Category: Foothills

A dozen members of the Pedalazos bike club set out at 8:25 am on a bright Saturday morning to ride into the rolling hill country near La Lobera, located some 14 miles (23 kms) southwest of Oaxaca or 6 miles (9.8 kms) west of Zaachila. The terrain in this part of the Valles Centrales is mostly flat, so the pedaling was easy and the pace fairly quick. It wasn’t until the group turned off from the main road to La Lobera and began riding the dirt roads that wind through the foothills that there was any significant elevation change. From beginning to end, the ride covered 38.6 miles (62.1 kms), with a gain and loss of 2467 feet (752 meters) in elevation. 

For weeks on end grey clouds hovered over Oaxaca and frequent rain showers pelted the city day and night. September was an especially gloomy and wet month. So cries of “Hallelujah!” were heard when October arrived, bringing blue skies to local sun worshippers. Jacob, a visitor from Houston, Texas set up a Sunday morning ride to Huayapam to get a feel for mountain biking in the Valles Centrales. Huayapam was selected as the destination both because it is close by and because a mountain bike race was scheduled to take place this Sunday. It turned out to be a beautiful day for such an adventure. Due to a late start, however, we arrived too late to watch the bike race. We rode a total of 14.8 miles (22.3 kms) with an elevation gain and loss along the way of 1863 feet (567.8 meters). The route was a mix of city streets, back country lanes and a good bit of single track trail. 

Brian and Karen arrived in Oaxaca on 1 August, having moved to Mexico from Cuenca, Ecuador. They brought their 29’er mountain bikes with them and were anxious to explore the territory around their new home port. A visit to the rolling hill country of the western Etla Valley seemed a good place for an introductory ride. We opted to drive from el centro out to San Pedro Ixtlahuaca and a bit beyond before unloading our bikes and saddling up. It was a cloudy, cool day with occasional rain sprinkles. As expected, there was very little vehicular traffic on the unpaved roads that criss-cross the region like spiderwebs. We rode the lollypop loop on the left side of the map, below, passing through the small villages of Cieneguilla and Jalapa del Valle. That route covered 15.6 kilometers (9.7 miles) with an elevation gain and loss of 363 meters (1191 feet) around the circuit. The highest point was 1900 meters (6234 feet) on the road where there is a nice view of the church and environs of Jalapa del Valle. The lowest point — 1725 meters (5659 feet) — was in Jalapa del Valle itself. It was a pleasant outing that left the newcomers looking forward to future rides on single track trails in the mountains nearby.