Atlacomulco (Mexico) by Jilotepec (Hidalgo), 28.01.07

Map Navigation: This dynamic Trackmap shows the GPS track (red line) and some geo-referenced photos (red dots) of the cycling tour. Wheel up and wheel down your mouse to zoom in or zoom out the map. Click on any point in the map to center it on that point. Or just drag the map with your mouse. To see the photos, hoover the mouse over the red dots. Click on the photo to go to the picture page.

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GPS Track: GPX (MapSource, et al), or KMZ (Google Earth)

GPS Cycling Data:






Distance: 148 Km. Ascent: 1152 m. Time: 6:19 hr, Average Speed: 23.3 Km/hr, Energy expended: 26.94 MJ, Cycling Power: 296 W, Specific Power: 3.94 W/Kg.

Travel Report:

This ride was intended to arrive at Acambay, but as I started to cycle at almost 12:00, there was no so much time to arrive at the proposed destination, so I needed to cut the route short and land in Atlacomulco, instead of Acambay (which will be the destination of my next journey). I really _need_ to wake up early on Sundays, man ...

OK, so I decided to cycle the route (not withstanding the hour) and took Marina Nacional, Parque Vía, Puente de Vigas in order to arrive at Tlalnepantla. Then took the free highway to Cuautitlán, joining the paid highway at Tepozotlan (just at the toll station). Continued on this highway to Coyotepec, Tepeji del Río (Hidalgo state, alt: 2150 m), up to Km 82 where I found the deviation to Jilotepec. Nice ascent by the way (300 m from Tepeji), and carried out in the merciless heat of the desert. Compared to the south, the cycling travels to the north of the city have always resembled me like travelling in a desert. Dry air, no water in sight, and not template temperatures (and very few people and towns, by the way).

The ascent continued all the way to the unheard (to me) towns of Rincón de Bucio, Tlazapan and Acuitzilapan, arriving at an altitude of almost 2800 m. Somewhere between this towns I got a flat tire (my first one in more than two years of cyclotouring), but as the air was escaping very slowly, I managed to put more air in the tire in Sn Marcos (at a car repair shop), so making no more stops I could manage to arrive at Atlacomulco without having to change the tube :-) As it was already late and light was now a luxurious asset, I desperately needed time.

After Sn Marcos I lost solar light, so I had to cycle again in darkness (cursing myself for not having waked up earlier). The problem started in the next town: Acuitzilapan, because in this town, the road reached its maximum height (ca 2800 m) and started the descent all the way to Atlacomulco (2550 m). The tricky part was that I had to ride this descent in the darkness, and without lights ... in a two lane road. Well, I have made worst no-lights nocturnal descents (from Llano Grande at 3200 m to Mexico City at 2250 m, on the paid highway to Puebla), but they have always made me feel nervous.

At my arrival at Atlacomulco (at 19:30) I went to the Main Square, where the Cathedral, Municipal Palace and School of the city can be appreciated. After taking some photos, I went to the bus station to take the last bus back home (78 pesos), which departed at 20:30, arriving in Mexico City a couple of hours later.

Some strange thoughts. When I was cycling the route between Jilotepec and Atlacomulco, a rare countryside appeared before my eyes. At least this was my perception. That countryside resembled to me like an alien land: another country. That landscape was full of endless plains, no water in sight (except from a couple of ojos de agua: seasonal micro-lakes), no people, no towns, dry air, extreme temperatures (burning hot or chilly wind). I don't know if this is normal in the northern part of my country, but anyway, it was an alien view of some part of the countryside that surrounds Mexico City. I have never seen such a sad view of my country's landscapes. The absence of big and inhabited towns, along with its small vegetation (due to the lack of water) made a great impression to me. I guess that this is how a dessert is supposed to look, but being more accustomed to the trips to the south of Mexico, I should definitively take note of another kind of eco-systems in northern Mexico.

Thank you for reading. Till the next travel.

Mexico City - Cuernavaca (Morelos) - Mexico City, 21.01.07

Map Navigation: This dynamic Trackmap shows the GPS track (red line) and some geo-referenced photos (red dots) of the cycling tour. Wheel up and wheel down your mouse to zoom in or zoom out the map. Click on any point in the map to center it on that point. Or just drag the map with your mouse. To see the photos, hoover the mouse over the red dots. Click on the photo to go to the picture page.

GPS Track: GPX (MapSource, et al), or KMZ (Google Earth)

GPS Cycling Data:






Distance: 147 Km. Ascent: 2360 m. Time: 6:37 hr, Average Speed: 22.1 Km/hr, Energy expended: 29.3 MJ, Cycling Power: 308 W, Specific Power: 4.1 W/Kg.

Travel Report:

This ride started a little bit late (at about 11:00). Unfortunately, I couldn't take my digital camera with me this time, so I was unable to record some photographs of this tour. This was in part due to the nature of the ride, intended as a training ride, and not considered as a touristic one, owed to the fact that this route was not new to me (having done this route a number of times before). And taking photographs only of the Zapata (in the entrance of Cuernavaca) starts to appear a litte boring :-)

There was no traffic in the first leg of our journey. The route taken was the free highway to Cuernavaca. At 13:30 I reached the town of Tres Marías, and after that, it was all descent to Cuernavaca, arriving there half hour later. After resting another half hour there, I started the ascent to Tres Marías, arriving at this point at 16:15. After refuelling there my isotonic drink, I continued the remaining ascent to La Cima. After this point, the road is only descent to Mexico City, albeit a little bit dangerous for the high speeds attainable on the turns of this free highway. At the entrance of the city (full of traffic, by the way), I missed somehow the turn to take Tlalpan, so I had to make a big turn to Insurgentes and Periferico :-(

Thank you for reading. Till the next journey.

Xochicalco Archaeological Site + Cuernavaca (Morelos), 14.01.07

Map Navigation: This dynamic Trackmap shows the GPS track (red line) and some geo-referenced photos (red dots) of the cycling tour. Wheel up and wheel down your mouse to zoom in or zoom out the map. Click on any point in the map to center it on that point. Or just drag the map with your mouse. To see the photos, hoover the mouse over the red dots. Click on the photo to go to the picture page.

Photoset Map

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GPS Track: GPX (MapSource, et al), or KMZ (Google Earth)

GPS Cycling Data:






Distance: 160 Km, Ascent: 1827 m, Time: 6:48 hr, Average Speed: 23.5 Km/hr, Energy: 26.95 MJ, Cycling Power: 275 W, Specific Power: 3.66 W/Kg.

Travel Report:

The road to the Archaeological Site of Xochicalco (House of the Flowers), in the neighboring state of Morelos, was our usual road to Cuernavaca: the free highway. After arriving at the equestrian statue of Zapata at the entrance of the city, I took the Libramiento in order to turn around the city (avoiding its traffic jam). Once surrounded, I retook the free highway to Acapulco, passing Temixco and Acatlipa, arriving at Alpuyeca. In Alpuyeca I turned to the right in order to arrive at the town of Xochicalco. The entrance of the archaeological site is located just a few kilometers after this town, but after a step ascent of ca. 15 % !

This archaeological site is really fabulous. For starters, its size is overwhelming. The visit to the site starts with a corridor that sides with a big pyramid. There is a small palm hut where a label with the name of the site can bee seen, along with a beautiful vista of the Lake El Rodeo. Raising the stairway appears the astonishing view of the Plaza of the Two Glyphs Stela. The two glyphs depicted in the stela erected in the middle of the Plaza (10 Acatl and 9 Reptile Eye) are related with the cult of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. The Plaza is an imposing ritual and ceremonial center, which is surrounded by the four sides by impressive religious and civic temples. The stela is located in the middle of the plaza, on the top of a square basement.

Continuing our tour on the left side of the Plaza, we arrived at another enormous stair cased pyramid, which will enable us to arrive at the following upper level of the site. It is a pity that I did not get the name of this last pyramid. After finishing climbing up, I arrived at the following level, where is located (among other buildings) the magnificent Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent). It features frizies (on all lateral slopes of the pyramid) depicting the Plummed Serpents (eight of the in total) colling around the sizes. There are even representations of Mayan peoples in the frizies of this pyramid ! I think this shows the clear influences (or even its creation) of the Mayan cultures (Olmecs-Xicallancas) in the building of this city. There is a recurrent glyph represented on the pyramid's slope: the 9 Reptile Eye, which is related to the New Fire. The New Fire was a ceremony performed every 52 years here, that symbolized the cyclic nature of the Universe, and its re-starting every 52 years, in the Aztec cosmogony.

Going to the end of the site, I arrived at the Acropolis, its highest area. This place was the residence of the rulers of the city. The Acropolis is clearly divided in two areas, one residential (where rooms and beds can be appreciated) and another ceremonial area (with four large areas and a central courtyard). After this points, I started walking back my steps in order to gain access to the exit of this beautiful and enormous archaeological site.

At about 17:00 I left the archaeological site, cycling now towards Xochicalco, Alpuyeca, Acatlipa, and Temixco, arriving finally at the city of Cuernavaca (Morelos state capital) at about 19:00, after an interesting ascent of more than 600 m, my last leg from Alpuyeca. I took the bus back home (at the Pullman Centro bus station, 63 pesos) at 20:00, after sightseeing some of the city, arriving safely 2 hours later in Mexico City.

Thank you for reading. Till the next journey !

Friendship Race + Malinalco Archaeological Site + Chalma (Mexico), 07.01.07

Map Navigation: This dynamic Trackmap shows the GPS track (red line) and some geo-referenced photos (red dots) of the cycling tour. Wheel up and wheel down your mouse to zoom in or zoom out the map. Click on any point in the map to center it on that point. Or just drag the map with your mouse. To see the photos, hoover the mouse over the red dots. Click on the photo to go to the picture page.

Photoset Map

Photoset Show

GPS Cycling Data






Distance: 135 Km, Ascent: 2018 m

GPS Track: GPX (MapSource, et al), or KMZ (Google Earth)

Travel Report:

This cycling race started in the main square of the city, the Zocalo of Mexico City, at about 09:15 (altitude. 2240 m). I have no official participants count, but they were a lot ! We took Pino Suárez to head to Tlalpan, all the way south of the city, taking later Periferico in order to arrive to Picacho. Up to this point the pace was calm. But at the arrival to Six Flags, the race was declared open! Man, they were serious cyclists! I couldn't ride at the same speed as them all the climbing. I reckon that there are a lot of far superior cyclists in this races.

So, I continued climbing my way up to the finish line, at my pace, meanwhile riding astonished by the strength and cycling capacity of the rest of the competitors. As this was my first time that I made this route to the Ajusco, I was delighted by the landscapes and vistas that were present along this road. The pavement is in pristine conditions. There are no holes and the lines of the pavement are well painted. Being it my first time on this route, at 3200 m (altitude) I began to feel nervous about the remaining distance and elevation I had to gain in order to arrive at the finish line. We passed a lot of restaurants, camping clubs and recreational valleys, but the Cantimploras Valley (end of the race) continued out of sight.

Finally, the finish line appeared from nowhere, crossing it at the late hour of 12:04, after 48 Km of ride (and 2:50 hr of cycling), at an altitude of 3460 m (and an ascent of 1350 m). There were a lot of participants that had already arrived, but others continued arriving after my arrival. I found my friend Luis Rojas (who had arrived half an hour before) and we took some pictures. There was also a religious service.

I had decided beforehand to continue my touring after the race to the archaeological site of Malinalco, in the neighbouring state of Mexico. So, after an hour of resting, having observed the arrival of the rest of competitors, I continued my travel to Xalatlaco. This road continues the climbing to the border of the state of Mexico at 3620 m. After this summit, I descended all the way to Xalatlaco. After this town I took the road to Chalma, passing Coatepec (2750 m), and heading for the climbing to Santa Martha. In Santa Monica, I took the road to Tezontepec, in order to avoid going to Chalma before arriving at Malinalco. The disadvantage of this route is that it is required to climb almost another 300 m in order to arrive at Tezontepec. After this town, the road is all descent to Malinalco :-)

Once I arrived at Malinalco, I headed immediately to the archaeological site, since this site closes early, due to its big extension. I must comment that this was my third travel to Malinalco, having arrived twice before too late in order to get access to the site. But that Sunday was my lucky day, and I could enter into the archaeological center.

After passing the entrance, it is required to climb 400 steps (65 m) carved in stone in order to arrive at the ancient nahua temples. There are even labels referring to the history and geography of the place along the climbing steps in order to amuse the public and to encourages the visitors to continue all the way up.

When we finally arrive at the top of the ceremonial center, several magnificent ancient building emerged from the top of the hill. Malinalco was the military center that was used by the nahua army (ca. 1476) to make the initiation ceremony of its elite caste of warriors: the eagle and jaguar warriors. On the top of an extraordinary monolithic building called the Cuauhcalli there is a circular room where the heads (sculpted in stone) of an eagle and a jaguar can be seen.

Behind the Cauhcalli stands the Temple IV, which is considered to have been a Tecalli: a place for council meetings. Between both buildings stands the Cuauhtinchan, a pyramid that faces the whole Malinalco Valley, where beautiful vistas can be observed. We have to interrupt our exploration because the guards told us gently that it was time to leave.

On my way to Chalma (where I could take the return bus back home), I took some pictures of the main square of the town of Malinalco (we have been there before). Now, it was 18:06, and I have less than an hour to arrive at Chalma, if I want to take the last bus to Mexico City (19:00). Somehow I managed to arrive at Chalma at 18:50, only to realize that the last bus had already departed! Not desiring to pass another night at Chalma bus station (last visit accommodation), I rode uphill behind the bus, being finally able to catch it up in the town, where a traffic jam helped me to board the bus :-) We arrived safe at Mexico City (Observatorio terminal) at 21:00, using the subway for the last leg of our return travel.

Thank you for reading. Till the next journey!