Another delightful, sunny, warm Sunday morning in Oaxaca – even though it is December 2 on the calendar. Four buddies agree to go on a loop ride through the rolling hill country of the Etla Valley to the west of Monte Alban. Two – Albi and Larry – are retired gringo expats living in Oaxaca, while Omar and Vidal are natives. The foursome rendezvous at the Plaza Bella shopping center in Atzompa at 9:30 am – late enough in the day for the sun to take the chill out of the air and for everyone to have breakfast before the ride. After a brief discussion they agree to ride in a counter-clockwise direction, first pedaling north toward San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, then swinging west to San Felipe Tejalápam, through La Unión and then on to Jalapa del Valle. After a brief rest stop, they head east over a ridge of hills, drop down and through San Pedro Ixtlahuaca and on into the Oaxaca valley and their original starting point. By the end of the ride the guys have been in the saddle a bit under three hours and have covered exactly 22 miles (35.4 kms). There was a gain and loss of 550 feet (167.6 meters) along the way, mainly due to crossing that ridge. The temperature ranged from 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 24 degrees Celsius) during that time.
Category: MTBing
Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos
Sunday Loop Ride to Santa Ana Zegache & Back
by Larry • • 0 Comments
It is always a special treat to discover a new route to a favorite place. Such was the case on today’s 70 kilometer ride through the countryside of the Zimatlan Valley to the south of Oaxaca City. Even though this author has cycled a number of times around Zegache and led several hiking groups from there to Tilcajete or Ocotlan, I was not aware it was possible to bike all the way to Zegache using unpaved country lanes, thus staying clear of traffic on the main highway. What a pleasant surprise! There were sixteen riders in our group when we set out from the church of Santo Domingo in the center of Oaxaca on a bright and clear Sunday morning in early November. We stuck to the valley floor all the way to our destination, so there was almost no change in elevation, making for easy pedaling the whole distance. It took almost exactly two hours to cover the distance of about 20 miles (32 kms) from Oaxaca to the church in Zegache, which was rebuilt and painted by Rodolfo Morales, the famous painter from Ocotlan. We did not stop there, though. Keeping the cranks turning, we rode 4 miles (6.4 kms) more to Santo Tomas Jalieza where we stopped for a late breakfast. From there we had a choice of several different routes back to the capital city, the shortest and fastest of which was Highway 175. All told, the loop ride ran for 43.4 miles (70 kilometers), with an elevation gain and loss of 1796 feet (547 meters), most of which came crossing a ridge of hills on Highway 175 between Guegorexe and San Bartolo Coyotepec.
Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Trail Info
Sunday 70 Kilometer Loop Ride Around Oaxaca
by Larry • • 0 Comments
Recent visitors to this web page, whether regular clients or first-timers, might well wonder about the state of mountain biking in Oaxaca or the health of the web site, given the relatively few new posts put online over the past several months. Well, be assured that both are alive and well. As the years go by local mountain bikers necessarily repeat their favorite rides over and over, as there is less and less new territory to be explored. So while local bike clubs continue to sponsor weekly outings, there is not much incentive to post stories which basically repeat what has already been presented. This post is a case in point. A group of 24 mountain bikers assembled on Sunday morning in front of the church of Santo Domingo on the Macedonia Alcala (pedestrian mall in downtown Oaxaca) eager to set out on a 70 kilometer (43.1 mile) loop ride through the Tlacolula and Zimatlan valleys near the capital city. It would be a challenging and satisfying ride, but would follow a route well known to the riders. First following the paved bike path to Tule, the route would then use country roads through Rojas de Cuauhtemoc, Santa Rosa Buena Vista, San Juan Teitipac, Santa Cecilia Jalieza, Santo Domingo Jalieza and San Pedro Guegorexe before catching Highway 175 running north through San Bartolo and Santa Maria Coyotepec back into Oaxaca. The group was reminded along the way that civilization was encroaching on the countryside, as much of the seventy kilometers that was dirt road ten years ago now features pavement, not only in the various villages but on many of the connecting roads. That made the going easier — a fact appreciated by the riders who were now ten years older than in those bygone days. In summary, the group gained and lost a total of 875 meters (2870 feet) in elevation riding the loop. The high point was 1800 meters (5907 feet) crossing the ridge of hills separating the Tlacolula and Zimatlan valleys. The low point was 1517 meters (4977 feet). The group made a wrong turn passing through San Juan Teitipac, which resulted in following a farm road that eventually disappeared into plowed fields, necessitating some bushwhacking to return to the proper road. This, in turn, contributed to there being at least six flat tires among the riders, which accounted for the slow pace of the group. Still, it was a lovely day to be out on a bike and everyone had an enjoyable time.
GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos
Colorado Country
by Larry • • 0 Comments
The “Rocky Mountain Bicycle Boys” is a fun-loving mountain bike club located in Denver, Colorado. For over 25 years the group has sponsored annual multi-day trips to favorite places around Colorado over the Independence Day holiday centered around the 4th of July. For the summer of 2018 the club rented a spacious vacation home near Durango, Colorado to be the headquarters for several rides and a day of hiking among the ancient Indian ruins near Mesa Verde National Park. Fellows from as far away as Kansas and California – and two from Oaxaca – took part in the adventure. A raging forest fire north of Durango that began on 1 June threatened to disrupt the annual trip, as highways, local trails and even the San Juan National Forest were closed at times due to the wildfire. Happily, though, the trip took place as planned. The heavy smoke that saturated the hills for many days had dissipated by the time club members arrived on 3 July and we had excellent weather for mountain biking. The fire actually worked in our favor, as there were not nearly as many summer tourists crowding the bars and restaurants in the area, and we pretty much had the hiking and biking trails to ourselves. The first day’s mountain bike adventure took place on the excellent trail network of “Phil’s World” just outside Mancos, Colorado. The second day’s ride took advantage of the complex of loop trails in Boggy Draw, a few miles from the town of Dolores, Colorado. Blue skies and mild temperatures offered ideal conditions for our rides, and a great time was had by all.
Trail map of Phil’s World near Mancos, Colorado.
Trail map of Boggy Draw near Dolores, Colorado.
Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes
Atzompa Hill Country
by Larry • • 0 Comments
Another lovely Sunday morning; another Nitos ride into the countryside around Oaxaca – this time an exploration of the many farm access roads and single track trails in the hills north and west of Atzompa. It is truly amazing how many bikeable paths there are concentrated in a rather small area so close to the bustle of the capital city. It is also surprising what a challenge it can be to ride them! Today’s group of fifteen mountain bikers set out from the plaza in front of the church of Santo Domingo at 8 am, eager for a good ride. They were not disappointed! The loop trail first took the bikers up to the archeological ruins situated atop the hill overlooking Atzompa. From there the group descended into the village and then pedaled up, down and all around various hills in the area. From start to finish, the group rode 27.6 miles (44.4 kilometers), climbing and descending a total of 3202 feet (976 meters) along the way. Part of the up and down was on rather steep trails, some of which had gradients ranging from 20% to 29%. Everyone’s legs and lungs got a good workout!
