Southern Exposure

Saturday, December 6th

We knew we had a big day ahead of us, so we arose earlier than normal and really tightened up our morning routine. We knew it would be a long ride through the mountains, and we wanted to be sure to arrive in Oaxaca before dark. An early starts takes the hurry out of the day.

We rode 70 kms down the coast, and then caught the two lane highway going over the mountains to Oaxaca. The curves started about 40 ft after we turned onto the road. The feel of the road was similar to the Hwy 40 road to Durango we had ridden a piece of. Virtually no straightaways, just a ribbon of tarmac winding through the forest. The vegetation had quickly changed from coastal palms to a lush, green forest. As we road round and round the hills, the road climbed up and up.

There was virtually no traffic on the road at this time of day, and it made for a sweet ride. The tight, twisty nature of the road really emphasized proper riding technique. To go smoothly through a tight corner, you really have to not look ahead but through the turn as far as you can see. The bike will go wherever you are looking. This road was great practice for looking through the turn, and after a while I must have looked like Colin Edwards, my neck out, like an giraffe, stretching around the corner to see what lies ahead.

The vegetation changed from broad leafed deciduous trees to pine forests as we climbed higher and higher. It was the first time since the Pacific Northwest we’d really seen a pine tree let alone a forest. As we cleared the coastal foothills and entered more proper mountains, the curves relaxed and the riding became less strenuous. When it is really tight, you can get a bit dizzy after 30 miles so a less taxing road was welcome.

We stopped for a brunch at a comedor perched on the side of the mountain, just dangling off the road. It was a simple restaurant with a few tables surrounding the large wood cooking stove in the center. The 3 owners or locals were already enjoying their breakfast and the stove was covered in large cast iron pots bubbling away with various dishes. We ordered some coffee and made the mistake of adding sugar before tasting. Apparently up here they just sweeten the entire pot in advance to their liking. We ordered some meat and potatoes for me, and a chorizo dish for Inna. The chorizo got highly negative reviews. It was very casual though, and Inna helped herself to the tastier dishes from the stove. This is not a land for vegetarians as all the dishes were mostly meat. The handmade tortillas hot off the grill were a superb side.

We continued our ride onwards and upwards, with the GPS indicating a peak of just over 9000 feet. There was a gorgeous town perched on top of the mountain that seemed to have a busy Saturday life. We were on our Oaxaca mission and didn’t stop in. Soon after the town, we began our descent. After a stretch of downhill twistiness, we got our first view of central Mexico. It’s hard to believe that we had more or less been on a coast since we left Seattle and this was the furthest from the ocean we’d been. We overlooked a city on a brown, arid plain, and I was excited to be in a new landscape with new geology.

We descended to the plateau fairly easily. Oaxaca and the surrounding valleys sit at 5000 ft, so we spared an arduous descent. The ride along the plateau wasn’t terribly exciting. It quickly became a field of topes separated by small sections of road. The topes eased after many miles, just in time for the traffic of the Oaxaca outskirts to become a factor.

None of the nuisances really mattered though. I had been dreaming of visiting Oaxaca for years, and it was to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. We were in Oaxaca and we had ridden every single mile to it from Seattle. We were both beaming when we got to the hotel, anticipating an immersion in native Mexican culture and history against the backdrop of a picturesque colonial town.