Category: GPS

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

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race In Huayapam – Carrera de Ciclomontañismo en Huayapam

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It was a soggy Sunday morning in June for today’s mountain bike race in Huayapam, a small town on the outskirts of Oaxaca city. The area received four-tenths of an inch (2.3 cm) of rain overnight, and it was still drizzling as people milled around waiting for the race to get under way. Needless to say, the trail was muddy in places, so no one expected to go home in clean riding gear! The course laid out for the day’s race was a loop running 3.8 miles (6.1 km), utilizing a bit of paved city streets and more extensive dirt roads, but with most of the distance accruing on single track trail. There was 696 feet (212 meters) of elevation gain and loss along the way. That may not sound like much climbing, but some of the uphill segments registered gradients from 15% to 20%, making many a contestant a hike-a-biker. Some parts of the trail going both uphill and down were a bit treacherous because of mud. A number of riders found their rear wheel spinning out from under them on the climbs and their front wheel sliding sideways on the descents. Still, most riders managed to stay upright on their bikes throughout the contest, and there seemed to be fewer flat tires and broken chains than on other recent races.

Era una húmeda mañana de domingo en Junio para la carrera de ciclomontañismo en Huayapam, un pequeño pueblo a las afueras de la ciudad de Oaxaca de Juárez, famoso por su tejate. El área recibió 2.3 cms (1 in) de caída pluvial la noche anterior, y se presenció neblina mientras los concursantes llegaban a paso lento. Era evidente la grandiosa cantidad de lodo, al jabón le esperaba una gran tarea! El camino trazado para la carrera de hoy contaba con una medida de 6.1 kms (3.8 millas), valiéndose de un poco de carretera pavimentada del hermoso pueblo, de una vasta extensión de destapadas, pero con la mayor parte de vereda de un solo carril. Hubo una diferencia de elevación de 212 mts (696 pies) en el camino. Sin encontrar mucha subida, algunas rampas contaban con un gradiente de 15% y hasta 20%, obligando a muchos a cambiar de lugares con su bicicleta. Por esto, junto con el lodo, la dificultad se vio acrecentada. Varíos concursantes encontraron sus llantas inútiles ante la resbaladiza pista. Igual, la mayoría de los resios mantuvieron firmeza a través de todo el concurso; también se presentaron menos casos de llantas ponchadas o cadenas rotas que en recientes carreras.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Outing, Photos

Nitos Ride To San Dionisio – Salida del Grupo Nito Hacia San Dionisio

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The rainy season arrived early this year, and Oaxaca received over 10 inches (64.5 cm) of rain in the past two weeks. However, the Weather Gods smiled on us for the Nitos ride today to San Dionisio Ocotlan. The sky this morning was relatively clear after overnight showers, opening the way for a pleasant ride in the country. However, rain clouds chased us home from Ocotlan, and the group got back to Oaxaca just as another batch of evening showers began pelting the city.

The day’s destination was not so much the village of San Dionisio itself as the nearby “Rancho Las Fresas” where the group enjoyed a tasty lunch and then dispersed into the fields to look for fresh strawberries for dessert.

As for the ride itself, the group covered 52.7 miles (87.8 km) in the course of the day, logging a total of 2395 feet (730 meters) of elevation gain and loss along the way, with most of the uphill associated with crossing the ridge that separates the Oaxaca valley from Ocotlan. It was a long day – we left at 8 AM and got back to Oaxaca at 6 PM – but it was quite satisfying.

Las lluvias llegaron temprano este año, Oaxaca recibió más de 64.5 cms (10 pulgadas) de descenso pluvial en las pasadas dos semanas. Sin embargo, el Dios del Clima nos mimó para la salida del grupo Nito hacia San Dionisio Ocotlán. El cielo esa mañana estaba relativamente despejado después de la fuerte lluvia de la noche anterior, abriendo un agradable camino para un ciclopaseo en la zona rural. Igual, al final del día, Oaxaca nos recibió con su imperdible lluvia.

El destino no era el pueblo, San Dionisio, sino  el cercano “Rancho de las Fresas”, dondo el grupo disfrutó de una deliciosa y nutritiva comida, para luego buscar fresas frescas de postre.

En cuanto al paseo, el grupo recorrió 87.8 kms (52.7 millas) en el transcurso del día, datando un total de 730 metros (2395 pies) de diferencia entre subidas y bajadas. El momento más exigente, por lo empinado, fue cruzar la división entre el valle de Oaxaca y el valle de Ocotlán. Fue un largo día, saliendo de Oaxaca a las 8am y regresando a las 6pm, pero definitivamente satisfactorio.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride In Tlalixtac Territory – Los Molinos Trail

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Members of the Nitos Ciclistas En Movimiento took to the hill country in the territory belonging to the village of Tlalixtac for this Sunday’s ride. The Oaxaca Valley had received over 5 inches (32 cm) of rain in the previous five days, so the ground was saturated, streams were running strong, humidity was high and there was plenty of mud along the way. It was a fun outing, nevertheless; and the 26 people who took part had a great time!

After getting clear of the city, the group took mostly back roads on the way to the foothills and then followed a country trail that wound upwards running parallel to Highway 175, but on the far side of a gurgling stream. After pedaling for about three hours the group stopped for lunch in the woods before splashing across the creek and sailing back to Oaxaca on the shoulder of the highway.

The round trip covered 16.2 miles (26.1 km) with an elevation gain and loss of 1007 feet (307 meters). There were just a few technical challenges along the way in the form of some rock gardens. However, there were many muddy spots and a number of places where water was running down the trail, so the going was slow at times.

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

Nitos Ride to Tlacolula

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There are several bike clubs in Oaxaca, one of which is called “Nitos Ciclistas En Movimiento.” (www.facebook.com/groups/Nitos.CiclistasEnMovimiento) This group sponsors a ride every Sunday morning at 8:00 am starting from the church of St. Agustin, located at the intersection of Armento y Lopez and Guerrero streets in downtown Oaxaca city.

The ride on this second Sunday in May was a pleasant 42 mile round trip excursion on back roads to the Sunday market in Tlacolula, where participants stopped for lunch. Oaxaca had received over an inch of rain the night before, so there were lots of puddles along the route and some of the farm roads were pretty muddy – nobody came home with clean riding gear! Still, it was a fun outing and the fifteen participants had a good time, despite a succession of flat tires and one bike’s free wheel getting stripped.

The map below does not accurately reflect today’s ride, which followed a somewhat different route. (The map is for the “Tlacolula Loop” listed on the “Rides” page of this web site.) However, it serves to give the direction of today’s outing and reflects about the same overall mileage.

GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos

Mountain Misadventure

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In theory it should not be difficult to ride from La Cumbre to La Neveria. This could be an out & back excursion or the first leg of a truly epic day in the saddle that would continue on from La Neveria to Benito Juarez, then down the mountainside to Teotitlan del Valle and on to Oaxaca – a trek that would cover over 60 miles and see the rider drop something over 7500 feet in elevation. But theory and practice seem to be out of alignment. The first time I tried this a few years back with a friend, we got totally turned around in the forest and wound up – after timber bashing for several hours through steep, heavily wooded terrain – in Latuvi. Oops! Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere!

On this first Sunday in May I corralled another group of friends and we set out with somewhat better instructions. Things went smoothly for the first fourteen miles, but then we found ourselves in a maze of logging roads which went every which way. We picked a road that, while little traveled, seemed to head in the right direction. Unfortunately, after a few miles the road petered out, becoming just a footpath through the woods and eventually disappearing altogether. That was aggravating, as we knew we were close to our destination. However, we felt it would be foolhardy to push on and so reluctantly retraced our steps to La Cumbre.

The map below indicates our course, including a false turn that would have taken us to – you guessed it! – Latuvi if we had persisted. Altogether we covered 28.4 miles (45.7 km) and had the pleasure of gaining and losing 4481 feet (1365.8 meters) in elevation going out and back.

If it is true that “the third time’s the charm,” perhaps we’ll find our way to La Neveria on our next attempt.