Biking Mexico

Not for the feint of heart. By Cambell Forbes

Bicycling in Mexico is not for the feint of heart. Roads are narrow, mostly lack pavement, (on the back roads) with very little, or no shoulder to ride on.

When shoulders are present, they are usually terribly rough, with the paved portion of the road dropping off in a nasty, rough edge anywhere from 2 inches, to several feet. Most shoulders when they occur, are dirt spaces with pot holes and rocks, leaving the pedestrian with no smooth edge to travel on.
In some areas where is road work going on, there will be no flag person, and usually very little barrier between the traffic zooming past and the workers doing their thing. Large rocks are sometimes used to keep motorists away from areas which are sensitive to traffic. I have seen ditches as much as fifteen feet deep, and over seven feet wide (enough room to drive a school bus into, then bury it) and this is precious inches away from the road where cars, trucks and busses are shooting by (and not paying attention to any cyclists or pedestrians.)
I can't stress this enough; In Mexico, pedestrians and cyclists have no rights. In fact, if a pedestrian or cyclist causes damage to a motor vehicle, the owner of the vehicle can sue the party that caused the problem.
I remember driving through a particularly hair raising mountain pass on the way to Oaxaca, chugging up a long, winding hill, when I looked into my rear view mirror and saw a truck passing me... I then did a double take, when I saw a bus passing the truck, which was passing me. This was at a blind curve in the road with the two vehicles side by side, lo and behold, another vehicle turns around the curve towards the on coming passing vehicles. Both vehicles made it in front of me (still not knowing whether to stop or just pee myself where I sat) just in the nick of time, with much horn blowing.

Taking back roads is the usual thing I like to do. Not only is it less deadly for zooming traffic, but it can yield some very interesting and attractive scenic views. However, the dirt roads can be extremely rough and tough on kidneys and bike tires. Besides potholes and large rocks, other things to watch for are raw sewage that gets dumped into the streets and into gutters, (occasionally a makeshift ditch is scratched into the road so that sewage can flow across and into a nearby gully, ditch or creek.)

Keeping that in mind, another thing to watch for is dogs. Bad dogs. Nasty dogs don't as a rule like the smell of white people. (Don't get me wrong here, I am not racist, I am merely stating a fact; we just smell different than the Mexican natives.) Sometimes these dogs form packs and go drifting from village to village, killing donkeys, other dogs, horses, or children and old people. I like to carry my kryptonite lock close so I can easily use it against unwelcome dogs. After two weeks of biking here in the Oaxaca area, I am seriously considering a small Machete to carry on my bike (in a holster so I can get to it easily.)

Tools to have along are very important: Tire patching glue and patches, tire irons, spoke wrench, and at least one of every wrench that fits nuts, bolts and adjustments for steering wheel, tires and accessories on my particular bike. I also carry a couple of pliers and a screw driver with multi-bits for good measure. Good oil is a needful thing. (Oil that doesn't attract dust from those dirty back roads.)
It is really easy to go over board with the tools; gear pullers and extra spokes to name a few. I like to have an extra inner tube just in case the old one is too badly damaged to throw a patch on. (When I did my trip from Vancouver to Key Largo in 1986, I had a grand total of 14 patches on the back inner tube before I replaced it.)

A tire pump is handy to have along; I had a flat outside Oaxaca and had to walk three miles pushing my bike until I could get to the nearest Pemex gas station and rescue my tire. Pemex stations are the only gas stations in Mexico. They are run by the government, so they only exist in strategic locations along main highways near, or inside larger villages, towns, or large cities. I also like to have a good set of brake pads in my tool pouch, (with all of the hills and pot holes to make the use of brakes.) Also rotate your existing brakes once a week if you are doing heavy traveling. You need to be able to stop on a dime and give change.

Carry lots of fresh drinking water, long pants, long sleeve shirt and helmet. People look at me funny, but there are lots of spine covered plants at the road side and many varieties of insects that like to have lunch on your arms and ankles.

I like to go from San Agustin Etla through several small villages along the way to Oaxaca, then detour West a few hundred yards to the train tracks for the rest of the distance into Oaxaca. The train tracks are hardly used now and villagers have beaten a path along them from outer villages to Oaxaca Centro. This is another rough place to ride, with bare railroad ties and lots of rocks, deep sand and bare rails (to cross back and forth as you weave along the tracks) Watch out for spikes sticking up out of the ties, and garbage between ties that can make you slip and dump the bike. Once you get into the city, it is acceptable to ride on the side walks, making sure to watch for pedestrians and other obstacles like broken street lamp foundations, large drain holes and missing all together cement sidewalk pieces.

As you travel, you will come across other cyclists traveling here and there. Don't expect them to have any savvy in the streets, drive defensively.

Yesterday I rode through the village of Etla, then across the highway to Guelache. It only took about a fifteen minute ride to get away from paved road and onto dirt road. Tightly spaced houses and grocery stores soon petered out to large farms and glorious nature.

Most villages, even the smallest ones have churches. The natives pride themselves with embellishing spires, domed roofs and huge wooden doors. The insides are also well worth seeing, as they are usually open to the public. They are used to travelers, because native visitors like to pay their respects to village churches no matter where they go, or how ever far away from home they are. They are deeply religious and use the church to convey messages and town business - historically, churches have been at the center of everything as long as people can remember. This particular village had two churches, one by the municipio and another at the center of the village. Both are very beautiful and date back into the 1800's.

The people are excellent. I stopped into a grocery store for some refresco and got into conversation with three of the locals. They always ask the same things... "Where you from?" "Where are you living here?" "Where you going to?" and, "What's the weather like where you are from?" They think that Canada is cold and snowy all year around, even on the Pacific Coast.
I think that is what I like the best about traveling into small villages, I get to practice a little of my Spanish and meet some interesting, friendly people. I have also seen the other kind of people in small villages; the kind that like to poke fun and look for trouble. I can usually spot them right away and avoid contact.

Important links:

•Back Country Mexico Tours - Doris takes visitors on Eco-tours in Mexico...

On the road to Mexico:

December 02 2002 to December 10 2002: The trip to Oaxaca by VW Westfalia Van.

The trip Vancouver to Oaxaca in photos - covering the highlights of California, Texas, and Mexico.

Back to "THIS IS MEXICO" page.