoke and fisherman fest in San Felipe. Breakfast consisted of eggs , bacon and apple juice. After breaking camp we left at 8:00 am.

Today's plan is to ride between 70 or 80 miles to La Rumorosa and set up camp outside of the city. We don't know what to expect in terms of terrain, roads, or elevation gain, we just know that we will find some climbing along the way since La Rumorosa is above 4500 feet and we are departing at sea level.

The ride to Mexicali was very flat with some headwind, but the group is working like a well oiled machine after five days of riding together, everybody is pulling their own weight at the front of the peloton.

Once we arrived in Mexicali the roads took a turn for the worst, pot holes, alligator cracking, truck traffic, glass, “micro rocks”, and all types of hazards. All of the riders were on their toes to prevent any mishaps. Most of our flats occurred in this area with two for Jesse and one for Shawn.

Once we left Mexicali we started making our way towards La Rumorosa, which we knew climbing was a sure thing, after a military checkpoint we saw the big climb ahead, we needed to gain more than 4000 feet of elevation. The truckers let us know that the climb was twelve grueling miles. The nice thing was that there were two lanes going up and a nice shoulder to climb on. This was the nicest road that we had seen during our trip. The battle of La Rumorosa started from the bottom to the top with Andres, Jesse, and Julio fighting for the KOM. This climb was a nice change of pace after two days of flats.

Once we got to the top at the toll booth we were just 1.2 miles away from town. We got sodas and water at a local restaurant and started our search for our faithful support team. Natasha and Claire had found a beautiful campsite a few miles outside of town, and as always, a perfect location.

This camp had the coldest shower to date; the cold shower was a nice treat after a long day in the saddle. Dinner was pasta with, meat, and sauce. Cookies for dessert and tea next to the campfire marked the end for another perfect day. Campfire entertainment was provided by Shawn with the question: Which historical event would you have liked to witness?  Answers ranged from the big bang to Oprah’s liposuction but one thing is for sure, Jesus’ birthplace would have been crowded with OTB members and Shawn wanting answers. We also learned that Julio did not remember too much about his wedding day or it was a lot of fun, since he wants to go back and experience it again. Jesse might be a suspect of the JFK assassination; he was at the picket fence.

Ride stats on Motion Based

Tour of Baja Day Six

Tour of Baja Index