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Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race at San Pablo Etla

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St. Patrick’s Day – Sunday, 17 March 2013 –  found many of Oaxaca’s best mountain bikers competing for recognition and prizes on the race course set up near the new mountain park in San Pablo Etla. The luck ‘o’ the Irish was with eighteen riders who made it to the podium, but not with the many others whose tires got snakebit on the trail and had to push their bikes to the finish line. The race route covered a fair distance on dirt roads, but the exciting part was the singletrack that snaked up, down and around the hillsides, demanding skill and stamina to make it around the circuit. Congratulations to those who won their events! And thanks to all who took part and made it a grand day.

Countryside, GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos

Cuatro Venados Loop

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This loop ride is a cousin, of sorts, to the “San Pablo Cuatro Venados” ride which appears later on this page. Both versions of the ride begin and end in San Felipe del Agua, and both feature the very formidable climb up the mountainside to the tiny village of San Pablo Cuatro Venados. What sets this ride apart, though, is that it continues past 4 Venados, crossing through the high country at over 9000 feet elevation, then descends steeply through Santa Ines del Monte to Zaachila before returning to Oaxaca city (on mercifully level ground!). This is one of the epic rides around Oaxaca, and should not be taken lightly. The loop can be ridden in either direction, and is equally difficult either way. Pick your poison! If you can arrange a shuttle, you can eliminate the pain of the huge climb to Cuatro Venados and concentrate on the much more thrilling screamer of a downhill run back to Oaxaca.

The loop ride, start to finish, will take you 56.3 miles (90.6 km). The high point of the adventure is 9281 feet (2829 meters) in elevation. The uphill climb clocks in at 6219 feet (1895 meters). The ride is rated “Difficult” because of the length, steep gradients and altitude. There are no technical sections of trail (the entire route is on paved or dirt roads), but the unpaved sections can be quite rough in places and you will be moving at high speeds coming downhill.

Options for a shorter ride include starting and ending at the Zócalo in the center of Oaxaca rather than in San Felipe. This alone will take 7.0 miles (11.3 km) off the total distance. Using a shuttle to get to Cuatro Venados and riding just one way will cut the route in half. The segment from Cuatro Venados through Santa Ines to Zaachila amounts to just 11.3 miles (18.2 km), is mostly downhill and should take just 3 hours.

Foothills, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race at San Felipe del Agua

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Sunday, 17 February 2013, dawned bright and crisp — a perfect day for a mountain bike race on the trail network in the hills above San Felipe del Agua. A large field of contestants – over 140 racers –  turned out for the event, along with quite a few spectators to line the route and cheer on their favorite riders. The race circuit was the same as for last year’s race, with a few slight changes to keep things interesting — see map below. Congratulations to the winners in the various race categories, and a big “Thank you!” to the crew that prepared the race course!

 

 

Countryside, GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos

Oaxaca to Juquila Pilgrims’ Route

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The notion of making a religious pilgrimage is an ancient tradition. In contemporary Mexico, the concept of making a pilgrimage to a religious shrine is very much alive and well. Almost two million people flock to the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on her feast day (12 December). Here in Oaxaca state there is a lesser-known shrine to the Virgin Mary in the small mountain community of Juquila, 203 kilometers (126 miles) southwest of the capital. People from all parts of the state go there – many by bicycle or on foot – to lay petitions before the Holy Mother. Whether you want to visit Juquila out of religious fervor or just because it is a worthy destination for an epic bike ride, here is how to get there.

Be aware that this route is on the shoulder of the secondary highway linking Oaxaca city with the Pacific coast. The road is narrow, steep, very sinuous and has little or no shoulder. Vehicle use is light most of the time,  and speeds are rarely higher than 30 miles per hour. There is a fair amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic all along the way. Nevertheless, this is a hazardous route for cyclists, so be exceptionally vigilant.

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Outing, Photos, Ride Routes

Oaxaca Flume Trail

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Another day out in the saddle riding with the local trail builder and guide, Carlos Silverberg. This time it was a full day grinding up and taking in The Oaxaca Flume trail. Starting from San Pablo Etla, it’s a short bit of rolling singletrack to reach the dirt road that is 95% of the ascent. The road will take you up the side of the mountain to the “La Mesita” park and then well beyond, climbing over 700 meters in about 8 kilimeters. Once you reach the junction with the singletrack, you work your way northward through pine trees on a skinny tread of trail that is thickly covered with dry pine needles. Elevation drops, but after each ravine crossing you can expect a brief climb before the more typical rolling flow across the ridges. The slippery pine needles and occasional rock band keep your attention, but the biggest challenge is just keeping your line on the thin trail as it traverses very steep slopes.

Eventually there is a sustained downhill (~1km) which leaves the pine forest behind and drops you into scrub oak. The trail utilizes an erosion-worn rut full of scree and blocks of rock…and in the dry season, lots of dry leaves (~15cm deep or more). No large drops but pretty much steady 15 – 30cm jumble of rock crud to plow the whole way down, with the occasional sharp turn and/or 20 – 45cm ledge or pile-o-crap to descend.

From there a ~0.75km climb up a steep slope with occasional breather breaks heads to the northwest and allows the trail to connect to the next big valley. The reward for the climb is an extension in the final descent, as the trail will cross back to the southern ridge as it winds its way back to the west on its return to the Etla valley.

The Oaxaca Flume trail’s namesake, the old hydroelectric facility’s water flume, is visible across the valley to the north as the trail heads west at this, its most northern point. The flume appears as a landscape scar running along the contour line across the far south-facing slope. As the trail dives down to the valley it follows a well-worn donkey trail that is full of the typical scree and baby-head boulders. Yum!

Once down out of the scrub oak and into the weeded fields and occasional corn-field, countless social trails crisscross the area — i.e. multiple options exist for routing your way home or adding extra kilometers. For this outing we headed across the small valley to the outcropping hill known as La Corona (The Crown) and ran down its eastern flank and on into San Pablo Etla for lunch before returning to our starting point.

I STRONGLY urge you to hire a guide the first few times you take on The Oaxaca Flume. Using the GPS, it would be easy enough to find the singletrack turn off from the Etla Ecopark dirt road, but the trail eventually crosses MANY intersections or heads through low, grassy vegetation that obscures the route. As noted above, the bottom part of the trail involves the massive network of social and improved trails near populated areas, but even though this would just lead to alternate routing/mileage, one could easily get totally lost in the middle sections of the trail. Besides, having a guide will have somebody giving you an idea of what to expect on the trail and allowing you to ignore navigation and totally focus on drinking deeply from The Oaxaca Flume trail.

Physical Rating: Difficult (A shuttle up the road would cut this to Moderate)
Technical (i.e. IMBA) Rating: Intermediate to Advanced / Blue Circle to Black Diamond