Mountain Biking, in Oaxaca?

While attending a large Christmas Eve ride and hang out with friends, a number of the crew were talking about riding in Oaxaca while others were planning their trips for the winter. I had never heard of the place other than the fast food bowl I mispronounced ‘Oh-ax-acka, until a server took pity on me and taught me the way.

After the party, I did some googling. Videos from two of my favourite riders, Mark Matthews and Geoff 'Gully' Gulevich, got me dreaming of heading south during my first year of retirement (yeah I’m old). Last fall, I contacted Javier the owner and operator of Oaxaca Bike Expeditions (OBE) and we set up a trip for me to check out the goods and share my findings with NSMB nation.

Prior to planning this trip, Canadians weren't talking about boycotting U.S. travel due to Trump's tariff threats; the only thing holding me back from US travel was our poor Canadian dollar. It just happened to work out well that our fellow tariff recipients in Mexico were hosting our trip. Don't get me wrong, I love many parts of the USA and a pile of people in it, but I am with most of my Canadian peers about making a statement. The fact that I really wanted to ride and visit in Mexico made this trip a serendipitous treat to get my ass on a bike south of the Rio Grande. I tied the biking into a one month trip to Mexico with my girlfriend beginning in mid January.

Flying into Oaxaca is easy so I decided to make it hard and fly to Huatulco instead, where we spent five days hitting some of the 39 beaches in a few of the 9 bays nearby. Traveling from Oaxaca from Huatulco apparently takes just a few hours on the new highway. Unfortunately the highway is still being built so we were delayed for an hour and then when we hit the Oaxaca's famous traffic jams. In total we were 5.5 hours in a taxi that we hired for 280 CAD. Cheaper options are available but for efficiency, the plane is the way to go. Unfortunately, most flights take you to Mexico City then to Oaxaca and when we checked they were very expensive. Lesson learned: fly to Oxaca first….but then if you want the beaches you are in a similar situation. Whatever, it’s travel. It’s not supposed to be fast and easy.

We arrived at the Oaxaca Bike Expeditions guest accommodations at the, Victoria Hotel: a 3.5 star hotel close to the famous Oaxaca Centro area. The Victoria is well run, clean and comfortable with a huge pool, excellent food and friendly staff. I met Javier that night and we went over plans for the adventure. He generously set me up with a guide, photographer and driver. We all met the next morning at the crack of 9.

There was a group from San Fransisco celebrating their buddy’s birthday with a week of riding and Oaxacan good times. Javier and the crew were busy getting rental bikes ready for that group and a Transition Sentinel for me. I was hoping for a Transition Patrol as I have heard good things from our man Roggey. Unfortunately for me, the birthday boy got it….as he should. I was happy with the Sentinel though; it was an excellent ride for the varied terrain.

While the Californians got set up for their ride in the OBE shuttle wagon, my crew grabbed the new truck and off we went on the one hour drive into the Santa Catarina Ixtepeji mountains. One of the Americans said to take a Gravol (Dramamine) as the road is windy and dizzying. My guys let me sit in the front seat so I was all good but if I was in the back of the shaggin' wagon, it might have gotten ugly.

The drive from the hotel crossed the city then up a beautiful road, hugging a ridge with views of the mountains and valley below. When we arrived near the top, my guide Alexis went into town office to pay our permit fees. The people that collect are designated by the town and they charge money to every rider, hiker, bird watcher etc The money supports trail building which is done by local tour companies, race organizers and builders hired by the mountain towns. OBE hires local workers that work with trail builders and volunteers who help to mantain and build new trails.

The first trails in the Santa Catarina Ixtepeji area were up around 10,000 feet so any uphills were painful on my sea level system. Alexis hammered up the short inclines oblivious to the elevation while Miller joined me on a few strolls, pushing our bikes uphill. The temperatures were about 11 C/52 F so I was happy I brought warm biking gear. The crew took me down several short trails with flowing bench cuts with soft needled trail beds consisting of dry to moist fluffy dirt. After exploring the shorter trails, we headed up for one of OBE's many extended play trails that span over 5 km and 45 minutes of downhill.

The long trail we rode on the first day starts high in the mountains, beginning with the lush terrain found at those elevations. After about ten minutes of descending, the ground starts to dry out, giving way to a sandy surface with good grip. Flowing through the trees, natural berms have been formed from water runoff during the rainy season. The trail had optional jumps, different lines, a few steep sections, massive amounts of intermediate to advanced level flow, beautiful trees, plants and views. The lower section of the trail was much drier and loose with rubble. Surprisingly, the surface still allowed me to roll at a fast pace once I committed to surfing the rocks and digging in to each turn. Finally, after about 45 minutes we exited the trail, where Evan our driver was waiting in the 25C/77F heat, blasting his lo-fi beats, ready to take us for parrillada (a whole lot of bbq meats).

After a full day of riding, the OBE crew takes riders for aprés food and drinks on the way home from the mountain. Following this, late lunch riders chill at the Victoria and meet up again for late dinners and 'touristing'. Usually dinners and exploring are up to the clients to sort out. The San Fran guys raved about a Michelin star restaurant they went to for under 90 USD per person. We never made it there but we did enjoy other fine food in the Centro district each night. We were offered a cultural tour including many of the usual tours' activities: sights, a mezcaleria, dining and even a Lucha libre wrestling event; but we chose to do exploring on our own in the Centro district each night. We gringos danced with the locals to a dj in front of an old church, then to an old time rock and roll band in a nearby park and enjoyed a busker singing Dust in the Wind in a thick Spanish accent. The Centro vibe is a combination of people watching, music, dining, shopping, architecture viewing and casual strolling.

I had an incredible time riding in Oaxaca; the trails were varied, exciting, interesting and fun to ride. Many of the sections lasted for so long my arms were pumped and my mind was melted from having to concentrate for so long...and I loved it.

Alexis, Miller and I were buzzing and high fiving after many of these sections. I was given a tour of trails that ranged from intermediate to advanced and short to very long. I enjoyed the challenge of riding new terrain on a different bike in a foreign land. I was told there were some trails that were steeper and gnarlier than the ones I rode, however, on this trip I was happy to give those lines a miss. I have developed an aversion to injuries on my home trails; I definitely did not want to deal with that in another country. If I was going to go back for more Oaxacan riding I would try a sampling of these steeper bits but I would want to make sure I was riding at my best and that my bike and my brain were working well together.

The crew at OBE are generous, friendly, knowledgeable and dedicated to creating a unique biking experience...and they all shred. I like to travel but I love to travel where there is good mountain biking included on the trip. Combining Oaxaca mountain biking with our Huatulco and Puerto Escondido trips made this vacation an epic experience.

I asked Geoff Gulevich why he likes Oaxaca so much that he has been six times. Gully said," I love going there, not only for it's epic and extensive network of diverse trails, that are rideable for all capabilities, but also for the unique street art, architecture and a vast array of Michelin star restaurants, that meet an affordable price point. I have been guiding in Oaxaca for six years now and I plan to continue doing so in the future."

OBE has a standard six day tour but they will create other tours depending on rider wishes. Bike rentals make life a bit easier when it comes to travel before or after Oaxaca and the rental Transition rides are well spec'd if you don't want to bag your own ride to and from.

Six day tours start at 1900 USD and rental bikes start at 400 USD for 6 days.

More info at Oaxaca Bike Expeditions.