The ecotourism camp and bike park at La Cumbre Ixtepeji is just 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Oaxaca, making it a favorite destination for both hikers and mountain bikers, given its close proximity to the city. Enduro riders usually shuttle to the park and then enjoy swooping along the many downhill-specific trails built there in recent years. But La Cumbre is a worthy destination in itself for anyone wanting to test their stamina making the 1161 meter (3808 foot) climb from Oaxaca. That is exactly what this ride was about. Using a combination of back roads and Hwy 175, going by way of El Studiante and Tierra Colrado on the climb up, it took 110 minutes to get from the Candiani neighborhood on the south side of town to the office at the entrance to La Cumbre. The exhilarating downhill ride back – all on the highway – took a mere 60 minutes. The display on my Trek “Rail” e-bike showed five bars at the outset, indicating a fully charged battery. Using the pedal-assist motor to help on the climb dropped the indicator three bars. That left two bars for the return journey – more than enough power, as the motor was shut off for the screamer descent to the floor of the Oaxaca valley. That downhill run pushed the speedometer to 67 kms (42 miles) per hour in some places before brakes were applied to make the next curve. Yee-haw! Total distance covered amounted to 53 kilometers (32.9 miles) on the round trip, which took 3.5 hours – counting a couple of rest stops and time for a cup of hot chocolate at La Cumbre.
