12-5-07 // Events: New Stage Race Goes Big In Baja

Following in the footsteps of popular long-distance mountain bike stage races like Trans-Rockies, La Ruta de los Conquistadores and the B.C. Bike Race comes a new event with a twist. The Baja Epic, debuting next November, will be a four-day, 300-mile race across Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. The primary focus of the event will be rugged Baja terrain—ranging from beach to desert to high-alpine forests— but with vacation destinations linking the route together, racers ought to be motivated to get to the finish each day to enjoy the surroundings.

Armando Carrasco and Rob Quinn, the two minds behind the Baja Epic joined us for breakfast last week and filled us in on the details of the Baja Epic. As we slammed breakfast burritos and coffee on a rainy morning in San Clemente, the two spoke excitedly about the terrain and towns that Baja riders will experience. “It’s such a killer way to see this part of Mexico that you’d never be able to on your own,” Quinn said. “The first time I went down there and rode some of these trails, I saw the Baja Peninsula in a way that I never before imagined.”

Carrasco is familiar to many California mountain bikers—he’s a former motocross champion who runs Too Much Fun Promotions, organizers of motocross, mountain bike and road events in Baja. Carrasco and Quinn started working together in 1987, when they put on the Montaña Grande mountain bike ride in Rosarito Beach, the first organized mountain bike event in Mexico.

These days Quinn manages a radio station in Denver, and over the past few years he’s ridden in several epic off-road stage races. I hung out with Quinn a few weeks ago in Costa Rica, where he was racing his third La Ruta de los Conquistadores (thus proving he’s one determined dude). With Quinn’s passion for mountain biking, Too Much Fun’s event infrastructure and Carrasco’s Baja connections (“He’s the man for all things Baja,” Quinn says), the two decided to plot out a course for the Baja Epic and launch it next November.

One of the unique aspects of the Baja Epic is that every stage will start and finish directly at host hotels. That means no long shuttles and more time to relax and explore the towns after each stage. Or kick it by the pool, your choice. Also worth noting is that, Baja being Baja, security is something race organizers have put great emphasis on. Not only will the hotels be first rate, says Quinn, but they will be completely secure with no worries about expensive bikes and gear.

Another draw for the Baja Epic is easy accessibility for U.S. racers. Fly into San Diego, and race organizers will handle the rest. Shuttles will run directly to the start in Rosarito Beach. Lastly, despite what you might be envisioning for Baja mountain biking, it won’t be a ride on the beach. Carrasco and Quinn are talking huge climbs, big mountains and lots of vertical. There will be very little pavement and at least 20 percent of the course will be singletrack. That might sound like a small percentage, but on days when you’re riding 80 miles and climbing 8,000 feet, that amount of singletrack is plenty. And it’s more than you see at many races of this type.

Though course details are still being finalized for next year’s November 5-8 event, here’s a rough breakdown of the stages.

DAY 1: Rosarito Beach to Tecate via Rancho Santa Veronica. 60 miles; 6,000 feet of climbing.

DAY 2: Tecate to Ensenada. 80 miles; 6,000 feet of climbing.

DAY 3: Valle De La Trinidad to Mike’s Sky Ranch. 60 miles; 8,000 feet of climbing.

DAY 4: Ensenada to Rosarito. 60 miles; 4,000 feet of climbing.

For more info, check out www.toomuchfun.com.mx.