It is mid-November and the weather in Oaxaca continues to be ideal for mountain biking. The thermometer registered 54ºF / 12ºC at sunrise, with a forecast high of 81ºF / 27ºC for the day. The morning boasted clear blue skies, but clouds built up by mid-day, though with no threat of rain. A biker who is a relative newcomer to Oaxaca proposed riding a long and rather challenging loop south out of town through San Bartolo Coyotepec, then across a mountain ridge to San Sebastian Teitipac in the Tlacolula valley to the east. From there the way home would loop through Rojas de Cuauhtemoc and Tule. Four fellows met at the appointed place and began the ride at 9 am. It took an hour to pedal to San Bartolo, using mainly country roads. Then the climb began. The trail was a rough jeep road that ascends 925 vertical feet (282 meters) to a pass crossing the ridge of hills. The riders spent 1.5 hours getting from San Bartolo to San Sebastian Teitipac. From there it was an easy ride on mainly paved roads to Tule and thence back to Oaxaca on the bike path. While riding through San Sebastian our cyclists encountered ten members of the Chalinos bike club from Rojas de Cuauhtemoc who were also enjoying a Sunday ride. They were an impressive sight, as all wore matching uniforms. It was early afternoon by the time the group reached Tule, so it was decided to stop for lunch at a seafood restaurant there. Some cold beer and ceviche really hit the spot! Here are the stats for the day’s outing. Distance ridden: 35.9 miles / 57.8 kms. Total elevation gain and loss on the circuit: 1524 feet / 464 meters. Low point on the loop: 4959 feet / 1511 meters. Highest point: 5891 feet / 1796 meters. Total elapsed time (including lunch break): 5.5 hours. Rating: difficult because of length of ride and roughness of uphill sections on jeep road.
