Category: Photos

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Countryside, MTBing, Outing, Photos

Wednesday Ride Takes A Turn

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The weekly Wednesday ride took a different turn on March 4. Originally the group planned to ride a singletrack trail from Oaxaca up into a mountain canyon. However, one of our party asked if his cousin, recently arrived from Mexico City could join in the outing. Turns out the cousin was a young lady of 13, who had never ridden a bike with multiple gears. So the group switched gears, so to speak, and changed course, opting for an easy ride on the paved bike path to Tule, then on to Santo Domingo Tomaltepec and back to Oaxaca on dirt roads running through – and with a lunch stop in – Tlalixtac. It turned out to be a pleasant few hours in the saddle, and the young cousin made it safely back home, tired but happy.

Countryside, MTBing, Photos

Wednesday Gringo Ride

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There happens to be a group of gringos in Oaxaca this winter who enjoy mountain biking, and Wednesdays seem to be the best day of the week for the group to get together. In recent weeks the gang has ridden trails in San Pablo Etla, La Cumbre and Huayapam. Today (18 February 2015) the ride was on the plateau above the village of San Pablo Cuatro Venados on the western rim of the Valley of Oaxaca. A network of little-used dirt roads provided the arena for several hours of pleasant pedaling at an altitude of just over 9,100 feet (2774 meters). Several of the group opted to bicycle back to Oaxaca, using the road that descends through Santa Ines de Monte and on down to Zaachila on the valley floor, rather than packing the bikes in the van and driving back the way we came up.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race at San Pablo Huixtepec

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The community of San Pablo Huixtepec hosted their first-ever mountain bike race today — Sunday, 25 January 2015. This also happened to be the first race of the new year in the Oaxaca Valley. There was also a series of foot races on the same course before the mountain bikers saddled up, so excitement ran high. Contestants came from a number of bike clubs in the area, with good representation from Oaxaca city.

The course laid out for the event ran 3.4 miles (5.47 km) through hill country, with an elevation gain and loss of 641 feet (195 meters) on the loop. At times it felt like more than that, as sections of the climb had a gradient of 14% and parts of the downhill ran a very steep 25% — the latter through a challenging jumble of rocks! The start / finish line sat at an elevation of 5160 feet (1572.8 meters); the highest point on the race circuit reached 5361 feet (1634.0 meters); the lowest point on the course was 4965 feet (1513.3 meters).

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Invitational Ride At San Antonio de la Cal

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The community of San Antonio de la Cal, a suburb on the southeastern edge of Oaxaca city, sponsored a mountain bike ride today — Sunday, 18 January 2015 — and sent out a general invitation to riders and mountain bike clubs to come. Several bike clubs from Oaxaca took part, as did others from around the Oaxaca valley. Approximately 140 riders gathered at the municipal building in Experimental to register at the start of the ride. Then it was off for a ride on city streets and jeep trails in the hills nearby! The day concluded with a hearty free meal for all participants provided by the community.

For riders who started from the Zocalo in Oaxaca, the day’s adventure racked up a total of 18.9 miles (30.4 km). Pedaling up and down the steep, rocky hills above La Cal — where the gradient ranged from 12% to 16% — brought the elevation gain and loss for the day to 1978 feet (602.9 meters).

Special thanks to Porfirio Santos Matías and Lic. Pedro Isidro Santos Matías, the head of the sports department in San Antonio de la Cal, for organizing the event; and to all the people who helped make it a success!

San Antonio de la Cal que es una comunidad a la periferia sureste de laciudad de Oaxaca patrocinó un evento de ciclismo de montaña el domingo 18de enero 2015. Ciclistas y clubes de ciclismo del valle central recibió unainvitación para participar. 140 ciclistas llegaron al edificio municipal enExperimental para inscribirse al evento. Luego comenzamos nuestro paseopor las calles de la ciudad y las sendas de terracería en las colinas cercanas. El día terminó con una comida para todos los participantes que la comunidadSan Antonio de la Cal muy amablemente nos brindó. Para los ciclistas que salieron del Zocalo en la ciudad de Oaxaca, el paseo arribade San Antonio de la Cal era de 18.9 millas de colinas con pendientes muyinclinados y rocosos y de una altura de ida y vuelta de 1978 pies (602.9 metros)

 

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride Near Santo Domingo Tomaltepec

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This second Sunday in January proved a fine time for the Nitos bike club to resume their Sunday morning rides after taking a break during the Christmas holidays. The destination for the day’s outing was the mountain valley upstream from Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, a small farming village in the Tlacolula valley that is one of the oldest settlements in the region. The dirt road that winds up the valley is picturesque and most famous for the seven creek crossings encountered before the road ends and a footpath (not suitable for biking) continues into the hills.

The thirty participants in today’s ride accumulated 23.6 miles (38 kilometers) riding out and back from the center of Oaxaca city. The terrain was mostly flat, so the group gained just 842 feet (256.6 meters), reaching a high point of 5718 feet (1742.8 meters) before turning back.

El segundo domingo en enero era un día ideal para el Club de Ciclismo a reanudar sus paseos matutinos  de domingo después de un descanso durante los días festivos de fin de año.  El destino era el valle dentro las montañas aguas arriba de Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, que es un pueblo en el Valle de Tlacolula y uno de los asientamientos más antiguos de la región.  El camino de terracería en el valle es pintoresco y afamado por sus siete cruces de arroyos. El fin del camino se desemboca en una senda que conduce dentro de las colinas pero no es adecuado para ciclismo.

Los 30 participantes  viajaban 23.6 millas (38 kilometros) del centro de la ciudad y regreso.  La ruta es casi todo plano asi que el cambio de altura era de 842 pies (256.6 metros) alcanzando una altura de 5718 pies (1742-8 metros) antes de regresar a la cuidad de Oaxaca.