The Sunday group of 15 cyclists rode to San Augustin Etla and back from Santo Domingo via the Ferrocarril. A familiar ride for this group that included breakfast at the local market. A pleasant 48 KM (29 miles) ride with rains and no other surprises
Expecting to ride trails in Llano Grande, four riders shuttled into the mountains only to find the weather cold and drizzly. Delicate as they are, the riders decided to do a short out and back from Diaz Ordaz to Yagul instead. A rocky ride along a river bed followed by well packed sandy trails took us into the valley around the Yagul reserve. The group encountered several caves, ancient rock art, spiny single track, finger wagging officials and herds of animals. A nice ride leaving the group wanting more miles and more time in the saddle.
This is a delightful, moderately difficult 16.4 kilometer (10.2 mile) ride on the trails in the ecotourism park of La Cumbre Ixtepeji. The route begins and ends using the Cabeza de Vaca trail, but then takes advantage of inter-connecting logging roads in the area to form a double loop through the mountains at an elevation ranging from 2807 to 3046 meters (9210 to 9993 feet) above sea level. This ride was accomplished in 2.5 hours on ebikes, but can just as easily be done on any pedal-powered mountain bike. Skies were overcast and the temperature hovered around 18°C (65°F) with just a slight breeze. Altogether a wonderful experience!
Here is a YouTube video showing a portion of the Cabeza de Vaca trail: https://youtu.be/RNv2rF1CqnM?si=wfblNb-Fr7-GVPDd
This is the fourth in a series of weekday rides exploring the little-used back roads and trails in the hills to the west of the Mexico cuota some 20-40 kilometers (12 to 24 miles) north-northwest of Oaxaca. The town of Matadamas was the jumping off point for today’s excursion. Similar expeditions have departed from San Andrés Zautla, Santa Cruz Lachixolana and Santiago Suchilquitongo. All offer a generous amount of hill climbing in the midst of great scenery. All of these routes can be accessed on rides originating in Oaxaca as well as by using a shuttle to the designated starting points. This particular outing was a short one of 23.8 kms (14.8 miles) that lasted just 2.5 hours. It could well have been extended by riding more of the trails that crisscross the area. Be advised, though, that accessing these trails can be difficult. When looking out from the top of a ridge, one can see a number of trails off in the distance, but finding and following them is challenging, as many wind up dead-ending in a farmer’s field. Nevertheless, this is a great area for riders with a whimsical spirit of adventure.
It is both a delight and a rare treat to discover a place in the Oaxaca valley never visited before. There have been innumerable rides to Jalapa del Valle in the course of more than a dozen years, using any of four different routes to get there. A wrong turn today, though, led us happily astray – into the hills around the tiny village of La Concepción. This revealed some beautiful scenery and significant hill climbs which made the day’s outing a charming adventure. La Concepción is a farming community with a patchwork of small fields dotting the landscape, most of which are tended by families using oxen to plow the steep terrain where corn is planted by hand. After visiting this charming place we continued on to Jalapa del Valle and than circled back to Oaxaca, covering 59.9 kms (37.2 miles) on the outing, which saw an elevation gain and loss of 726 meters (2382 feet). Skies were heavily overcast all day, with a couple of light rainshowers encountered in the last miles.
