Visitors to Oaxaca who are looking to explore the area by bicycle may very well enjoy an easy ride into the countryside to get a sense of the rural communities that dot the Valles Centrales. Bikes can be rented from Zona Bici (Garcia Vigil 406-1 / www.zonabici.com.mx) or Bicicletas Pedro Martinez ( Aldama 418 / www.bicicletaspedromartinez.com) for a reasonable rate, and are perfect for a day’s outing.
Once out in the Tlacolula Valley, there are miles of dirt roads that can take the rider as far as he or she cares to go, with a minimum of climbing and no technical challenges.
The route shown below covers a distance of 23.1 miles (37.2 km), with an elevation gain & loss of 1185 feet (361 meters). It can be shortened by 7 miles (and the elevation gain & loss reduced by 750 feet) by riding from the Zocalo rather than from San Felipe.
This is a great loop ride through open countryside with very little elevation change. San Bartolo Coyotepec is the village famous for shiny black, intricately incised pottery. There is a very good public gallery there featuring work from regional artisans who are expert craftsman working in ceramic, wood, metal, paint and other mediums. Zaachila is a very ancient, yet thriving community. The Zapotec ruins in the center of town are worth a visit, as is the weekly market on Thursdays. Cuilapam is historically one of the Mixtec villages on the outskirts of Oaxaca city, and features ruins of a never-finished Dominican convent.
The route takes you on city streets through Oaxaca, then along a principal highway to San Bartolo, where you jog to the west on a little-used but well-paved road to Zaachila. From Zaachila you can either follow the track shown below, which meanders on footpaths and backcountry dirt roads, or opt for the (shorter) paved highway to Cuilapam. The final segment from Cuilapam back to Oaxaca is along a busy stretch of road. It is best to do this ride on a Sunday, when traffic is just a fraction of what it is other days of the week.
I neglected to turn on my GPS unit until I was in downtown Oaxaca, so the elevation plot below is missing the initial 375 foot descent from San Felipe into town — not a problem if you begin and end your ride at the Zocalo.
The entire loop covers about 32 miles (51.5 km), and there is an elevation loss & gain of about 1425 feet (434 meters) along the way. If you elect to do this ride, but use the Zocalo instead of San Felipe as the start / end point, the distance will be 7 miles shorter and the elevation gain / loss will be 750 feet less.
The village of Teotitlan del Valle is famous as the home of some of the best weavers in Oaxaca state. It is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the world — people have lived there for about 9000 years, putting it in the same category as Damascus and towns in the Fertile Crescent in Persia. It is situated on the north side of the Tlacolula Valley not many miles east of Oaxaca city. A bike ride there on a pretty day can be most enjoyable!
The track on the map below shows the route we followed one Sunday, riding out-and-back from the Krotalus Bike shop (Calle Sabinos 309-B in Colonia Reforma / www.krotalusmtb.com.mx). Bernardo, the store manager, showed me the route he likes to follow on this ride, which stays away from busy streets and the main highway and uses bike paths and country back roads, instead.
We covered 34.6 miles (55.7 km) on this ride, and recorded an elevation gain of 1121 feet (342 meters), most of that in the final leg getting to Teotitlan. Riding at a moderate pace – and stopping for lunch in Teotitlan – we finished the ride in a bit over four hours.
One Sunday I decided to ride from my home in San Felipe del Agua (a suburb on the north side of Oaxaca city) to the village of Benito Juarez, part of the Pueblos Mancomunados in the Sierra Norte, approximately thirty miles east and a bit north of Oaxaca. I had driven the dirt road between Teotitlan del Valle to Benito Juarez a number of times, and had ridden the screamer descent (a 5000 foot drop in 11 miles) on my mountain bike a couple of times. However, I’d never been crazy enough to crank up that mountain — until this day.
I took my time, and so the round trip took nearly nine hours, covering 65.3 miles (105 km) and required climbing 6140 feet (1871 meters) along the way. Needless to say, my legs felt like rubber and I was one tired biker by the end of the day. I accomplished the outing using some city streets, but for the most part stuck to bike paths, dirt roads and a few short sections of cowpaths. I never rode on the highway, though that was an option, as the highway between Oaxaca and Mitla is freshly paved and has wide shoulders. (Caution: it is the custom in Mexico for slow vehicles to drive on the shoulder of a highway to permit faster cars to pass, so even a wide shoulder can be a dangerous place for a bicycle.)
If you elect to do this ride, but use the Zocalo instead of San Felipe as the start / end point, the distance will be 7 miles shorter and the elevation gain / loss will be 750 feet less.
I went out yesterday to re-examine the trail I found Sunday. It runs pretty much with the contour line between Trail M (Mechero / Burner) and Trail Ma (Martillada / Hammerblow) but I wanted to make sure my initial glee of discovery hadn’t cloud my assessment of the ridability of it. This trail Larry had told me about months ago when he rode it with Dr. Z. Yet, we could never seem to locate it. In fact, I’m still not sure this thing is the same one Larry and Dr. Z rode together months ago.
But, while out on my re-examination ride on Tuesday, I was fortunate to run into another rider I had met once before on the trail. If I have his name right and am spelling it correctly, his name is Rafael. Here is the only picture I have of him.
Mr. SecretSingletrack
With our limited grasp of each other’s native languages (his grasp better than mine), we did our best to talk biking and trails. In that “conversation” Rafael said he could show me a trail up ahead coming off of Trail HFR, where we had crossed paths. I gladly agreed. My reward was the tightest, twistiest, most narrow, most vegetated yet rideable trail I’ve found here to date.
MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO GRACIAS, Rafael! It was a total blast and I can’t wait to do it again. Hopefully, once again chasing Rafael, as he is a fast rider who seems to share my taste for tight, twisty singletrack downhills.
Here is a map of the new (to me) trail Raphael showed me. I’m hoping to see him again and get the proper name of the trail. For now, its temporary name is Trail_CodeName-Rafael. On the map, it’s the red track. I’ve also include Trails HFR, M, and T to give perspective on where Rafael took me out in the woods to watch me fall on my head (only once, mind you!).
Oh, and since the multi tracks throw off the elevation profile, note that it’s about 1.1km long with an elevation drop of 183m. Tasty!
[ edited 2012-11-17 @ 00:05 to correct incorrect spelling of Rafael ]
