Gringo : Touristic Information. [Text]

Bicycling In Tijuana.

Crossing the Border into Mexico

Getting into Downtown

Getting to the beaches

Crossing the Border into the United States

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Reader Monz writes a suggestion:

re maps: the important things to show are the barriers -- indicate where there are fences, gates, curbs, automobile lanes, pedestrian-only zones, etc.

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Post-NINE-ELEVEN Update:
     THE PEOPLE HAVE DISCOVERED A SECRET: Bicycling has become the latest, fastest, and therefore best way for daily commuters to beat the long morning waits to get into the United States. The bikes heading north slip past the lines of cars ON THE FAR RIGHT and into Customs via the pedestrian sidewalk, manouvering a sidewalk space roped off by yellow tape and labeled BICYCLES (arrow). This is faster than cars or pedestrians although there's a tiny bit of a bottleneck at one spot in the line up towards the checkout stands.

On the north, around the Trolley stop and along fences in the streets all around, you can see hundreds of bikes locked up during the day. A most curious development and one proof that the people know that necessity is the mother of invention. And no one loves their mother more than Mexicanos.

Turinfo HOT from a READER's Bicycle
-- March 23, 2002

Clark writes:

Daniel and Michael,

First of all, there were about 10 times the bikes I normally see there. The ride in seemed to offer two options: 1. Go through the revolving gate, which would kind of suck with a bike, {GRINGO SAYS DON'T} or 2. go through this narrow path next to RVs and the like. {GRINGO SAYS YES. DIRECTIONS HERE} Once you're in, it's pretty sweet. Just be polite on your bike and things will be fine.

Riding around town, I came to the conclusion that service is so bad in SoCal, that throwing a couple of bucks to a bartender or what have you to watch your bike is no big deal. The folks at Iguana-Ranas (my favorite place to drink and people watch) were very kind about my bike and even carried it up the stairs and locked it in a storage closet for a couple of hours while I went shopping.

Coming back, I was thrilled to coast all the way back to the border and after missing the bike path the first time, I was directed towards the correct one (to the right of the last SENTRI lane). There, 3 US Officers (one woman working and two guys sitting on the lawn) asked me where I was from, etc. They didn't pat me down or anything. There was also no line. What a pleasant crossing.

One final TJ tip. WATCH WHERE YOU ARE WALKING! Especially if you have been partaking of booze or whathaveyou. Mexico obviously doesn't have the same slip and fall laws we do. There are many, many things like spikes sticking out of the ground, uneven surfaces, curbs for no apparent reason and the occasional slick surface. After all the concern with my bike, when I went on a foot patrol to find some things, I tweaked my ankle pretty bad. This isn't the first time this has happened to me or friends on trips to TJ.

So enjoy, act like a good citizen on your bike and don't screw up our nice way of crossing the border with minimal hassle.

Clark

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CLARK -- You RuLe!! -- THANKS!!!

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Other Turinfo Pages:

Tijuana Maptext.

Getting Around
Busses / Taxis

Walking

Bicycling

Disabled

Leaving Town

Things to See.

Revolution Avenue.

Eating

Movies

Museums/Galleries

Markets/Swap Meets

Shopping Malls

SHOPPING!

Drinking

Buying Liquor

Cigarettes

Baja California wine

Customs/Border

Back to our previously scheduled programming:

Until recently, neither one of us, Dano or Mikey, had ever ridden a bike in Tijuana. Now Michael has begun to ride a bit, and enjoy the exercize as well as the breeze, but he hasn't tackled too many hills yet. We've also seen plenty of people who do ride! Kids going to work or school. Adult peddlers (yes, pedalers too) pedaling and peddling and balancing their trays of wares to sell, riding on heavy duty work bikes that remind Dano of when he had his paper route and had to huff and puff up and down the lesser slopes of Mount Helix; and yes, there are other adults riding here, too, both locals and visitors who look more bourgeois sports-types, heading out on their shiny mountain specials cranking up toward the hills....

The latest group of bike-riders is, believe it or not, the COPS! There's a whole corps of bicycle mounted policemen and policewomen who zip around downtown with rather enviable mobility and nice-looking wheels.

On the tourist track, you can see people going up the ramp to the pedestrian bridge over the river and through the mechanical bull plaza of Viva Tijuana shops to grandmother's border we go.

Crossing into Mexico