Category: Foothills

Trail Ma (Martillada (Hammerblow)) starts high on Trail HFR (High Flyer Ridge) as singletrack running through the trees and shorter vegetation. After roughly following the contour line from the HFR ridge over to a lesser ridge on the south, Trail MA begins diving down the ridgeline towards its eventual exit on LNR (Libramiento Norte Road) road. The trail is wide singletrack for a bit but most of the way it is doubletrack full of sections that are very rutted, steep, and full of scree. About halfway down the trail cross a saddle of the ridge and a short climb ensues before you pass one of the high-voltage electrical towers and then continue downhill on the ridge. Nearing the bottom, the ridge gets less steep and a fork in the trail appears. Right is easier (as it turns into a poor dirt road before terminating at Road LNR) but left gives you even more steep, rutted, chunky, where-the-FUCK-is-the-line trail to enjoy before spitting you out on Road LNR.

In short, the best 2.6km technical downhill for those who like their trail EXTRA chunky.

Morning riders should be extra cautious due to heavier hiker and campesino traffic (which implies dogs and donkeys, too.). YIELD!!!!

Trail M (Mechero (Burner)) starts off of Trail HFR (High Flyer Ridge) and dives down to Road LNR (Libramiento Norte Road) . The top is a rutted, twisty, very steep, rock-filled bobsled run that eventually turns into a rutted doubletrack trail/jeep road.

Trail LP (Luz Piloto (Pilot Light)) is the shortest member of The Smoking Section collection. Like the other Smoking Section trails, it’s a straight-down-a-ridge, singletrack made by goats, campesinos, running water, and a few biker/hikers. The vegetation can quickly take back over this rarely used trail so part of the fun is keeping a sharp eye on the terrain to keep from being led astray by a mirage path. Depending on the time of year and the amount of recent use, the tread may show more or less obviously. The usual mix of scrub oak and acacia bushes (i.e. THORNS!) do their best to keep your sight lines short and your body scraped up. Just go easy on the terrain with your braking, be prepared to turn quick, and let ‘er roll.

Since Trail LP dumps out on Trail TTT (Toro Toro Toro (Bull Bull Bull)) above the steep, eroded section, it makes for a nice connector to create a loop on the western end of Road LNR so you can ride part of Trail MMD (Maguey Mi Dia (Maguey My Day)), come down Trail LP, and be back up on the top of Road LNR for more singletrack (e.g. Trail ED (Espina D (Spine)), Trail LLL (Larry’s Lacerated Leg), Trail VV (Via Viguera)).

Road LNR (Libramiento Norte Road) north of Donaji over into Trinidad de Viguera is a built but never used roadway. The pavement is falling apart in some areas, and there are roadblocks (piles of dirt dumped across the road) in some places. Occasional motorized traffic uses the accessible parts but it’s used by residents more like a greenbelt path than a beltway road. Half-jokingly called the “San Felipe del Agua Bike Park Access Road” it in itself isn’t a worthy mountain bike trail, but using Road LNR to head east or west on the elevated areas north of Oaxaca de Juarez provides one easy access to over 40 kilometers of trails (and adding more every month!).

Trail LLL (Larry’s Lacerated Leg) is a tight, twisty mostly downhill singletrack trail connecting Trail HFR (High Flyer Ridge) and Trail TTT (Toro Toro Toro (Bull Bull Bull)). The LLL trail splits off to the west from Trail HFR just as HFR starts to climb after exiting the clearing around the electrical tower and gets more crowded from vegetation. The tread is well-packed dirt with very few technical obstacles except for erosion ruts in steep sections. The section above the LLL + MMD (Maguey Mi Dia (Maguey My Day)) Junction is readily ridable up or down. The section below that junction is a bit steeper and rutted. A nice connection is to use Trail MMD down to the LLL + MMD Junction, climb LLL up to the HFR + LLL Junction and then up HFR to one of the trails reached from HFR (e.g. Trail M (Mechero (Burner))).

OaxacaMTB.org All-Trails Map