Category: GPS

Items containing GPS data (either the downloadable KML/Z or GPX file) &/or a map that displays such data.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes

Nitos Ride Near Huitzo

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Thirty-one members of the Nitos bike club headed into the hill country northwest of Huitzo for a challenging 18.2 mile (29.3 km) ride on a beautiful Sunday morning in late September. (The ride was supposed to cover 16.4 miles, but most riders missed a turn on the way back and so wound up pedaling another 1.84 miles by mistake.) There were significant hills to be negotiated (elevation gain & loss totaled 3302 feet or 1006 meters), so there was a good amount of hike-a-biking along the way, particularly as the grade ran 12-15% on some of the hills. The gorgeous scenery more than made up for the physical effort required, however.

At the conclusion of the ride the group took advantage of a comedor at the trailhead to wolf down an assortment of typical Mexican dishes, with pitchers of lemonade and plenty of soda pop and beer to help re-hydrate after the ride.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride To Santiago Ixtaltepec

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This Sunday morning dawned with clear skies, proffering the possibility of a ride through the countryside without afternoon showers. That turned out to be a false hope, as light rain was falling along a good part of the ride back to Oaxaca — but not enough to dampen the spirits or wash away the good feelings of the day’s outing.

Santiago Ixtaltepec is a small village not far from its more famous neighbor, Teotitlan del Valle; and both of them lie in the Tlacolula valley to the east of Oaxaca city. The terrain there is mostly flat, but we managed to find a few hills to climb on the circuitous route we took on the way out. At times the group navigated barely discernible trails across open fields, trying — unsuccessfully, it turned out — to avoid a multitude of thorn bushes that had previous claim to the territory. At least a dozen flat tires resulted from this crossing, but these were mainly discovered after the group stopped for lunch in Santiago, where it was possible to deal with all of them at the same time.

Today’s trek through the countryside totaled 28.9 miles (46.5 kilometers) for the round trip, with an elevation gain and loss of 1377 feet (419.7 meters) along the way. We crossed a series of hills to accumulate that much climbing, as the high point of the ride was only 5489 feet (1673 meters), just 365 feet (111 meters) higher than the Zocalo in the center of Oaxaca.

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mexican National Mountain Bike Race In Oaxaca

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Today’s event was a double-header. First, local mountain bike racers held their usual monthly contest on the San Felipe bike trail network. Then contenders in town for the National race conducted a second round of races. Weather conditions were ideal, and track conditions were good. The course laid out for the event mirrored the route used in past years, with the addition of an extra uphill segment to push riders to their limits.

The convoluted loop wound 3.8 miles (6.1km) through the forest, with challenging technical spots and some sharp climbs and drops thrown in for good measure. Altogether there was a total of 737 feet (224.6 meters) of elevation gain and loss around the circuit. The Start/Finish line was at the site of an old stone quarry and registered 6045 feet (1842.5 meters) in altitude. The high point of the race course hit 6313 feet (1924.2 meters) and the lowest point came in at 5941 feet (1810.8 meters). No one went home feeling this was a wimpy course!

 

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Ride Routes

Nitos Ride At San Pablo Guila

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Today’s outing was a massive undertaking. The Nitos group teamed up with Perros de la Montaña and Chapus Bike for this expedition to San Pablo Guila. The trip had seventy participants and required a caravan of vehicles to transport all the riders and their bikes the 42 miles (67.6 km) from Oaxaca to San Pablo. Pedro Martinez came along for the ride, as well.

The ride itself had two parts. First the group climbed 2.3 miles (3.7 km) up the steep dirt road from town to the capilla atop the hill overlooking the village. This proved quite a challenge, as the road was very rough and badly eroded, in addition to requiring a climb of 944 feet (287.7 meters) on a grade that consistently ran at 12 to 14 per cent.

After looping back to town (with some of the more adventurous riders taking the tricky singletrack trail rather than the road) and pausing there for a well-deserved break, the gang then did a 4.12 mile (6.63 km) out-and-back ride to a natural spring not far from town. Some in the group took advantage of the situation to play in the mineral water at the spring. Once back in town, the whole entourage was hosted for lunch at the home of Moises Lopez Cruz, who acted as our host for the entire day.

It was a tired but happy bunch of cyclists who returned to Oaxaca late in the afternoon.

Countryside, Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Nitos Ride To Santo Domingo Tomaltepec

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The ride into the mountain valley which serves as the source of water for the community of Santo Domingo Tomaltepec is a very scenic and enjoyable outing. That said, it might well be called “Trial By Water,” as the trail crosses the same stream seven times going both out and back. Even in the dry season the rider will likely get splashed. During the rainy season (which this was) the water is swift-flowing and sometimes a foot or more deep, which guarantees your foot gear – and sometimes more – will get thoroughly soaked.

Just as a black powder fuse will sputter and die when wet, our riders’ enthusiasm was considerably dampened by the water crossings. By the third stream crossing almost half the day’s group of 33 riders decided not to go any further, leaving it to the more intrepid bikers to push on to the end of the trail. Still, everyone was in good spirits and seemed to have a good time.

The ride out and back covered a total of 24.8 miles (39.9 km), and the total elevation gain and loss on the trip amounted to 1270 feet (387 meters). The ride began and ended at an elevation of 5113 feet (1558 meters). The high point on the trail hit 5696 feet (1736 meters), while the lowest point along the way bottomed out at 5084 feet (1549 meters).

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