OaxacaMTB.org

This first Sunday of April marked the beginning of daylight savings time in Mexico – several weeks after the U.S. and Canada moved their timepieces forward one hour. All three countries are presently debating the wisdom of resetting clocks each spring and fall. But there is no consensus as to whether a year-around time should coincide with standard time or daylight time. In any case, those of us who switched to daylight time overnight woke in darkness and started our weekly Sunday ride with the sun much lower on the horizon. This may work to our advantage, as April and May are the hottest months of the year in Oaxaca, and so our rides will take place in cooler hours. In any case, today’s excursion took the group through the Rosario neighborhood and then up and over a ridge of hills on a rough jeep road before descending into Santa Maria el Tule – a route we call the Back Way to Tule. After resting a bit in the lovely zocalo there, it was easy pedaling back to Oaxaca on mostly level terrain. The distance covered amounted to 31.2 kilometer (19.4 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 285 meters (930 feet) on the circuit.

The village of San Pablo Etla, which lies snugged up again the mountains some nine miles north of Oaxaca city, is a popular destination for hikers and mountain bikers, as there are a number of inviting trails to explore in the foothills there. And so it was a group of six cyclists took off from Santo Domingo at 9 am this last Sunday of March, heading through San Felipe del Aqua, then up and over the Libramiento Norte and down through Viguera to reach San Pablo. Once arrived, the band split in two, with half continuing onward and upward to check out a favorite single track bike trail and the other half sailing down to the valley floor to take the old railroad route back to Oaxaca. The day’s round trip ride came in at 40.9 kilometers (25.4 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 564.5 meters (1852 feet).

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The ever-popular Los Molinos trail in the mountain valley shared with Hwy 175 was the chosen venue for this Sunday ride in late March of 2022. Seven fellows and one woman departed from Santo Domingo at 9 am for this 35 kilometer (22 mile) excursion through the countryside near Oaxaca. Of the group, Eduardo and Ulises were native bikers; the rest were either resident or visiting gringos. Mike G., from Anchorage, Alaska, traveled the greatest distance to get to Oaxaca. A serious rider, he brought his mountain bike with him to explore the Valles Centrales on his own set of wheels. The weather was perfect for a day in the saddle, with blue skies and the thermometer hovering around 21ºC (80º F). The only downside was the fact the vegetation this late in the dry season was entirely drab. The only greenery was provided by the newly-planted fields of alfalfa and corn. Given the relatively short distance traveled today, the group was back in Oaxaca by 12:30 in the afternoon.

On this bright Sunday in mid-March a covey of twelve riders set out from Oaxaca for the town of Teotitlan del Valle, famous as a village of weavers. Presented with several options as to which route to take, the gang chose to keep to level terrain rather than do some hill climbs. So we stuck to back roads on the valley floor, pedaling through Tlalixtac and Santo Domingo Tomaltepec on the way to Tule, then continuing east to Tlacochahuaya and Dainzu before heading north through Macuilxotchitl and into Teotitlan. The group reached Teotitlan at noon, so a lunch stop was in order. Since Conchita’s restaurant was handy and offered tasty dishes at a reasonable price, the gang spent an hour there. The return to Oaxaca went quickly, as it was a gradual downhill slope all the way. Here are the day’s stats: Distance traveled – 63.4 kilometers (39.4 miles) Elevation gain and loss – 326 meters (1070 feet) Time elapsed – 6 hours.

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After several weeks of easy Sunday rides, today’s outing was a more challenging loop through the rolling hills west of Monte Alban. Six riders rode from Oaxaca out through Atzompa and Cacaotepec to Tejalápam, then crossed a ridge of hills to San Andres Ixtlahuaca and thence back to Oaxaca. This route covered 48.8 kilometers (30.3 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 465 meters (1525 feet) on the circuit. Counting a stop for lunch in Atzompa at the end of the excursion, the group was enroute for five hours. The weather was perfect, of course, with sunshine and blue skies. The forecast high temperature for the day was expected to hit 31º C (88º F) by mid-afternoon.

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