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

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes

Nitos Ride At San Pablo Guila

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Today’s outing was a massive undertaking. The Nitos group teamed up with Perros de la Montaña and Chapus Bike for this expedition to San Pablo Guila. The trip had seventy participants and required a caravan of vehicles to transport all the riders and their bikes the 42 miles (67.6 km) from Oaxaca to San Pablo. Pedro Martinez came along for the ride, as well.

The ride itself had two parts. First the group climbed 2.3 miles (3.7 km) up the steep dirt road from town to the capilla atop the hill overlooking the village. This proved quite a challenge, as the road was very rough and badly eroded, in addition to requiring a climb of 944 feet (287.7 meters) on a grade that consistently ran at 12 to 14 per cent.

After looping back to town (with some of the more adventurous riders taking the tricky singletrack trail rather than the road) and pausing there for a well-deserved break, the gang then did a 4.12 mile (6.63 km) out-and-back ride to a natural spring not far from town. Some in the group took advantage of the situation to play in the mineral water at the spring. Once back in town, the whole entourage was hosted for lunch at the home of Moises Lopez Cruz, who acted as our host for the entire day.

It was a tired but happy bunch of cyclists who returned to Oaxaca late in the afternoon.

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.