All in Mexican High Plains

TransMexico Norte Part 5: Cycling from Toluca to Izúcar de Matamoros, Mexico

TransMexico Norte Part 5: Cycling from Toluca to Izúcar de Matamoros, Mexico

Pedals and Puffins
Mexican High Plains, Wildlife, Bike Travel, Ecosystems, Bike Touring, Missions and Churches, Cycling, Bikepacking, TransMexico Norte, Pueblos Mágicos, Mexico City, Monarch Butterflies, Weather

After a break of nearly two months, we were finally back on the TransMexico Norte bikepacking route. We had spent much of the rainy season off our bikes, exploring Belize and Mexico City. But with a new, shorter deadline for cycling to the Guatemalan border, we had to get back on the road - even if it meant dealing with daily tropical downpours. Before long we had descended out of the high plains into lowland mountains shrouded in lush forests. Once again we discovered the pleasures of cycling through novel landscapes, and uncovering the hidden gems - like massive caves and offbeat museums - that other tourists rarely see.

TransMexico Norte Part 4: Cycling from Guanajuato to Toluca, Mexico

TransMexico Norte Part 4: Cycling from Guanajuato to Toluca, Mexico

Pedals and Puffins
Bike Touring, Bike Travel, Bikepacking, Cycling, Ecosystems, Mexican High Plains, Missions and Churches, Pueblos Mágicos, Sierra Madre Occidental, TransMexico Norte, Wildlife, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Monarch Butterflies, Valle de Bravo, Volcanoes

From Guanajuato, the TransMexico Norte bikepacking route took us into the country’s central volcanic belt, passing between two majestic volcanos and through two of the country’s most popular tourist towns. Along the way, we cycled among the steep-sided foothills of towering cinder cones, as well as through fertile lowlands of sugar cane and agave. Ubiquitous, colorful murals proclaimed Mexico’s love for Monarch butterflies, which overwinter each year among the pines on the slopes of a few, high, volcanic peaks. Just as the rainy season began in earnest, we reached the city of Toluca, where we would take some time off our bikes to let the rains pass.

TransMexico Norte Part 3: Cycling from Zacactecas to Guanajuato, Mexico

TransMexico Norte Part 3: Cycling from Zacactecas to Guanajuato, Mexico

Pedals and Puffins
Bike Touring, Bike Travel, Bikepacking, Cycling, Ecosystems, Mexican High Plains, Missions and Churches, Pueblos Mágicos, Sierra Madre Occidental, TransMexico Norte, Wildlife, Guanajuato

The sweet fragrance of a guava candy factory, or the scent of tanned hides from a long line of leather shops. The heat of the sun from a cloudless sky, or a cool breeze blowing across desolate hills. The sound of church bells, or a roving band of mariachis singing songs of love and loss. And the beauty of a mountain overlook, or a tranquil plaza in a colonial village. Traveling this part of the TransMexico Norte bikepacking route has served up a feast for the senses - anchored on each end by two of Mexico’s fabled silver cities, which at one time generated most of the wealth in the world.

TransMexico Norte Part 2: Cycling from Durango to Zacatecas, Mexico

TransMexico Norte Part 2: Cycling from Durango to Zacatecas, Mexico

Pedals and Puffins
Bike Touring, Bike Travel, Bikepacking, Cycling, Ecosystems, Mexican High Plains, Missions and Churches, Pueblos Mágicos, TransMexico Norte, Wildlife, Sierra Madre Occidental, Forest Fires

The TransMexico Norte bikepacking route hugs the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains on its way from Durango to Zacatecas. As we followed the route, we found ourselves alternately climbing up into the cool, pine-cloaked mountains, then plunging back down onto Mexico’s hot, arid, central plateau. There, at the edge of the desert, we cycled between bustling cities and magical towns that trace their histories to the Spanish empire’s hunger for silver and gold.

TransMexico Norte Part 1: Cycling from Mazatlan to Durango, Mexico

TransMexico Norte Part 1: Cycling from Mazatlan to Durango, Mexico

Pedals and Puffins
Mexican High Plains, Wildlife, Bike Travel, Forest Fires, Ecosystems, Bike Touring, La Paz Mexico, Missions and Churches, Cycling, Bikepacking, TransMexico Norte, Sierra Madre Occidental

Saying farewell to Baja, we voyaged across the Sea of Cortez to mainland Mexico. From there, an arduous but spectacular 9,000 ft ascent (2,750 m) would take us from the coast to the heights of Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains. Along the way we officially crossed into the tropics and rode through grand, colonial-era towns built on the mining of silver and gold.