Category: Photos

If you are looking for a high-country ride to enjoy mountain scenery and escape the heat of the Oaxaca valley, this loop through Magdalena Mixtepec and Santa Catalina Mixtepec may be just the ticket. These two small villages are tucked into steep mountain valleys about midway between Zaachila and San Miguel Peras. A shuttle takes bikes and riders to the intersection where the unpaved road to Magdalena branches off from the paved road between Santa Inez del Monte and San Miguel. The shuttle drive takes 90 minutes each way from Oaxaca. The ride itself utilizes a combination of paved and dirt roads and covers a distance of 35.4 km (22.0 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 1094 meters (3590 feet). The various roads generally have a gradient of between 8% and 12% – not too strenuous until you reckon the uphill segments run for miles at a time. The highest point on the route is 2822 meters (9258 feet) and the lowest spot registers 1841 meters (6041 feet). Expect to spend about 4.5 hours completing the loop.

The Spanish mined the hills and valleys around the Papaloapam River for silver and gold from the 1600 through the 1800’s. There were two significant ore processing haciendas not far from Amatlan and Lachatao, serving a rabbit warren of small mine tunnels in the area. Most of the extensive structures have fallen into ruin, leaving just foundations and a few walls to bear witness to a once-thriving industry. The remains of a couple of large stone aqueducts and their attendant water wheels still stand sentinel over the site. These make for a provocative stop on a 19.3 km (12.0 mile) loop ride on unpaved roads and a single track trail along the stream joining the two haciendas. Though the loop is relatively short, the hill climbs are rather intense (545 meters / 1789 feet), so strong biking ability is required. As an added bonus, there is a charming trout restaurant nearby which can be used as a staging area and a place for a delicious lunch at the conclusion of the ride.

This weekday outing was a challenging high country ride on logging roads in the Sierra Norte which varied in elevation between 2750 and 3050 meters (9,000 to 10,000 feet). After a 90 minute shuttle ride from Oaxaca on the newly paved road to Guacamaya, the group of biking buddies set out to conquer a series of long climbs and thrilling descents threading through dense evergreen forests between Guacamaya and the ecotourism camp at La Cumbre Ixtepeji. Several logging crews were encountered along the way, who were surprised to see four gringos swooping through the woods on bicycles. It was decidedly chilly when the ride started at 9:45 am under moderate cloud cover. Happily the sun broke through and warmed things to a pleasant 23°C (73°F) by mid-afternoon. At the turnaound point the group split up, with two riders retracing their route back to the shuttle van while two others opted to take a shorter route to town, dropping down the La Reina trail to Huayapam – thus the two route maps, below. Though participants were competent cyclists with many miles of pedaling experience, all were pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. The total round trip distance amounted to 49.6 kms (30.8 miles), with a serious 1362 meters (4468 feet) of climbing along the way.