The citizens of Guelavia hosted a boisterous festival this fourth Sunday in January celebrating the community’s use of carrizo (a bamboo-like plant) in the making of baskets, hats and other merchandise. Several blocks in the town center were roped off and filled with displays and vendors selling food, while there was music and dancing in the zocalo in front of the municipal building. A dozen cyclists from Oaxaca happily joined in the celebration as part of their weekly ride. It was a picture-perfect day for an outing through the countryside of the Tlacolula valley, with mild temperatures in the upper 70’s Fahrenheit (about 24º C) and a refreshing breeze blowing gently through the trees. Riders covered 58.2 kilometers (36.2 miles) on the round-trip excursion, with a modest elevation gain and loss of 163 meters (535 feet) in elevation along the way.
Thirteen riders showed up on this Sunday in mid-January to pedal to the village of Magdalena Apasco near the northwestern limit of the Etla valley. The thermometer registered 58ºF (14.4ºC) as the group assembled in the plaza in front of the church of Santo Domingo at 8 am, then climbed to 83ºF (28.3ºC) by the time the ride ended at 2 pm. The gang was composed of a mix of men and women, natives and expats, full-time residents and folks just passing through Oaxaca. Most riders were aboard hardtail mountain bikes, but there was one touring bike, a gravel bike and one full-suspension ebike in the pack. Participants seemed evenly matched in terms of bike skills and stamina. The total round trip distance amounted to 42.0 miles (67.6 kms). The troop enjoyed a hearty lunch at a restaurant in Villa de Etla on the return leg of the outing. When all was said and done, it was an excellent bike adventure.
To see a map of the route we followed and some additional photos, please see:
A bright Sunday morning in mid-January lured thirteen riders to take to their bikes.Cycling to the outskirts of Oaxaca city. Pedaling along a country lane. A group photo at some of the Zapotec ruins in San Jose el Mogote. The emblem of Mexico carved in stone at the municipal building in Magdalena Apasco.
The destination for the ride this Sunday was Jalapa del Valle. This is a frequent end point for many excursions aboard a bike. Indeed, there are at least a dozen such outings listed elsewhere on this website, which attests to the enduring popularity of this ride – or the lack of any other destination in this corner of the Oaxaca valley. Nine cyclists, including four newbies to the group, set out from Santo Domingo Church at 8:15 am on a sunny and mild day in late November. The first half of the ride was mellow, consisting of mostly paved roads with minimum hill climbing going through San Lorenzo Cacaotepec and San Felipe Tejalapam to Jalapa del Valle. After lunch in Jalapa, the ride was more challenging. The route out of Jalapa entailed a long climb to the top of the ridge which isolates the valley of the Rio Jalapilla from the rest of the Valles Centrales. At just over 1829 meters (6002 feet), this was the highest point on the ride. At that point a couple of less experienced riders opted to stick to the paved road which winds downhill in the direction of San Pedro Ixtlahuaca. The rest of the gang rode a little-used jeep road which followed the ridgeline running to the east, connecting with the gravel road which links Tejalapam with San Andres Ixtlahuaca. This was the high point of the day, not just in altitude but in technical challenges, as well. To their credit, all seven cyclists proved quite capable on the “Yee-haw” descent, flying over loose patches of gravel and dodging deep ruts in the road. Total mileage accumulated on the ride came to 53 kilometers (33 miles). Riders spent five hours in the saddle and one hour having lunch at the Comidor Campestre.
Pounding the pavement on the way to San Felipe Tejalapam.Pedaling through the valley of the Rio Jalapilla. Leaving the Comedor Campestre in Jalapa after lunch. Here is the easy way to climb the long hill leaving Jalapa del Valle!The six riders who opted to ride the jeep road back to Oaxaca. Bombing down the trail.
The Days of the Dead – November 1 & 2 – are national holidays in Mexico. At this time people honor their deceased relatives by decorating their graves with lavish flower bouquets and spend time communing with the spirits of the dead. This holiday is more important than Christmas, Easter or any other fiesta in the calendar year. This ride on 2 November to the small villages of Santo Domingo and Santa Cecilia Jalieza took cyclists past six cemeteries, all resplendent with flowers and crowded with the living descendants of those interred there. Though hardly evident now, archeologists say that at one time the Jalieza region of the Valles Centrales of Oaxaca was the most densely populated in the area. Even today the hidden valley between San Antonio Buenavista and Santa Cecilia is wonderfully scenic and a worthy destination for a bike ride. The 70 kilometer (43.6 mile) route is pretty mellow. Though the terrain is not flat, the hills are not that many or particularly challenging, making this an inviting excursion for anyone with decent biking skills.
On a fine fall day in October 2023 five biking buddies set out from Oaxaca to ride to Santa Cecilia Jalieza and back, making an attempt to explore some dirt roads in the Tlacolula valley never ridden before. The unfamiliar terrain resulted in following a few country lanes that wound up depositing the riders in the middle of some corn fields. Not a problem, though! Everyone was in fine spirits and it was a lovely day to wander about on a bike. Passing through Santa Maria el Tule again on the return leg of the loop ride, the gang stopped to chow down at the El Milenario restaurant, a favorite lunch stop any time cyclists are in that neck of the woods. The final mileage tally for the day was 66.9 kilometers (41.6 miles), with an elevation gain and loss of 459 meters (1507 feet). Though a bit saddlesore and weary at the end, everyone declared the outing to be scenic and fun. What more could one ask?
