Ok, so now that I have ridden in the Rosarito to Ensenada 50-mile ride I fashion myself an expert on the ride. If you are going to ride in the event I have listed some tips below of stuff that either helped me out, or would have helped me out, during the event.
Places to stay
Rosarito Beach Hotel – Highly recommend the Rosarito Beach Hotel in Rosarito both nights. If you book early you can usually get in on the bike ride special discount. We paid about $250 total ($125 per night) for the entire weekend for an ocean facing room. The room and hotel was really nice for places in Mexico. It is also right at the start line of the ride.
What to eat/drink
Rosarito Beach Hotel – The Rosarito Beach Hotel includes a complimentary dinner each night you stay, which was nice. The food at the hotel is actually really good. You can also get food at any number of places in Rosarito.
Not the night before – We drank at several places throughout the weekend. The Rosarito Beach Hotel is just down the street from Papa’s and Beer, and “Club Iggy’s”, both which cater to younger types..or really anyone looking to have a lot to drink. We (specifically I) made the mistake of drinking way too much on Friday night, and although the ride is only 50 miles, it can be vicious if you drink heavily the night before.
Ask Prices – If you eat at any of the smaller local bars make sure you have an agreement on the price of any beers before you buy them. The second night we made the mistake of agreeing to get a bucket of beers (10) and I think paid about 4-5$ per beer, which is high in the US, and outrageous in Mexico.
Driving to/from Mexico
Leave Early – It is helpful if you drive down early (like before 4pm) and leave early from Mexico to avoid traffic. We left the hotel at around 8:30am on Sunday and didn’t have a problem with traffic or a border wait in either direction.
Get Insurance – I highly recommend buying Mexican car insurance right before you go into Mexico from any one of the numerous insurance agencies at the last US stop before the border. The insurance is only about 20$ per day, and I am told will really save you in the event of an accident in Mexico. It is a cheap price to pay for some peace of mind.
The Ride Itself
Get the VIP – Pay the extra $10 and get the VIP start. For only $10 you get to start at the front of the ride. It is well worth it to get out of the congestion of the 5000+ riders. The only catch is you are supposed to do the ride in under 3 hours, which shouldn’t be too hard if you don’t drink your face off the night before.
Wear sunscreen – We made a pretty bad mistake of thinking that the marine layer that covered the start of the ride would last. It didn’t. The ride also goes several miles inland, and you will lose any cloud cover you have by the time you get inland. It is a week later and my skin has just begun to peel.
Don’t experiment with new fluids – Apple flavored Cliff Shot fluids suck. Nothing is worse than trying to recover from a bad hang-over with shitty tasting fluids.
Cabs back to Rosarito – After the ride is is extremely easy to catch cabs back to Rosarito for only $20, so don’t fret about transportation back to Rosarito from Ensenada.
Miscelanious
Be friendly – Both locals and event participants were extremely nice, and courteous. The ride really is all about building community among the two nations. Talk to people who are nothing like you, and enjoy the diversity.
Ride starts at 10:30 – We were hoodwinked by some females at the bar on Friday night into thinking the ride started at 7:30. The ride doesn’t start till 10:30 so sleep in.
Obey the laws – Ok, this one is obvious, but if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you probably won’t be hassled.
Ok, that is about all I can think of. If anything else comes to mind I’ll update this post. I hope to see some readers of this post at next years ride.
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