Author: Larry

Ten energetic riders showed up for this ride on the West Etla Valley Loop on Sunday, 21 February 2021. Among the group were several regular riders, plus two visitors from Australia – Alee and Ben, both veteran long-distance bikepackers spending some quality time in Oaxaca. Vidal was aboard his spiffy new Specialized bike with custom graphics. Larry was riding the Specialized Enduro on which he had just installed a new 11-speed transmission with some ultra-low gears for steep hill climbs. The gang opted to ride the loop in a clockwise direction, which took them on paved roads to Cuilapam and thence on unpaved farm roads into the countryside. Near the half-way point three of the stronger riders broke off to climb to Cuatro Venados while the rest of the crew continued back to Oaxaca. As usual, the weather was perfect for such an outing, and all had a great time.

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Today’s ride took seven cyclists from Oaxaca through the countryside to Tlalixtac and then up the valley where the Mil Rios trail comes down the mountain from near La Neveria. The full Mil Rios trail is ridden downhill because it is steep and difficult in its upper reaches (see other “Mil Rios” entries on the RIDES page of this website). The lower section, though, makes for a fine out & back ride on a Sunday morning. It took the group 90 minutes to pedal from Santo Domingo church in Oaxaca to the entry point to the Mil Rios trail, where there was a toll station at which each rider paid a fee of 10 pesos. The initial few miles from that point were on a freshly-graded dirt road which services the four dams spaced at intervals up the valley. Eventually the road petered out and the trail became a single track running through the forest. A number of stream crossings and rock gardens made the ride interesting. Time constraints dictated when the group had to turn around and head back to Oaxaca. Ultimately the gang pedaled 24.2 miles (38.9 kms) round trip, gaining and losing 1447 feet (441 meters) in elevation along the way. The mercado in Tlalixtac provided a good place for a tasty lunch stop on the way home.

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Fourteen bikers showed up for the first Sunday ride of 2021, meeting at the plaza in front of Santo Domingo at ten am on 3 January. As expected, it was a glorious day, with blue skies, lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze. The ride was scheduled one hour later than usual, anticipating a chilly morning. In fact, though, the thermometer registered 64º F (17.7º C) at sunrise, signaling a warm day. The destination for the ride was the monumental statue of the Danzante, perched atop a hill just outside Zimatlan 16.6 miles (26.7 kms) distant. Half the riders in the day’s contingent had never ventured there before and so were excited about pedaling to someplace new. One rider had to turn back due to a mechanical problem halfway to the Danzante. When it came time to depart from the Danzante, three of the group dropped out to visit a friend in Zimatlan. Of the remaining ten bikers, five opted for a longer and more challenging route back to Oaxaca, riding 28 miles through the rolling hills west and north of Cuilapam and then through San Pedro Ixtlahuaca. That left just five of the original band to retrace their path back to the city. All agreed that it was a fine outing to kick off the new year. Photos, a map and elevation chart for this ride appear on the RIDES page of this website under the heading “Danzante of Zimatlan”.

It is a very quiet Christmas holiday weekend in Oaxaca. Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there were no posadas this past week and no festival of the radishes on 23 December. There was no giant Christmas tree in front of the cathedral, and the city did not decorate the zocalo with hundreds of poinsettias this year. While some families had festive gatherings, there were none of the block parties that usually occur over the holidays. So on this Sunday morning eleven bikers gathered at 9 o’clock for a moderate ride to Huayapam and back – a short but satisfying outing. The round-trip distance amounted to 18.5 miles (29.8 kms).

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Another Sunday, another perfect day in paradise! Blue skies and a forecast high temperature of 78º F / 25.5ºC just a few days before Christmas — what more could a cyclist wish for from Santa? Eight members of our riding club assembled at 9 am for today’s moderate excursion into the rolling hill country west of Monte Alban — certainly one of our favorite areas. Using a combination of paved and dirt roads, the gang pedaled a total distance of 30.8 miles (49.6 kms), gaining and losing 1317 feet (401 meters) in elevation in the course of the day. One of our number was a recent arrival in Oaxaca and going for his first bike ride in many years. He acquitted himself well in this introduction to mountain biking in the Valles Centrales of Oaxaca.