Central Colonial Mexico 2006

Season 2006 · all tours that season · Announced but season records end here

This is a REGULAR difficulty tour. The details of the route have yet to be worked out. Please check back here or contact Basil for more info. We will ride around the fairly flat cool weather highlands in the Bajio region including Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, the birthplace of independence.

Archive note: 'New Tour! Central Colonial Mexico - July 2006' (US$865). Never appears in dates.js and vanishes from later listings - probably never ran.

Dates:

not preserved — season 2006 (2 weeks - 10 cycling days)

Distances:

Average/day: TBD km
Maximum/day: TBD km
Total Approx: TBD km

Route Type:

REGULAR

Regular DifficultyA good level of fitness is required. Distances average around 50 - 80 km per day (depending on hills), and are always less than 120 km. Roads range from flat to very hilly. We may climb up to 1500 metres on a hard day.

difficulty. In the high plateaus of central Mexico. Flat, rolling and hilly but not mountainous.

Weather

The Weather: MountainsLate fall and winter in the Mexican mountains is dry and cool. The sun warms things up during the daytime, but expect freezing temperatures overnight. High volcanoes can be snowcapped around this time.

Spring is warmer, and in the summer it will often rain in the afternoon.

Road

The Road: MountainsThe road is generally in excellent condition. There are some sections of dirt road, and rough pavement. In the mountainous areas, the road rarely flattens out and occasionally climbs at more than a 10% grade, however in the high plateaus the road can be fairly flat to rolling. Traffic is generally light to non-existent, except of course close to larger towns and cities. The surface is generally wide and the drivers are courteous.

Land

The Land: MountainsAltitudes generally range between 1500 and 2500m, however on some tours we may climb up over 4000m. The high volcanoes are snow-capped in the winter. The mountain vegetation varies greatly from humid cloud forests to cool dry pine forests or dry desert shrub.

Highlights:

We will be exploring this route soon. Check back here for more details or contact Basil for more information.

What it cost that season

Guides' Fee	+ Accommodations	+ Food & Drink	+ Misc.	= Approx. Total Land Cost
$500	$150	$170	$150	$970

Guides' Fee

+ Accommodations

+ Food & Drink

+ Misc.

= Approx. Total Land Cost

$500

$150

$170

$150

$970

All figures in US dollars, as published at the time. Riders paid their own accommodation, food and entrance fees on the road — the Guides' Fee was the only charge from ¡El Tour. Full history: price of Central Colonial Mexico through the years.

Photo Album

Selling aguamiel, the delicious, nutricious extract from large maguey plants.

The Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Dolores in Dolores Hidalgo

This is a statue of Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest who on Sept. 16, 1810 at 5am rang the bells to summon the people to church earlier than usual and issued the Grito de Dolores, the cry for independence

Besides independence, Dolores Hidalgo is also famous for its ice-cream. There is a huge variety of flavours including some very unlikely ones such as mole, chicharrón (pork rind), shrimp cocktail, beer, etc...

Nopal cactus leaves are commonly eated in Mexico, as is its fruit, the prickly pear.