There is no shortage of flowing trails around San Pablo Etla, a suburb on the north side of Oaxaca city. This Sunday afternoon ride follows a popular trail (almost identical to the San Pablo Mountain Park Loop Two reported elsewhere on this web site). Fact is, there are so many intersecting trails in these parts it is possible to make a thousand variations so there is always something new, even when you’ve ridden the area many times over.
The bulk of the ride is on singletrack trail that pretty much follows the contour lines of the hills — though there are some rather steep ups and downs. The trail is quite narrow, for the most part, and often runs off-camber. There is a good assortment of rocky sections to keep you on your toes, and lots of thorny shrubbery waiting to draw blood from passing bikers.
The loop ride shown on the map below covers 6.0 miles (9.65 km) with a gain and loss of 1002 feet (305 meters) on the circuit. The high point just touches the 6000 foot mark (1829 meters), while the low point tips the altimeter at 5500 feet (1676 meters).
