Category: Countryside

Countryside, Foothills, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes

Bike & swim day

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The Biciosos club (https://www.facebook.com/Biciosos-99855150398/timeline/) sponsored a Sunday ride in keeping with the hot weather we’ve had in Oaxaca in recent weeks. First of all, the ride was scheduled for just after sunrise to take advantage of cooler temperatures. And the outing included a stop at a local balneario (swimming pool) in the early afternoon.

The loop ride began and ended at the Plaza Bella shopping mall near the village of Atzompa. The 17 riders in the group pedaled west to San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, then turned south and rode through rolling hill country to Cuilapam. From there the route continued south on dirt roads through farm country, with a brief stop at a small reservoir before winding up in Zaachila, where we stopped for a late breakfast and then spent a couple of enjoyable hours splashing around at the balneario. Afterwards the group returned to Plaza Bella to conclude the day’s outing.

The route covered 31.2 miles (50.2 kms), with an elevation gain and loss of 2030 feet (618.7 meters) through the rolling countryside. The high point was 5482 feet (1671 meters) in the hills south of San Pedro Ixtlahuaca; the low point was 4980 feet (1518 meters) in Zaachila.

 

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Outing, Photos, Ride Routes

Western Etla Valley Foothills

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Sunday, March 13th was a day of clear skies and warm temperatures.  D.,  C., C., P., and E. met up on the highway out Etla way to explore some of the network of paths, trails and dirt roads on the western side of the Etla valley in the scrub-brush covered foothills that sit between the toll highway to Puebla / Mexico City and the pine-covered mountains.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Introducing a Colorado Mountain Biker to Oaxaca’s Trails

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Spencer, who hails from Boulder, Colorado, was spending a few weeks in Oaxaca and was anxious to acquaint his Yeti mountain bike with some of our favorite trails. So on this Thursday in early February some other gringos who call Oaxaca home (two of whom are also from Colorado) decided to introduce Spencer to the wholesome goodness of the trails above San Pablo Etla — specifically, the Oaxaca Flume Trail. The group arrived in San Pablo at about 10 am and hit the trail soon after. It is a long slog up a rather steep (11% to 12% grade) dirt road that leads from the valley floor up past the “La Mesita” reforestation area in San Pablo’s mountain park (where an admission fee of 30 pesos per person must be paid) and then continues upward to the start of the Flume Trail. Actually, the climb is just 3.5 miles (5.6 Kms), but it seems much longer, as the elevation gain amounts to 1937 feet (590 meters) and the grade is relentless.  The single track Flume Trail is a skinny, little-used path which — today at least — was heavily overgrown with brush. Though almost entirely downhill, it is still a demanding ride because of the terrain and the downhill slope — which in places has up to a 26% pitch. On this outing the group rode a total of 14.0 miles (22.5 kilometers), starting from a friend’s home and winding up at an open-air comedor in the center of San Pablo.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Breakfast Stop In Huayapam

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Today’s Sunday morning shop ride sponsored by Summit Cyclery was essentially a breakfast outing. After a rather mellow ride through the open country between Oaxaca and the nearby village of Huayapam, the group stopped for a substantial and satisfying breakfast at a home-based restaurant in that town. Afterwards the gang returned by a more direct route, stopping for more refreshments at Cafe Brujula, just a few blocks from the bike store.

The total round trip distance on today’s excursion amounted to 10.7 miles (17.2 km), with an elevation gain and loss of 1189 feet (362.4 meters). The Summit Cyclery bike shop was the lowest point on the route at 5190 feet (1582 meters), while the highest point on the trail registered 5636 feet (1717.5 meters) in altitude.

 

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Pedaling with the Pedalazos

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There is a relatively new mountain bike club in Oaxaca called “Los Pedalazos.” They meet for a group ride twice weekly — at 4 pm on Wednesday afternoons and again at 8 am on Saturday mornings. The Wednesday rides are shorter, given the hour of the day, and may require the use of lights if the group will be out after dark. The Saturday rides are longer — both in terms of distance traveled and time in the saddle. The outings are announced on the club’s Facebook page a day or two before the ride — see https://www.facebook.com/groups/pedalazos/.

The ride today (Sat / 19 Dec 2015) was a long loop running from the Casa Cultural in downtown Oaxaca out to San Bartolo Coyotepec in the Zimatlan valley, then over a mountain ridge and into the Tlocolula valley, passing through the villages of Rojas de Cauhtémoc and Tule, where the gang stopped for a very welcome lunch at a local comedor before continuing back to Oaxaca.

Seventeen riders were on hand for the start of the ride, but one dropped out because of mechanical problems and another in the face of some steep uphill climbs. The remaining fifteen completed the 31.8 mile (51.2 km) loop ride in approximately six hours, counting time spent relaxing and eating lunch in Tule. The low point on the ride dipped to 4989 feet (1520.6 meters), while the high point on the ridge separating the two wings of the Valles Centrales topped out at 5912 feet (1802 meters). There was a total of 1982 feet (604 meters) elevation gain and loss going around the loop.