Category: Photos

For the past three weeks Tlaloc, the god of rain, had a stranglehold on the Valles Centrales. Oaxaca lay beneath heavy cloud cover for days on end. Residents could not see the top of Cerro San Felipe, let alone catch a glimpse of blue sky. Rain showers moved through the valley half a dozen times a day. The city received 11.0 centimeters (4.35 inches) of rain in the past six days. So it was a welcome surprise when Sunday morning brought sunshine at last! Today’s ride was laid out to minimize riding through mud. There are numerous ways to get to Huayapam while remaining either on paved roads or byways that have good drainage. Our riders managed to arrive there dry and unsplattered with mud. Pushing their luck, they then decided to check out the Los Molinos trail, a perennial favorite of hikers and mountain bikers alike. The first three-quarters of the distance to the ruins of the old water-powered grain mill was in great shape. Only in the final segment did the single track trail get mired in mud. From the mill the riders opted to cross a creek and climb to the nearby Hwy 175 so as to have dry pavement for the downhill ride back to the city. This outing was a test drive of sorts, as Ron M. was aboard his new Priority brand bike designed for bikepacking. The sturdy rig is equipped with an internal gear hub mounted inside the bottom bracket, is driven by a rubber belt rather than a chain and rolls on extra-wide 29 inch tires. Ron declared himself delighted with the bike at the end of the day’s ride.

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The first Sunday in June was a special day for a couple of reasons. First of all it was election day in Mexico, with people voting for candidates running for local, state and national offices. We passed a number of polling places on today’s ride where folks were lined up to cast their ballots. Secondly, recent heavy rains occasioned the appearance of the large winged ants – called chicatanas – which are considered quite a delicacy hereabouts. Both while waiting for riders to assemble at Santo Domingo church and all along the route of today’s ride we saw dozens of people scavenging for the insects, deftly capturing them and putting them in plastic bags to be carried home to the kitchen for preparation in a meal later in the day.

The route for this Sunday outing was a long loop that took participants 56.2 kms (34.9 miles) from Oaxaca south into the Zimatlan valley through San Bartolo Coyotepec (famous for black glazed pottery), then up and over a ridge of hills to San Sebastian Teitipac in the Tlacolula valley before angling back to Oaxaca through San Francisco Lachigoló and Santa Maria del Tule. Those rains referenced above meant slogging through a lot of mud along the way. The 233 meter (763 foot) foot climb up and over the hills separating the Zimatlan and Tlacolula valleys was a challenge, but the ride down the far side was a blast. Overall, riders gained and lost 509 meters (1670 feet) on the circuit. Time in the saddle amounted to 5.5 hours, including time for a delicious lunch at the Milenario restaurant in Tule on the final leg of the journey. Once back home the first order of business was to give our bikes a thorough cleaning and wash our filthy clothes and shoes!

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Today’s ride through the countryside was a thirty-mile excursion through the Tlacolula Valley to the archeological ruins at Dainzu and back. Six riders met at the rendezvous point in the plaza in front of Santo Domingo at 9 am. They were met by a crowd of about fifty cyclists preparing for a rally / ride through central Oaxaca on behalf of the Alianza party, which has candidates vying for positions in the elections scheduled for early June. Gringos are forbidden from participating in Mexican politics, so we declined the offer of free Alianza T-shirts. Opting for an easy ride, the group chose to get to Santa Maria del Tule on the paved bike path, which was unusually crowded today with an equal mix of bikers and people out for a Sunday stroll. From Tule we continued east on dirt roads through Tlacochahuaya and on to the archeological ruins of Dainzu, which was our turn-around point. Passing through Tule again on the way home, we stopped for a light lunch at one of the many curbside comedores on the main street. All told, riders pedaled 30.6 miles (49.2 km) on the outing, with a negligible elevation gain and loss of about 650 feet (198 meters).

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Steve and Erin planned to set out on a multi-day ride from Oaxaca to San Jose del Pacifico and beyond on a Sunday morning and invited our clutch of mountain bikers to accompany them as far as Ocotlan. We happily agreed. So we set out at 9 am on 2 May 2021, pedaling past the airport and south into the Zimatlan valley to Santa Ana Zegache and Santiago Apostol before reaching Ocotlan. After a light lunch of tacos dorados at the city market, we went our separate ways — Steve & Erin to continue on to Ejutla, where they would spend the night; and the remainder of the group returning to Oaxaca by way of Highway 175. The round trip distance on the loop ride amounted to 47.6 miles (76.6 kms), with an elevation gain and loss of approximately 1150 feet (350 meters). The lowest point on the route was 4845 feet (1477 meters) in the Zimatlan valley, while the highest point was 5462 feet (1665 meters) crossing the ridge of hills on Hwy 175 between Guegorexe and Santa Maria Coyotepec on the south side of Oaxaca. Ride time amounted to 6.5 hours, including time for lunch at the market in Ocotlan.

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