Category: Countryside

This Sunday dawned with mostly blue skies – the first morning in several weeks without heavy cloud cover. Our core group of regular riders was augmented by two newcomers to Oaxaca.  Jake is bike-packing from the U.S. to South America with his girlfriend and stopped for a few weeks in Oaxaca to rest and enjoy the scenery. Brian arrived a few days ago with the intention of making Oaxaca his home for a year or so. Both were eager to explore the territory and were welcome to ride with us. Brian is a roadie and so was unaccustomed to riding a mountain bike. Jake’s rig was outfitted for touring. So today’s outing was laid out to give them a taste of different treads – pavement, country road and jeep trail – over terrain that would offer some challenges but not be overwhelming. After meeting at 9 am in central Oaxaca we road to Tule, using a jeep road that swings up and over a ridgetop before dropping into the flat terrain of the Tlacolula Valley. From Tule we rode on pavement to Santo Domingo Tomaltepec and then returned to Oaxaca via dirt roads that took us through Tlalixtac. Nearing the capital we veered off to Huayapam to stop for lunch at a restaurant with a patio on the shore of one of the two presas that store water for the residents of Tlalixtac. The outing was most enjoyable, marred only by the rear derailleur cable breaking on Brian’s borrowed mountain bike. He had to make his way back to town with the use of just the three different gear ratios provided by the front triple chainring. All told, the group covered 24.1 miles (38.8 kms) with an elevation gain and loss of 1611 feet (491 meters) on the loop ride. The high point of the trail was the top of the ridge, which registered 5515 feet (1681 meters) on the GPS unit. Counting the hour or so spent enjoying lunch, the group was on the trail for about six hours.

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Someone checking out this web site for the first time might well think we only go for rides on Sundays, given the information posted. That would be a false impression. When possible, local expat mountain bikers get together for rides two or three times each week. Weekday rides are rarely written up and posted at OaxacaMTB.org, however. Why? Well, it may be we are pressed for time due to other commitments on weekdays. It may be out of laziness – we often do not bother with GPS units and cameras on weekday outings. In any case, weekday rides generally do not explore new territory, so we are simply riding again on routes that have been mapped and described previously. Such was the situation this Tuesday morning in mid-August. Most of the trails in the Etla Valley to the west and north of Monte Alban have been ridden and mapped any number of times before. But this is a scenic and popular area, well worth revisiting again and again. One of the attractions of the region is that it has an extensive network of unpaved roads, most of which interconnect so that cyclists can follow slightly different routes each time they ride here. In any event, a lovely day is always an invitation to spend some time in the saddle. A bright blue sky was a welcome change from the cloud cover that had persisted over Oaxaca for several weeks running. Our riders covered a distance of 29.1 miles (46.8 kms) and climbed and descended 1675 feet (510 meters) in completing the circuit. Ride time amounted to about four hours.

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      Five amigos set out this Sunday morning from central Oaxaca for a ride through the countryside to Lobera and back. This was in no way a groudbreaking ride, as it is a favorite route for people wanting to pedal into the Zimatlan valley south of Oaxaca. It was, however, the first time two members of the pack had ridden this way. The group spent nearly an hour pedaling to Zaachila, where they stopped at the mercado gastronomico for refreshing glasses of fresh-squeezed fruit juices. Then it was on to Lobera, following the paved road that leads through Lobera, on up to Santa Ines de Monte and eventually to San Miguel Peras deep in a secluded mountain valley. There were lots of other cyclists cruising this same road. The ride would have been uneventful but for the fact one member crashed hard while streaking downhill on a curve just after departing Lobera. Fortunately, he escaped with few scrapes and bruises, but suffered a moderate concussion that left him with no recollection of the accident. Hey, some things are best forgotten anyway! The round-trip distance traveled amounted to 31.2 miles (50.2 km), with an elevation gain and loss of 1088 feet (332 meters). Elapsed time in the saddle amounted to a bit over four hours.

Over time certain mountain bike rides occur again and again, eventually earning status as favorite outings. So it is with this loop ride through the rolling hill country to the west of Monte Alban. The loop can be ridden just as well clockwise or in the opposite direction.  Going clockwise, it is an 8.5 mile (13.7 km) ride on paved roads from central Oaxaca to Cuilapam, then an excursion on farm roads 8.35 miles (13.4 km) through the countryside until reaching the highway running between the archeological ruins of Monte Alban and Atzompa. From there the route is paved for the ride back to the capital. Though covering a distance of 23.3 miles (37.5 km), this outing is rated moderate, as there are no technical sections and just a couple of short, steep uphill climbs to challenge the cyclist. Overall, it is a nice mix of urban and country scenery.

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