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Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride To Santo Domingo Tomaltepec

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The ride into the mountain valley which serves as the source of water for the community of Santo Domingo Tomaltepec is a very scenic and enjoyable outing. That said, it might well be called “Trial By Water,” as the trail crosses the same stream seven times going both out and back. Even in the dry season the rider will likely get splashed. During the rainy season (which this was) the water is swift-flowing and sometimes a foot or more deep, which guarantees your foot gear – and sometimes more – will get thoroughly soaked.

Just as a black powder fuse will sputter and die when wet, our riders’ enthusiasm was considerably dampened by the water crossings. By the third stream crossing almost half the day’s group of 33 riders decided not to go any further, leaving it to the more intrepid bikers to push on to the end of the trail. Still, everyone was in good spirits and seemed to have a good time.

The ride out and back covered a total of 24.8 miles (39.9 km), and the total elevation gain and loss on the trip amounted to 1270 feet (387 meters). The ride began and ended at an elevation of 5113 feet (1558 meters). The high point on the trail hit 5696 feet (1736 meters), while the lowest point along the way bottomed out at 5084 feet (1549 meters).

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing, Uncategorized

Mountain Bike Race At Tule – Carrera de Ciclismo de Montaña en el Tule

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It was a bright and beautiful morning for a mountain bike race near the town of Santa Marie del Tule in the Tlacolula valley not many miles east of Oaxaca city. Bikers young and old assembled for this cross-country contest, competing in friendly fashion for prizes and status. The race course was a loop running for 4.2 miles (6.76 km), utilizing existing country roads, field access routes and single track trail. There were no technical challenges on the route, but there was a total of 509 feet (155 meters) of elevation gain and loss. Some of the singletrack had an uphill gradient of 15% to challenge the contestants. The start/finish line sat at an altitude of 5223 feet (1592 meters), while the highest point of the trail registered 5475 feet (1668.8 meters) and the lowest was 5117 feet (1559.6 meters).

Fue una hermosa y brillante mañana para una grandiosa carrera de ciclismo de montaña, cerca del pueblo Santa María del Tule, en el Valle de Tlacolula, a unos pocos kilómetros de la ciudad de Oaxaca de Juárez, se reunieron los atletas para este encuentro amigablemente competitivo. El circuito fue de 6.76 km (4.2 millas) haciendo uso de carreteras rurales, accesos a plantaciones y un par de veredas. No hubo dificultades técnicas en la ruta, pero sí se contó con un desnivel de 155 metros (509 pies) entre ascensos y descensos. Una vereda contó con un gradiente de ascenso de 15% como reto especial para los concursantes. La línea de partida se ubicaba en una altitud de 1592 mts (5223 pies), mientras el punto más alto registrado fue de 1668.8 mts (5475 pies) y el más bajo fue de 1559.6 mts (5117 pies).

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race In Huayapam – Carrera de Ciclomontañismo en Huayapam

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It was a soggy Sunday morning in June for today’s mountain bike race in Huayapam, a small town on the outskirts of Oaxaca city. The area received four-tenths of an inch (2.3 cm) of rain overnight, and it was still drizzling as people milled around waiting for the race to get under way. Needless to say, the trail was muddy in places, so no one expected to go home in clean riding gear! The course laid out for the day’s race was a loop running 3.8 miles (6.1 km), utilizing a bit of paved city streets and more extensive dirt roads, but with most of the distance accruing on single track trail. There was 696 feet (212 meters) of elevation gain and loss along the way. That may not sound like much climbing, but some of the uphill segments registered gradients from 15% to 20%, making many a contestant a hike-a-biker. Some parts of the trail going both uphill and down were a bit treacherous because of mud. A number of riders found their rear wheel spinning out from under them on the climbs and their front wheel sliding sideways on the descents. Still, most riders managed to stay upright on their bikes throughout the contest, and there seemed to be fewer flat tires and broken chains than on other recent races.

Era una húmeda mañana de domingo en Junio para la carrera de ciclomontañismo en Huayapam, un pequeño pueblo a las afueras de la ciudad de Oaxaca de Juárez, famoso por su tejate. El área recibió 2.3 cms (1 in) de caída pluvial la noche anterior, y se presenció neblina mientras los concursantes llegaban a paso lento. Era evidente la grandiosa cantidad de lodo, al jabón le esperaba una gran tarea! El camino trazado para la carrera de hoy contaba con una medida de 6.1 kms (3.8 millas), valiéndose de un poco de carretera pavimentada del hermoso pueblo, de una vasta extensión de destapadas, pero con la mayor parte de vereda de un solo carril. Hubo una diferencia de elevación de 212 mts (696 pies) en el camino. Sin encontrar mucha subida, algunas rampas contaban con un gradiente de 15% y hasta 20%, obligando a muchos a cambiar de lugares con su bicicleta. Por esto, junto con el lodo, la dificultad se vio acrecentada. Varíos concursantes encontraron sus llantas inútiles ante la resbaladiza pista. Igual, la mayoría de los resios mantuvieron firmeza a través de todo el concurso; también se presentaron menos casos de llantas ponchadas o cadenas rotas que en recientes carreras.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Outing, Photos

Nitos Ride To San Dionisio – Salida del Grupo Nito Hacia San Dionisio

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The rainy season arrived early this year, and Oaxaca received over 10 inches (64.5 cm) of rain in the past two weeks. However, the Weather Gods smiled on us for the Nitos ride today to San Dionisio Ocotlan. The sky this morning was relatively clear after overnight showers, opening the way for a pleasant ride in the country. However, rain clouds chased us home from Ocotlan, and the group got back to Oaxaca just as another batch of evening showers began pelting the city.

The day’s destination was not so much the village of San Dionisio itself as the nearby “Rancho Las Fresas” where the group enjoyed a tasty lunch and then dispersed into the fields to look for fresh strawberries for dessert.

As for the ride itself, the group covered 52.7 miles (87.8 km) in the course of the day, logging a total of 2395 feet (730 meters) of elevation gain and loss along the way, with most of the uphill associated with crossing the ridge that separates the Oaxaca valley from Ocotlan. It was a long day – we left at 8 AM and got back to Oaxaca at 6 PM – but it was quite satisfying.

Las lluvias llegaron temprano este año, Oaxaca recibió más de 64.5 cms (10 pulgadas) de descenso pluvial en las pasadas dos semanas. Sin embargo, el Dios del Clima nos mimó para la salida del grupo Nito hacia San Dionisio Ocotlán. El cielo esa mañana estaba relativamente despejado después de la fuerte lluvia de la noche anterior, abriendo un agradable camino para un ciclopaseo en la zona rural. Igual, al final del día, Oaxaca nos recibió con su imperdible lluvia.

El destino no era el pueblo, San Dionisio, sino  el cercano “Rancho de las Fresas”, dondo el grupo disfrutó de una deliciosa y nutritiva comida, para luego buscar fresas frescas de postre.

En cuanto al paseo, el grupo recorrió 87.8 kms (52.7 millas) en el transcurso del día, datando un total de 730 metros (2395 pies) de diferencia entre subidas y bajadas. El momento más exigente, por lo empinado, fue cruzar la división entre el valle de Oaxaca y el valle de Ocotlán. Fue un largo día, saliendo de Oaxaca a las 8am y regresando a las 6pm, pero definitivamente satisfactorio.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride In Tlalixtac Territory – Los Molinos Trail

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Members of the Nitos Ciclistas En Movimiento took to the hill country in the territory belonging to the village of Tlalixtac for this Sunday’s ride. The Oaxaca Valley had received over 5 inches (32 cm) of rain in the previous five days, so the ground was saturated, streams were running strong, humidity was high and there was plenty of mud along the way. It was a fun outing, nevertheless; and the 26 people who took part had a great time!

After getting clear of the city, the group took mostly back roads on the way to the foothills and then followed a country trail that wound upwards running parallel to Highway 175, but on the far side of a gurgling stream. After pedaling for about three hours the group stopped for lunch in the woods before splashing across the creek and sailing back to Oaxaca on the shoulder of the highway.

The round trip covered 16.2 miles (26.1 km) with an elevation gain and loss of 1007 feet (307 meters). There were just a few technical challenges along the way in the form of some rock gardens. However, there were many muddy spots and a number of places where water was running down the trail, so the going was slow at times.