Marco and Carlos, two great guys with a lot of bike experience between them, have opened a new bike repair shop seven blocks south of the zocalo in Oaxaca. Assisting them is their mechanic, Antonio. They also sell used bikes on consignment, so you should check them out if you are in the market for a used bici. You will find their shop at Vega 121 between Bustamante and Armenta y Lopez. They are open Monday thru Saturday from 10 until 2 and again from 4 until 8. You can contact them at 951-206-8497 or on Facebook at “La Cleta y el Cafe”.
There is a new staff at Summit Cyclery to serve you and your bike. Pictured above are Raul, mechanic, Arturo, manager, and Bernardo, sales. The shop is still at the same great location at Calzada Porfirio Diaz 230 in Col. Reforma. They can be reached at 951-132-5897.
On this second day of April, a Sunday, a couple of miles of the main street linking Oaxaca with Colonia Reforma, an upscale neighborhood to the north, were closed to vehicular traffic so that the thoroughfare could become a playground. The route was lined with pop-up tents and an assortment of displays and exercise areas — all part of a project called “Via Recreativa Oaxaca”. The idea was to encourage people to incorporate exercise of various kinds into their daily lives. There were exhibits featuring karate, yoga and Tae Kwon Do. There were pavilions offering dance lessons and others offering bicycles for rent. Several local bike groups sponsored leisurely rides up and down the avenue and around el centro. There were lots of people, young and not so much so, going up and down the street on in-line skates and skateboards, along with walkers and joggers and people exercising their dogs. A festive atmosphere prevailed and the hundreds of people participating seemed to enjoy the event.
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).
Highway 175 that leads from Oaxaca city into the Sierra Norte mountains seems to be a fairly popular weekend ride for roadies and mountain bikers. The climb to La Cumbre Ixtepeji is brutal, whether accomplished entirely on the paved highway or by detouring on the dirt road through Tierra Colorada. The highway is steep, curvy and has no shoulder at all. It also has heavy vehicular traffic — all of which makes it a dangerous place for a bike. In recent weeks (December 2013) a number of new signs have been erected along the route cautioning motorists of bike riders and reminding them to share the roadway. This, and the newly-completed bike path to Tule, indicates the state government of Oaxaca looks favorably on the biking community.
