Arriba! Cruising through the chaparral outside the town of Atotonilc0. Photo: Steve Zdawczynski/steve-z.com
Mexico is a vacation spot of legendary cliches—beautiful beaches, the rowdy Señor Frog’s Bar & Grill franchise, bad hangovers. But it’s selling our southerly neighbor short to limit our travel to only the resorts that embody those stereotypes. Destinations like Cancun, Cabo and Cozumel, don’t exactly demonstrate the true spirit of the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. And let’s face it; most of us were too drunk to remember much anyway.
For those looking for a more authentic, and perhaps healthier, alternative to Mexico’s 24-hour beach party, consider exploring the interior state of Guanajuato by mountain bike. Here you’ll find a different Mexico than the one you remember (or don’t remember) from spring break. Known as the heart of Mexico, not only for it’s central location in the country, but for its crucial role in the Mexican revolution in the early 1800s, Guanajuato is a land of historic haciendas, artist colonies, tequila spirits made from the blue agave plant, World Heritage sites and the scenic Sierra Madre Mountains – all conveniently connected by mountain bike-able trails.
The Accommodations
If you’re going for authenticity, it’s hard to beat staying at a 450-year-old hacienda. Set against a mountain backdrop, Hacienda Las Trancas was originally a presidio, a fort along the silver trail, whose main function was to house and guard caravans of silver. Today, it’s a scenic retreat located just northeast of Dolores Hidalgo, the town where Father Miguel Hidalgo uttered his famous cry for the independence of Mexico in front of his parish church on September 16, 1810.
Each of Las Trancas’ 11 suites is unique; some have two levels, some dramatic grotto style tubs, one has an altar (beside the bed, of all places), and another, a spiral staircase leading to a rooftop terrace. With three home-cooked Mexican meals sourced from the hacienda’s organic vegetable garden served daily, you won’t want to eat anyplace else. Executive Chef Yolanda and her team of three prepare every meal down-home style with a touch of gourmet. Expect fresh tortillas made from whole corn kernels, local favorites like huevos rancheros and delectable deserts like creamy mango ice cream. When you’re not eating or biking, schedule a massage at the spa or go for a guided horseback ride in the cactus-studded countryside behind the hacienda; the twice-daily tours are included in the price of your stay.
The Trails
Fat Tire Tourists: Exploring the ruins of the Hacienda Erre, founded in 1710. Photo: Steve Zdawczynski/steve-z.com
Mountain biking in central Mexico offers varied terrain ranging from dirt paths to cobblestone roads. Sightseers can bike remote trails connecting UNESCO World Heritage Sites, where you won’t see another person for miles. One memorable 30-km ride goes from Dolores Hidalgo through Hacienda Erre, one of the oldest in the country. From there, pedal to the small rural community of Atotonilco to visit a church complex founded in 1764, now a World Heritage Site thanks to its pre-Reformation religious art. Hop off your bike to take in the stunning Mexican Baroque mural work that adorns the main nave and chapels, then walk to the shop across the street to purchase a caguama, which translates as “turtle,” but refers to a 32-ounce bottle of beer.
Off the main sightseeing arteries, you’ll find backcountry singletrack and doubletrack winding through the chaparral — arid shrub lands in the shadow of the Sierra Madres, wide-open cattle pastures and fields of wildflowers. You’ll also encounter rolling paths through the woods that follow the historic donkey trails of the silver road routes.
None of the trails are marked, so it’s best to bring a guide. Alberto Martinez, otherwise known as Beto, is the local expert. A former mountain bike racer, Beto runs a bike shop in San Miguel de Allende, and leads tours (bici-burro.com). Best of all, on the last day, after returning the bikes to his shop, Beto has been known to pull out a bottle of his favorite local tequila and pour shots for the group.
Go There
Beyond Boundaries Travel (owned by Colorado Springs resident Doug Lofland) is leading a mountain bike trip through central Mexico February 19-26. Fly United Airlines to Leon, connecting through Houston. No need to bring your bike, they’re provided, but check your tires. Beto runs the tire pressure on his fleet of Cannondales very high by Colorado standards, so you’ll want to let some air out before you ride the bumpy silver route trails.
For more details, and additional dates, see beyondboundariestravel.com
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finances – money – cost
A glaring problem with your article was the omission of the cost of Scouting. Did you know that it cost $600 for an adult to volunteer to staff the National Jamboree? Uniforms are expensive!!!
Jack Furst made a comment about running the Bechtel Summit like a “corporate for profit” organization. Compare the percentage of Scouts that attended the 1937 National Jamboree with the 100th Anniversary Jamboree. Scouts no longer ride the back of farm trucks to go camping. BSA is missing opportunities to hold a Jamboree similar to a State Fair each and every year at the Summit.
The Minnesota State Fair has not received any tax payer funding in decades.
It doesn’t cost $600 to volunteer or attend state fairs. Exposing more boys and families to the activities of Scouting would benefit the BSA. The opportunity to go online and create a personalized trip ticket through the National Jamboree would generate tremendous excitement for young kids to adults.
I see huge potential for the Summit for every Scout. However, I’m afraid it’s being designed more exclusively for making money. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need for financial security.
Those long lines you mentioned in your article for the downhill were repeated at all the food tents. Think about how many food stalls are at large state fairs or college football games. That is an opportunity that is being circumvented and I would be interested in the real story behind that.
Thank you for a great article. I can use parts of it in my Wood Badge training. I am one of those morbidly obese adult leaders that is now committed to getting in better shape so I can share the high adventures I read about in your magazine with my son.
Thanks
Scouting, like all organizations, suffers from the inevitable problems that come with growth: bureaucracy, a lessening of standards, and the necessity of seeking money.
I am an Eagle Scout, and an adult involved with Scouting. My opinion is that BSA did indeed (once) advance the ideal of boy-led self-reliance, bootstrap ingenuity and do-good initiative that made it such a force in American life.
But those days are gone. Just as we have ceded our personal sovereignty to a porkulous rex of a nanny-state government, the BSA organization has become sclerotic with bureaucracy, focuses too much time on raising money to pay for growing legions of professionals, and has disenfranchised boy-leaders with the same “hovering-parent” mentality that undermines college freshmen.
It is a shame, too. My Scouting experience provided some of the most rewarding of my youth, and my memories of my adventures with my friends are some of my most cherished. To say that Scouts significantly shaped my character and view of the world would not be inaccurate.
I wish that others could feast from the bounty that I had the good fortune to savor.
The perspective of a bird’s eye view is not always a pleasant one. If one were to look at our country in that way, they might see a very troubled economy, unemployment, big time budget issues, political strife plus a variety of other issues that would make one think this place is in ruins. However, on the ground level it is actually a fantastic place to live, still with endless opportunities and strong communities to grow up in.
I am an Eagle Scout and am still very involved in Scouting as an adult. Scouting does indeed have all of these issues as I’m sure any nationwide hundred year old organization would. On the ground level though Scouting is still a very thriving organization that continues to provide incredible learning experiences and opportunities to throngs of young men.
Our unit went sailing earlier in the fall, followed by an outdoor rock climbing trip the next month. Some of our younger Scouts rank the sailing trip as their most fun experience in Scouting while others have not stopped talking about the rush of doing a scary free rappel for weeks now.
Right now our unit is maxed out on membership and we’re not looking to grow anymore in the next year. So while people in Texas are discussing policy and strategy in back rooms we had a packed house last meeting where dozens of excited middle and high schoolers brought in their stoves and learned back country cuisine in preparation for next month’s backpacking trip.
Scouting is the same as it always has been. As people get older they gain perspective and learn about all of the underlying problems and politics, but a twelve year old is naive to all of this and is only focused on buying his first pair of boots or making sure his pack is properly packed for the weekend. Kid by kid and troop by troop Scouting has provided invaluable life experiences for the last 100 years, still does, and will continue to do so as long people stay locally focused and give to Scouting what they took away from it as a youth.
While sitting in an enormous field with my Troop and 45,000 Boy Scouts, 30,000 adult Scout leaders and other vistors to the Boy Scout National Jamboree this past August, I noticed a brilliant t-shirt worn by another adult leader sitting nearby. It simply read “It’s not about the knots”, followed by “To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight”. Those timeless words, repeated so frequently by anyone associated with a Boy Scout program, are the very core of the Boy Scout program’s value to young men. Where else can our sons find such great examples of leadership, ethics and citizenship to follow and adopt as core values in their life’s ambitions? Where else can boys experience spectacular outdoor adventures every month, life skill learning, trial and error leadership training in a safe and nurturing environment, and carry away all those memories with a credential worth millions of times its weight in gold over a lifetime – the Eagle Scout? I didn’t think you would have another answer, because there isn’t one.
The Boy Scouts of America remain the number one youth development program anywhere. There is no close second. Leaders, like myself, who spend the time to learn the background of the program and attend training, are capable of leading their Troops and Crews to produce young adult leaders who can literally climb mountains, save lives, lead others to greatness, give unselfishly at a moments notice, and talk about God in the first person because they fully appreciate the majesty of the creation we all call home. We can simultaneously see the future of every boy who joins our Units and “walk the talk” as examples of the kind of citizen/servant/leader we know they will become. And then we sing goofy songs around a campfire in the middle of nowhere. But we know what thier value is.
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight while leading amazing groups of young men to do the same over a lifetime. I wish you the same good fortune.
From a retired Scout leader, thank you for this well-balanced article.
Scouting still has much to offer. It faces a lot of challenges, not limited to the cost. The last time I looked, it cost $15 per year to register in Scouting, but a local soccer club, offering a seasonal program, charged $50 and there was no guarantee the boy would get to play. The cost of uniforms and accessories was about equal.
With an estimated 1-2% of US population considering themselves homosexuals, the BSA stance seems to go with the other 98-99%. However, even elementary school children are being discouraged from joining by hippie-era adults and their children who have no experience in the program, but who label Scouting as “gay”. Go figure.
I am 17 years old, and am the senior patrol leader and a life scout working towards eagle. This past summer I rode my biked across the country with 15 other guys, a trip led through boy scouts. In October I went rock climbing. November was backpacking. This weekend? Full on capture the flag at our local camp.
Throughout my experience in scouting over the last seven years never have I encountered an instance of intolerance or discrimination of religion or sexual orientation by anyone associated with the troop that has been deemed acceptable. Actually, we’ve never had a situation like that.
When it comes down to it, the boy scouts simply provides opportunities that cannot be matched. Our troop does operate on a boy-led model, our senior patrol leads and plans all meetings with the guidance of our scoutmasters, and compared to my experiences in high school, the skills taught in scouts prepare for life the best. The scouts are those who can lead the group in a project; who are not shy in public speaking; and those most independently confident in themselves.
So those who buy into the mass misconceptions? Thats fine with me, I’ve got some scouts to teach and a trail to hike.