Route

Northern Mexico: Sonora south to Alamos and El Fuerte, January 29 to March 5, 2007

rfay — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:35:34 +0000

This is the first section of our Mexico trip, January 29 to March 5, 2007.

The first part into Mexico is flat, desert riding on highway 15, which is not a cyclist's dream. Highway 15 is a pretty straight shot, 2 lanes in each direction, with normally no shoulder. We were able to handle it by putting on our brightest clothes and using our mirrors to tell when something was going to happen, and then getting off the road. All the motorists and especially the truckers were particularly courteous, but there were a few times when a passing vehicle to the left of a truck limited their options and then we had to get off quick.

South of Hermosillo we started to head toward the beach town to the west, but got discouraged and came back to the highway.

We enjoyed San Carlos and Guaymas, and then south of Guaymas got off the highway again and enjoyed the back agricultural roads of the Yaqui and Mayo river valleys. Great roads, nice people, no traffic.

Went to the beach town of Huatabampito (not much to write home about) and then rode back through Navojoa up to Alamos, a nice colonial city with lots of gringos. We spent a week in language school.

From Alamos we rode a dirt road two days to El Fuerte, Sinaloa. This was a fine ride, but it wasn't easy. Lots of people could make it in one day. After trying it out we decided not to ride the wild back roads into Copper Canyon.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Mesa to Florence Junction, AZ	2007-01-29	32/52	754/233
Florence Junction to Florence, AZ	2007-01-30	19/31	85/26
Florence to Oracle Junction, AZ	2007-01-31	40/65	2119/654
Oracle Junction to Tucson, Arizona	2007-02-01	35/56	344/106
Tucson, AZ to Tucson, AZ (SW)	2007-02-05	34/55	1801/556
Tucson, AZ to Tucson, AZ (SE)	2007-02-06	15/24	406/125
Tucson, AZ to Patagonia, AZ	2007-02-07	54/87	2959/913
Patagonia, AZ to Imuris, Sonora	2007-02-09	68/110	1827/564
Imuris to Santa Ana, Sonora	2007-02-10	30/48	692/214
Santa Ana to KM100 from Hermosillo	2007-02-10	46/74	675/208
KM100 to KM30 from Hermosillo	2007-02-11	46/74	318/98
KM30 on Hwy 15 to Hermosillo, Sonora	2007-02-12	22/35	229/71
Hermosillo to Rural crucero south of Hermosillo	2007-02-14	57/92	32/10
Rural crossroads to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico	2007-02-15	64/103	524/162
San Carlos to La Guasima	2007-02-19	38/61	597/184
La Guasima to Pueblo Yaqui	2007-02-20	69/111	186/57
Pueblo Yaqui to Huatabampo, Sonora	2007-02-21	61/98	173/53
Huatabampo to Huatabampito, Sonora	2007-02-22	12/19	36/11
Huatabampito to Navajoa, Sonora	2007-02-23	35/56	164/51
Navojoa, Sonora to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico	2007-02-24	34/55	1804/557
Alamos, Sonora to El Carrizal	2007-03-04	34/55	1233/381
El Carrizal, Sonora to El Fuerte, Sinaloa	2007-03-05	35/56	1266/391

Route: Copper Canyon (Sierra Tarahumara), March 7 to March 19, 2007

rfay — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 01:24:14 +0000

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We took the "El Chepe" train from El Fuerte, Sinaloa up to Creel. It was a beautiful and famous ride. If you're not too proud to get on a train, try it. Also, if you want to get to Copper Canyon from the west, this is far easier than the dirt-road alternatives, which are quite grueling.

Update November, 2008: Some friends took their bikes on the El Chepe, where they're typically loaded hanging out the back car (as ours were). But their bikes were stolen during the course of the trip. Be careful if you take your bike on El Chepe!

From Creel we rode to Samarchique, just at the intersection of the road to Batopilas. Randy rode this down a few years ago; We hitchhiked down and spent three days there thoroughly enjoying it.

Then we rode the rest of the mountains on the way out to Parral. It was almost all beautiful, good road, low traffic. Some pretty hard riding (see the elevation profiles) but great. There was a bad stretch of road (both bad maintenance and too much traffic) after the intersection approaching Parral.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Creel to Creel	2007-03-08	18/29	974/301
Creel to Humirá	2007-03-09	33/53	2335/721
Humirá to Samachique	2007-03-10	15/24	2604/804
Samachique to El Cerrito	2007-03-14	18/29	2188/675
El Cerrito to Guachochi	2007-03-15	35/56	2060/636
Guachochi to Guachochi	2007-03-16	22/35	875/270
Guachochi, Chihuahua to Balleza, Chihuahua	2007-03-17	61/98	2800/864

Route: Mexican Desert - Parral, Chihuahua to Guanajuato - March 21 to April 14, 2007

rfay — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:00:44 +0000

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The ride south from Parral was beautiful desert, but a bit too much of it. We had some pleasant remote campsites, but it was a lot of desert, without a lot of changes. If you're inclined to take a bus, Parral to Zacatecas is a good place to take up your inclination. We did get on a bus from Durango to Zacatecas.

All of the road from Parral to Durango was quite pleasant, with little traffic and no problems. We didn't have any trouble with resupply, although there were some mighty small stores in some of the villages.

We spent a delightful week in Zacatecas doing language school and enjoying their Cultural Week, which is a truly world-class event.

South of Zacatecas was more desert, but with a bit more variety. We thoroughly enjoyed the backroads path we took in some of the areas, especially some dirt road riding on the last 3 days - the ride through back roads to Ojuelos was great, and then the big ridge over to Guanajuato was fantastic - a big climb on a dirt road, and well worth it..

Most of these roads were also fine, with moderate traffic.

Nancy's notes

On the way out of Zacatecas along this route you can stop at Cuauhtemec and have a bit to eat at one of the road side restaurant. We talked to the owner for hours and he was great about educating us to what is happening in the area. He had worked in the US so he very fond of travelers coming for up north.

We where told about an alternative route that would not take us on the busy road from San Felipe to Delores Hidalgo and it turned out to be very nice alternative: We went south at San Felipe and made our way to Guanajuato. From Guanajuato we rode a great road to Delores Hidalgo which has the greatest pottery in the world. Take a visit to one of the factories and watch the artist work.

Here is the route:Go south at San Felipe toward Arraste and at Arraste turn left. Before the left hand turn about 500yards back on the right side of the road is is a small small tienda that actually serves wonderful cooked meals, for a great price. She also has some good food fresh food to take on the road. The young lady that owns and runs it was so shy and generous at the same time. She has water in the back that you can filter.

The road you will take is a very good dirt road that will bring you into Guanajuato, the back road way. You will climb a 1000 feet give or take a 1000 feet. About halfway on this road there is a school we camped at. We asked the neighbors across from the school and they said it would be the best place to camp. There is nothing else but one house, some cows and some really upset donkeys that let everyone know for 50 miles they are not happy but they quit the racket at dark. To the right of the school there is a pasture to camp on. The school was closed so there was no bathroom facilities available. An old man and his grand children will most likely come visit you and sit and watch you for an hour or two. He is older then god and quite photogenic.

The rest of the ride to Guanajuato is just as amazing as the first sections with changing landscape on the other side of the pass. I felt like I entered another world of red colored earth and adobe houses scattered through out the hills.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Parral, Chih to Desert	2007-03-21	27/44	1332/411
Desert south of Parral to Las Nieves, Durango	2007-03-22	30/48	1259/389
Las Nieves, Durango to Desert	2007-03-24	41/66	2007/619
Desert, Durango to Desert, Durango	2007-03-25	52/84	1243/384
Desert durango to Rodeo, Durango	2007-03-26	24/39	419/129
Rodeo, Durango to San Lucas, Durango	2007-03-27	48/77	3179/981
San Lucas, Durango to Durango, Mexico	2007-03-28	40/65	1000/309
Zacatecas to Luis Moya	2007-04-09	42/68	1210/373
Luis Moya to Los Campos	2007-04-10	54/87	1177/363
Los Campos to Ocampo, Guanajuato	2007-04-11	38/61	1128/348
Ocampo, Guanajuato to Santiaguillo, Guanajuato	2007-04-13	45/73	1696/523
Santiaguillo to Guanajuato	2007-04-14	18/29	1938/598

Route: Central Mexico - Guanajuato to Cholula, April 16 to May 6, 2007

rfay — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:32:10 +0000

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We enjoyed Central Mexico enormously, but as you'd expect when approaching the world's largest city, we did find some occasional irritating traffic situations.

Guanajuato to Querétaro was fine, and Dolores Hidalgo was quite enjoyable. The route we took from Querétaro to Tula also mostly worked out OK. Then from Tula it got a bit dicey at times, with sometimes too much traffic on too small roads. We took a bus into Mexico City from Teotihuacán and enjoyed the city that way.

The ride around the city from Teotihuacán to Amecameca was mostly OK, but we had some heavy traffic near where you cross Mexico 150, which is the main route to Puebla.

A real highlight of the trip was the last day of this section, climbing the Paso de Cortéz, the 12,000 foot saddle between the twin volcanoes Popo and Ixta. It was quiet, green, no traffic, absolutely glorious. But a big climb, of course. The Cholula side was dirt, but not bad.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Guanajuato to Dolores Hidalgo	2007-04-16	35/56	2791/861
Dolores Hidalgo to San Miguel de Allende	2007-04-18	26/42	1122/346
Queretaro to Tequisquiapan, Qro	2007-04-23	40/65	1154/356
San Miguel de Allende to Queretaro	2007-04-23	40/65	1154/356
Tequisquiapan to San Sebastian	2007-04-24	35/56	2521/778
San Sebastian, Hidalgo to Tula, Hidalgo	2007-04-25	36/58	2000/617
Tula, Hidalgo to Teámac	2007-04-27	55/89	1998/617
Teámac to Teotihuacán	2007-04-28	14/23	344/106
San Lorenzo Tlalmimilolpan, Edo de Mexico to Amecameca	2007-05-05	54/87	1486/459
Amecameca to Cholula, Puebla	2007-05-06	43/69	4096/1264

Route: Cholula to the Coast (Vera Cruz) and then to Oaxaca - May 9-24, 2007

rfay — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:46:33 +0000

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Randy took a quick trip out to Jalapa, Vera Cruz, and Tlacotalpan. Getting around Puebla was a bit annoying, and there are better ways to do it. Then the road starting north of Highway 150 toward Jalapa was too busy and too small for several miles, but it eventually became better, and everything was really fine for the rest of the time to Vera Cruz and Tlacotalpan. Entering Vera Cruz was a bit gnarly, of course, but it was fine.

We had worried a lot about whether to go through the mountains to Oaxaca, but the route we took turned out great. The traffic was modest and the riding was challenging, but we were able to do it. Huahuápan was delightful. We stayed several times at the local community center, or municipal center - we camped outside or they put us inside. Very generous people, who all seemed quite used to having travelers have to stop for the night.

We took the free road for the whole thing. Some cyclists take the toll road (the cuota), and it's probably faster. We found that the free road worked out great, and we had no worries about whether it was legal or not. Apparently it is not legal for bicycles to be on some parts of the toll road.

One of the nicest days of the ride was the next-to-the-last day on the free road, Yanhuitlán to Telixtlanahuaca - we went the old free road, which winds along a ridge. It was remote, delightful, no traffic, and very interesting people.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Cholula, Puebla to Acatzingo	2007-05-09	53/85	2460/759
Acatzingo to Perote, Veracruz	2007-05-10	59/95	2276/702
Perote, Veracruz to Xalapa, Veracruz	2007-05-11	35/56	853/263
Xalapa to Veracruz	2007-05-12	75/121	1453/448
Veracruz to Tlacotalpan, Veracruz	2007-05-14	69/111	974/301
Cholula, Puebla to Izúcar de Matamoros	2007-05-17	39/63	413/127
Matamoros to Nuevos Horizantes, Puebla	2007-05-18	45/73	3090/954
Nuevos Horizontes, Puebla to Huajuápan de Leon, Oaxaca	2007-05-19	50/81	3963/1223
Huajuápan de León, Oaxaca to Yanhuitlán	2007-05-22	48/77	4655/1437
Yanhuitlán to Telixtlanahuaca	2007-05-23	54/87	3231/997
Telixtlanahuaca, Oaxaca to Oaxaca	2007-05-24	25/40	649/200

Route: Oaxaca to the Guatemalan Border - May 28 to June 28, 2007

rfay — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:58:35 +0000

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There were more hard mountain-riding days down to the Oaxaca coast. And sometimes the road was a bit narrow for the trucks and us. But in general we all got along together OK. The route we took worked out fine.

On the coast, the riding was easy but hot. We could make a lot of miles, but Nancy was really disliking the heat and humidity. So we climbed up into the mountains of Chiapas. Chiapas was all glorious, beautiful riding.

The huge climb from Tuxtla Gutierrez to San Cristóbal was quite challenging, but we did decide to take the new toll road, and it was a good climb. Too much traffic, but a fine shoulder and a nice road. I'm sure the old road would have been more interesting. The new road is completely even in its grade.

We took the bus over to Palenque because that road does have a terrible reputation with bike tourists - we personally know of several who have been accosted there. Nothing in our travels this year gave us a hint of these problems, but we just avoided the issues.

The last little camp stop on the way out was at the Lagunas de Colón, a few miles off-route, but well worth a night's stop.

We had no problems with San Cristóbal to the Mexican border, and no problems with the border crossing.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Oaxaca to Monte Alban	2007-05-28	15/24	1300/401
Oaxaca to Tlacolula, Oaxaca	2007-05-29	25/40	650/201
Tlacolula, Oaxaca to José de Gracia, Oaxaca	2007-05-29	51/82	2716/838
San Jose de Gracia to La Reforma, Oaxaca	2007-05-30	41/66	4068/1256
La Reforma to Jalapa, Oaxaca	2007-05-31	25/40	364/112
Jalapa to Juchitán, Oaxaca	2007-06-01	36/58	200/62
Juchitan to Zacatepec, Oaxaca	2007-06-04	57/92	639/197
Zacatepec, Oaxaca to Rizo de Oro, Chiapas	2007-06-05	31/50	2956/912
Rizo de Oro to Cintalapa, Chiapas	2007-06-06	32/52	1374/424
Cintalapa to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas	2007-06-07	49/79	2345/724
Salcedo to Baños, Ecuador	2007-06-08	44/71	2788/860
Tuxtla Gutierrez to Chiapa de Corzo	2007-06-09	10/16	0/0
Chiapa de Corzo to San Cristóbal de las Casas	2007-06-10	33/53	6281/1939
San Cristobal to Chamula and Zinacantán	2007-06-23	20/32	2400/741
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas to Comitán de Dominguéz, Chiapas	2007-06-25	55/89	2700/833
Comitán to Lagunas de Colón	2007-06-26	44/71	810/250
Lagunas de Colón, Chiapas, Mexico to La Democracia, Guatemala	2007-06-27	34/55	2148/663