Category: Ride Routes

Information on places to ride your bike with route information (typically GPS and map), towns passed through, points of interest along the way, and maybe even photos

Mountains, MTBing, Outing, Photos, Ride Routes

Nitos Ride To Guacamaya

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Nitos Ciclistas en Movimiento sponsored an all-day ride from Oaxaca city to the mountain village of Guacamaya on Sunday, 18 May 2014. This was a challenging 43.3 mile (69.7 km) round-trip excursion that required pedaling steadily uphill a total of 4171 feet (1271.3 meters) in the 9.8 miles (15.77 km) from the turnoff on Highway 190 to Guacamaya – and mostly on a gravel road. Thankfully, the trip organizers had two sag vehicles accompany the group of 34 riders, so a number of people got a very welcome lift on the final leg of the ride into Guacamaya. The group departed the Church of San Agustin shortly after 8 am and the first party to get back to Oaxaca did so about 5 pm.

Go to www.facebook.com/NitosCiclistasEnMovimiento to learn more about this club.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Outing, Photos, Ride Routes

Nitos Ride to Tlacolula

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There are several bike clubs in Oaxaca, one of which is called “Nitos Ciclistas En Movimiento.” (www.facebook.com/groups/Nitos.CiclistasEnMovimiento) This group sponsors a ride every Sunday morning at 8:00 am starting from the church of St. Agustin, located at the intersection of Armento y Lopez and Guerrero streets in downtown Oaxaca city.

The ride on this second Sunday in May was a pleasant 42 mile round trip excursion on back roads to the Sunday market in Tlacolula, where participants stopped for lunch. Oaxaca had received over an inch of rain the night before, so there were lots of puddles along the route and some of the farm roads were pretty muddy – nobody came home with clean riding gear! Still, it was a fun outing and the fifteen participants had a good time, despite a succession of flat tires and one bike’s free wheel getting stripped.

The map below does not accurately reflect today’s ride, which followed a somewhat different route. (The map is for the “Tlacolula Loop” listed on the “Rides” page of this web site.) However, it serves to give the direction of today’s outing and reflects about the same overall mileage.

GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes

Llano Grande Loops

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For those who prefer to have some “mountain” in their mountain biking, the place to ride around Oaxaca is in the Sierra Norte. And the best area there is the Pueblos Mancomunados – the forest region jointly owned and administered by eight Zapotec villages under the auspices of Expediciones Sierra Norte. All these little communities have charm, but perhaps the most special is Llano Grande; and it was here we chose to ride one Sunday in March.

We often ride the miles of dirt roads in this area without registering or paying for a native guide. But for today’s outing we wanted to explore some of the singletrack trails, and for that we hired a guide, who led us on a merry five-hour expedition through the woods, stopping to climb to a mirador and later hiking a short distance to a cascada. In fairness, the ride could have been accomplished in much less time, but we were in the mood for a more leisurely run – taking photos, climbing trees and just having fun.

The double loop we rode covered 9.95 miles (16.0 km) with an elevation gain and loss of 1812 feet (552 meters). The highest point was the peak with the panoramic view, which topped out at an altitude of 10,941 feet (3334.8 meters). The lowest point on the ride was a creek crossing at 9,635 feet (2936 meters). The steepest section was a downhill run that recorded a grade of 29%. There were seven moderate (but very fun) log ramps for those inclined to spend some time in the air.

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Racing, Ride Routes

Cerro Fortin Trails

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Cerro Fortin is a large hill that dominates the skyline on the north side of Oaxaca city. In pre-Hispanic days it is where the Aztecs built a garrison to exert control over the Zapotec & Mixtec population of the Valles Centrales. Today it is the site of the Fortin Plaza Hotel and the famed Guelaguetza outdoor amphitheater where a regional folkloric dance festival is held each July. The top of the hill is studded with an array of telecommunications towers and an observatory, as well as an imposing statue of Benito Juarez, the local Zapotec boy who became president of Mexico and held off the incursion of the French in the days of Emperor Maximilian. There are a number of trails atop the hill which are popular with downhill bikers. The trails are steep and gnarly, and several ramps and jumps have been built to add to the challenge. There is no ready road access, however, which means bikers usually have to ride or push their rigs to the top to enjoy the thrill of careening downhill. Downhill races are held here periodically.

The loops shown on the map below cover 3.2 miles (5.1 km) and entail a gain and loss of 946 feet (288 meters) along the way.

GPS, Hiking, Mountains, MTBing, Ride Routes, Trail Info

Ixtlan Revisited

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In November of last year (2013) we visited Ixtlan de Juarez. Unfortunately, cold, rainy weather cut short our exploration of the miles of logging roads that create a maze in the hills above the town. We returned yesterday (5 January 2014) in excellent weather and rode a very satisfying 11 mile (17.7 km) loop, beginning and ending at the main church in town.

Except for the small portion on paved city streets, the entire loop is on dirt roads which are in relatively good condition and have decent gradient. There are numerous junctions with lesser trafficked logging roads (we stayed on what seemed to be the most-used road) along the route and a couple of single track trails that dropped off into the woods.

The loop can be ridden in either direction, but clockwise is recommended, as that way the grade going uphill is a  manageable 5.8%, whereas the descent averages a “Yee-haw!” 9% for a fast paced, brake-burning downhill run.

The ride begins in the center of town, at an elevation of 6505 feet (1983 meters) and tops out at 8556 feet (2608 meters). The total elevation gain pedaling 7.0 miles (11.3 km) to the top amounts to 2119 feet (646 meters), with a scant 33 feet (10 meters) of downhill along the way. The blistering 4.0 mile (6.4 km) descent is even more consistent, with a meager 20 feet (6 meters) of climbing thrown in for grins.

Give yourself a whole day to play in the forest and enjoy riding this and other nearby trails.