La Vuelta de Santiago Apoala

(Feb 15, 2023: note that the final version of this route, and the one which will be updated, has now been published on Bikepacking.com)

And this time, it was in fine company!

Our first night was spent celebrating Gin’s birthday – you can read a very entertaining write up over on Bikepacking.com. Logan and Gin then peeled off the next day to peruse the wonderful art space of CASA in San Agustin Etla, and treat themselves to a slap-up lunch at Aguamiel. Harry, Moe, Emma, Huesos, and I continued onwards and upwards, following the route we recently enjoyed to Santiago Apoala, on the edge of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere reserve – albeit with added dirt road mods and the return portion back to Oaxaca too.

The Huesos Pack. Plus roadside puppy. Plus local Xochimilco riders and their dogs…

Photo ops abound along the old train line between Oaxaca and Tehuacan.

Impromptu New Year’s Eve celebrations in Parian. Huesos made a new best friend after being gifted two large chunks of pig head… One might have been an ear? He ran off with it and gulped it down before I could really see it.

Riding further up into the hills, distant fireworks didn’t stop us from being tucked into sleeping bags by 8pm.

Rockets and wheelies on New Year’s Day.

The Big Rig. This would be the longest ride to date with Huesos, with lots of in-and-out of the trailer time and a number of village dog roadblocks. “Get off my land!” they barked and snarled. Perhaps thanks to the protection of his entourage, for the most part his tail stayed high.

Quite the mix of terrain…

… and desert flora, including Resurrection Ferns, which Emma brought back to life with a squirt of water.

Never Stop Smiling.

Dropping down the switchbacks into Santiago Apoala provides a fitting mid way finale to the route.

There, we bumped into two fellow tourers from Mexico City. Note their classic steel roadsters… fantastic!

After checking out the waterfall, it was back to climbing again. A dirt detour lead to a lookout with grand views across the valley.

Brothers Grimm-style camping. Admittedly, it took us a while to festivitize the area with Christmas Lichen. But it helped get us into the holiday spirit.

En route between Santiago Apoala and Asunción Nochixtlánome, we worked in extra dirt roads compared to the way we’d ridden last time, including this little delight.

And these ones… Always worth the effort!

I won’t go over all the details of the ride again, except to say that highlights included camping in a gorgeous spot for New Year’s eve (even if we were wrapped up in sleeping bags by 8pm!) and finding a more dirt-centric route from Santiago Apoala to Asunción Nochixtlán (still tricky to say, no matter how many times I go there). Also, Huesos made a friend, the same dog that slept in our tent (don’t tell him that) last time we were here.

Huesos and ‘Hugo’ (I forget his given name) got on really well. It was especially cute to see Hugo and his little legs bounding alongside lanky Huesos.

The five of us had a wonderful ride and Huesos loved the company of his dog-loving, attention-giving pack. From Asunción Nochixtlán, Harry and Moe hopped on the bus back to Oaxaca whilst Emma, Huesos and I continued the loop home, via Santa Inez de Zaragoza and San Juan Monte Flor. I wasn’t sure the return segment would turn out especially well… but it did! The only blip is the 18km stint on the Federal 190, but even that wasn’t terrible, as most of the traffic takes the autopista.

Sleepy little boy…

Homeward bound on new roads! And look how ripped Huesos is looking – I think he was flexing for the camera.

Especially steep pitches on the last climb towards Oaxaca.

For the most part, it was classic Oaxaca Sierra: up and down, down and up, dust and dirt, dirt and dust. We even pulled a 1700m day in a search for an elusive campsite in a steep side valley, but at least it lined us up to arrive in Oaxaca for lunch the next day.

To wrap it all up, we even found a new trail for the final descent home. Score!

The route

Day 1: 36.4 km, 811m, 2:56hr to Gin’s birthday camping (half day)
Day 2: 50.8km, 797m, 3:10hr to NY camping
Day 3: 57.9 km, 1,372m, 4:40hr to Santiago Apoala camping
Day 4: 22.8 km, 828 m, 2:14hr to magical forest camping (half day)
Day 5: 61.4km, 1213m, 4.20hr to hilltop camping
Day 6: 47.7 km, 1,668m, 4:32hr to awkward trail camping
Day 7: 41km, 659m, 2:47hr to home! (half day)

I’m in the process of updating the map below, as I’ll be posting this route to bikepacking.com shortly. Although it’s largely similar from Oaxaca to Santiago Apoala, there are a number of improvements in the segment to Asunción Nochixtlán. You can compare and contrast with the last time we rode this route, which can be found over here. The new version is definitely an improvement in the quest for dirt!

Field Notes

We intentionally enjoyed a short day 1 and day 4 to make the most of 1/sharing a peaceful campspot with friends and 2/ savouring a waterfall and some time off the saddle. You could trim this ride but by a day or so, if the urge to keep pedalling overcomes you.

Sleeping-wise, I can’t claim we struck camping gold after Asunción Nochixtlán. Our spot up on the hill worked well enough. It was our second night – the tent awkwardly pitched across a mountain trail, which didn’t provide the best shut eye. If you can summon the energy, it’s probably best to get over the last climb and find a spot on the way down into the Etla Valley.

THE BIKES

It was 100% Jones SWBs on this ride, along with the Francis Cycles Farfer (how would we do these trips without it?). Emma ran a Tailfin/Jones bags setup (plenty of space for dog food and associated paraphernalia) and I tried out some Mountain Laurel Designs Ultra Poco Panniers, so I had room for my laptop. Huesos opted for his Ruffwear harness and took breaks in the trailer to dodge the heat and save his paws.

The route turned out to be quite the mix of terrain, so we were very grateful to have bigger volume tyres (though I’m sure spirited underbikers would be just fine too). I ran my dynamo hub and a Sinewave Beacon promised to keep devices charged, particularly the all-important speaker – I love having some tunes to help crest those monster climbs!