Category: GPS

Items containing GPS data (either the downloadable KML/Z or GPX file) &/or a map that displays such data.

Ride in the Hill Country near La Lobera

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. 

Early Spring Ride in the West Etla Valley

Alex finally gave in to the urge to get a new set of wheels and bought a 27.5″ full-suspension Transition bike. He and Larry took the new rig out for a spin in late February, which is early spring in this part of southern Mexico. After meeting up near the Oaxaca baseball stadium at 9:30 am, the two pedaled through el centro, then out toward Atzompa on the Atoyac River trail. From there they rode 3.9 miles on pavement to San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, where they turned off onto unpaved country roads which took them 7.9 miles through scenic hill country to the town of Cuilapam de Guerrero. Rather than retracing their route back to Oaxaca, the pair opted to ride to Zaachila, where they stopped for lunch, and then proceeded along the highway back to the capital city. These last segments added another 15.6 miles to the overall total of 31.0 miles ridden that day. Along the way they intercepted a group of 36 hikers enjoying one of the outings sponsored by the Oaxaca Lending Library. The “Hoofing It In Oaxaca” program organizes dozens of day hikes and monthly weekend overnight outings during the months of November through March. Today’s hike, like many in the program, follows a route first explored by mountain bikers. It was a beautiful day to be out in the countryside, whether on foot or aboard a bici.

Sunday Morning Ride & Race

There was a mountain bike race scheduled for Sunday, 18 February in the nearby town of Santa Maria del Tule, so a group of local riders decided to pedal out that way to watch the contest. We were six gringos and one Mexican; five men and two women; a mix of experienced and newbie riders ranging in age from early 20’s into the mid-70’s. The terrain between Oaxaca and Tule is virtually flat, so ours was a very easy-going outing. The race itself took place in the same area as a previous contest — see:  http://www.oaxacamtb.org/wp/2012/11/mountain-bike-races/ — but followed different and more technically challenging trails on the hillside southeast of Tule. Curiously, there were relatively few race contestants and spectators for the day’s event. There seems to be some difficulty with the organization that sponsors local races, which is unfortunate, as there is a lot of enthusiasm among Oaxaca mountain bikers for these kinds of contests. The normal turnout for a race is in the range of 100-300 contestants. Today’s race fell far short of those numbers. In any case, our group spent an hour or so watching the race, then rode on to Santo Domingo Tomaltepec before returning to Oaxaca by way of Tlalixtac. All told, we pedaled 24.5 miles (39.4 kms) with a total of 1560 feet (475.5 meters) of elevation gain and loss on the loop ride. 

New Year’s Day 2018 Kick-Off Ride

The first day of 2018 dawned bright and clear with moderate temperatures — just the sort of day to entice a mountain biker into the saddle for a New Year’s kick-off ride. Larry and Albi met up at 10 am and agreed to ride a few miles along the Libramiento and through the mountain park managed by the nearby village of Donaji. Along the way we met many family groups enjoying hikes in the countryside or heading for a picnic in the park. At under 12 miles and taking just two hours, ours was not a long ride – but a pleasant one nevertheless. Hopefully, this was a harbinger of many good things to come in 2018.

 

 

Hooray For Sunshine!

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.