There were 110+ mountain bikers and about a dozen joggers gathered at Parque Donaldo Colosio in San Felipe del Agua this morning shortly after 8 o’clock to take part in a solidarity ride/run. Riders ranged in age from kids 8-10 years old to old codgers like me pushing 70. About 90% were male, but there was a smattering of females. The gang from Summit Cyclery made this outing their Sunday shop ride, and they were welcome. The Nitos group was conspicuous by their absence, but that was due, no doubt, to their sponsoring a night ride from Oaxaca to San Sebastian de las Grutas last night — an ambitious undertaking covering 80 kilometers (50 miles) one way on a very narrow, twisty and sometimes steep stretch of highway.
Today’s bike ride was organized to protest the alleged assaults and robberies which have been reported on the San Felipe trail network in recent weeks. A newspaper photographer was present, and it is hoped the event will be reported in the local news media. One of the objectives of the ride was to pressure local authorities to increase security in the area — though exactly how this might be accomplished is not known.
The actual ride was rather short. From Colosio Park participants rode Loma Blanco up to the Libramiento Norte, then stayed on the Libramiento to the pass, where the grade descends into Vigera. While I would have preferred the group ride the “Toro, Toro, Toro” trail (better known locally as “Carnivoras”) to the top, that was probably not practical with a group so large as today’s. Once at the summit, riders posed for photos; then people broke into small groups for the ride back into town — with some staying on pavement and others opting to ride some of the single- and double-track trails down to San Felipe del Agua and on into Oaxaca.
My apologies for the lack of photos of the event. I loaned my camera to a friend this weekend, and neglected to put my iPhone in my hydration pack.
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