This small village nestled in a quiet corner of the Tlocolula valley is completely unpretentious and seldom seen – except by mountain bikers looking for some out-of-the-way place to visit on a pleasant ride from Oaxaca city. The route to and from may vary slightly from time to time, and in any case is quite similar to other ventures into this part of the Central Valley of Oaxaca. The figures for today’s excursion are: 63.9 km (39.7 miles) traveled, with 319 meters (1048 feet) of elevation gain and loss.
Category: Countryside
Countryside, GPS, MTBing
Jalapa Lollipop
by Larry • • 0 Comments
A pleasant, moderate ride through the rolling hills of the western Etla valley to Jalapa del Valle and back, passing through San Andres Ixtlahuaca both going and coming. Distance traveled amounted to 48.4 km (30.7 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 724 meters (2376 feet) along the way. Elapsed time was almost exactly three hours.
x
Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos
Sunday Fiestas
by Larry • • 0 Comments
Cyclists who take part in our regular Sunday excursions are looking for exercise and some good comaraderie. The exercise comes from the rides, which are mostly of moderate difficulty and cover between 32 and 64 kilometers (20 to 40 miles). The socializing happens on the trail and when the group stops for brunch along the way. With this latter in mind, the route on any given Sunday will likely visit a village which is holding a fiesta that day. There is almost always a town somewhere in the Valles Centrales celebrating a patron’s feast or marking some similar occasion. So it was Santo Domingto Tomaltepec sponsoring a mountain bike race and community celebration this last day in March, which also happened to be Easter Sunday. The streets around the zocalo were tented over, with vendors displaying all sorts of merchandise and multiple stalls selling street food. A brass band and a parade added to the festivities. All of which added spice to the day’s bike adventure.
but none had a drop of water on account of severe drought.
Countryside, GPS, MTBing
Teotitlan del Valle
by Larry • • 0 Comments
Thirteen eager cyclists turned out for this ride on Palm Sunday to Teotitlan del Valle. The route took advantage of mainly unpaved back roads and trails through farm fields to avoid riding along Hwy 190. Distance traveled amounted to 56.2 kms (34.9 miles) and took about five hours, allowing an hour for brunch at the market in Teotitlan.
Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos
Ride to La Raya
by Larry • • 0 Comments
Five cyclists showed up for this Friday group ride from Oaxaca to La Raya and back, using a combination of roads and trails which formed a large loop through the countryside of the Zimatlan valley to the south of Oaxaca. It was a great five hour ride of a bit over 56 kms (35 miles) on a warm spring day.
