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.
There is an epic new trail near Oaxaca deserving of mention here. Under construction for two years, the Camino de Juarez is set to open in March 2024. In all likelihood, though, it will not be completed for another year or two, given the work yet to be accomplished. As envisioned, the trail will run from San Pablo Guelatao – the birthplace of renowned Oaxaca native, Benito Juarez – to the outskirts of the capital city. The trail commemorates the twelve-year-old orphan’s solo walk from his hometown to Oaxaca in 1818, leaving behind his years as an unschooled shepherd boy to embark on a lifetime of stellar achievements as a student, lawyer, state governor, supreme court justice and president and savior of Mexico during the war of the French Intervention. A contemporary of Abraham Lincoln in the U.S., Juarez can fairly be called the father of the modern state of Mexico.
The Camino de Juarez winds for 29 miles (46.5 kms) through the mountainous terrain of the Sierra Norte, starting at an elevation of 5790 feet (1765 meters) in Guelatao and concluding at 5020 feet (1530 meters) at the Juarez monument in Tlalixtac where highway 175 intersects with highway 190 (the Panamerican Highway).
The highest point on the trail is 9246 feet (2818 meters). There is an elevation gain of 7631 feet (2326 meters) running from Guelatao to Oaxaca, with an elevation loss of 8333 feet (2540 meters) along the way. The paved trail has some steep segments containing lots of steps. There are pedestrian overpasses in the several places where the trail crosses highway 175. The Camino de Juarez is amenable to hikers, backpackers, joggers and bicyclists.
As of January 2024 most of the bridges that will carry the Camino de Juarez over the highway have been completed. A few segments of the trail – like this one near Tlalixtac – are ready to go. However some access roads are still under construction. Good portions of the new trail have been graded and some partial pavement put in place. But even in these areas much work needs yet to be done. And in some places the trail is still nothing more than a narrow footpath.
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.
There are miles of backcountry roads and a snaggle of single track trails in the hills north and west of Santiago Suchilquitongo that are a lure to mountain bikers looking to explore new territory. This post recounts two similar but distinct rides.
RIDE ONE: To scratch the itch of adventure, two cyclists set out from Oaxaca to shuttle their bikes 33 kilometers (20.5 miles) to Suchilquitoingo one morning, intent on discovering what that region has to offer. This being an exploratory trip and a first-time visit, the day’s route rested on a roll of the dice as to which direction to ride. First up was a trek up the hill just west of the cuota to Mexico City past the Technologico Nacional de Mexico. What started as a promising ride on an unpaved country lane soon devolved into a jeep road and then a narrow, ill-defined single track which climbed up to a ridge overlooking the valley spread below. Near the top the trail became so faint and steep the riders deemed it best to turn around and retrace their path. Back in the valley, the cyclists had better luck following a freshly-graded road winding westward past two reservoirs, with the road climbing steadily upward for a number of miles. After pedaling for two hours, the pair decided to head back, calling the day’s excursion a success. The stats for the day are: 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) ridden, with an elevation gain and loss of 596 meters (1956 feet). See first map, below.
RIDE TWO: Intrigued by the road which seemed to wind ever higher and deeper into the nearby mountains, cyclists returned a second time to explore the area further. Turns out this old road is a winner! The lower portion is mainly sundrenched, but the upper sections offer good forest shade. The first five miles provide moderate climbs and descents as the track weaves through the woods. The next 1.3 miles are steeper, with grades of 8 to 15 percent. The final seven-tenths of a mile climb is a challenge, with lots of loose sand and a gradient of up to 20% in places. An ebike is a real asset and is definitely in its element here! The ride stats are: distance 21.7 km (13.5 miles) / elevation gain & loss 781 meters (2563 feet) / ride time of 2.5 hours on ebikes. See second map, below.
Scampering up a trail in the hills near Huitzo.A spectacular view of the countryside. The first of two reservoirs on today’s outing. The same reservoir seen from further up the mountain.The long, winding road up into the mountains. Lots of zigging and zagging along the way. Deep in the forest and high on the hill.
