Cycling in Chiapas.

I just spent the past 8 days cycling from Tapachula and Salina Cruz. Here are a few photos and stories from the trip. And some info for those who might be cycling this way in the future.

Starting my cycling trip in Tapachula.

I had decided to start my Mexican bicycle journey in Tapachula this time. Coming from Guatemala, Tapachula is the first big town you reach in Mexico when crossing the border.

Finding a bicycle in Tapachula proved a little hard at first though. There were some malls that had bikes. I was not too happy with the price versus the quality there. One day I passed a little bicycle workshop, where some local bicycle guys hung out.They recommended a guy who had a bike for sale.

I ended up buying a bike from a guy called Gonzalo. A very decent Trek mountain bike, that I have been very happy with so far. Gonzalo also showed out to be a super nice guy that I really enjoyed getting to know.

Nice roads for cycling in coastal Chiapas.

Huixtla was one of the many small towns where I stayed overnight.

Once I was out of Tapachula I headed north. I was going on what you call the coastal route in Chiapas. The road I took is still 20-30 kilometers away from the coast though. The chiapas coast does not have many sandy beaches. More mangrove and cliffs.

This means that there is very little coastal tourism in Chiapas. It has very rich fishing grounds and there is also a large industrial harbour next to Tapachula. But the road is build inland, so that the many farms there are in the region, can get their produce transported.

There is also a mountain road that many other cyclists use in Chiapas, but I wanted to avoid the rain that you have there in june/July. I am quite ok with the hot climate that you have on the coastal section of Chiapas.

The coastal route in Chiapas is very flat by the way. Hardly any climbs there. Just a few smaller hills.

Small farm in Chiapas.

Lunch break at a roadside restaurant in Chiapas.

It was very hot though. really really hot.

I have never seen a combination of heat and humidity like the one I had in Chiapas in the past two weeks. I have cycled in well over 40 countries over the past 30 years. The road going up the coast was very nice. I really enjoyed the well paved road and the well behaved traffic there. This is a part of Mexico that sees almost no tourists, so I was a bit of a curiosity there at times.

I did not meet a single non Mexican when cycling in Chiapas by the way. But the small towns were charming and I never had a problem finding a cheap room for the night. Cycling on a route that has a fair bit of trucks has the advantage of having quite a few hotels catering to truckers.

Trucks can be a problem when it comes to safety though. I generally find that the Mexican truck drivers are a nice bunch who keep an eye out for soft traffic. I passed many security checkpoints along the way with military police. They were always very friendly towards me and were usually just curious about my trip. Nothing to be scared of there.

Crossing in to the state of Oaxaca.

I had been told that once I crossed into Oaxaca, I would get more wind. And I would also see a lot of wind mills. That was for sure true.

I don’t think I have ever seen more windmills in one place than in  La Ventosa. La Ventosa is a very good name for the place by the way. I have hardly ever been to a place where wind comes down the mountains stronger than there. One guy told me that trucks sometimes get blown over there by the strong winds.

Normally I am no fan of heavy side winds, but I was quite happy with the change there, after several days of intense heat. I also met a tour cyclist there. Andrew from Seattle, who had cycled from Seattle to Mexico and was on his way further down Latin America.

Cycling past windfarms at La Ventosa.

After all the wind, I took a left turn towards the coast. Stayed in a couple of nice hotels on the way down to the coast, before coming into Salina Cruz. Salina Cruz has some beaches out of town that attract a surfer crowd.

The center of town is very Mexican though. Not touristy at all. In fact, I did not see a single tourist there. But I thought that Salina Cruz was a very pleasant town to spend a day before continuing my bicycle trip further up north.

Truck stop cafe in Oaxaca.

And now:

Next stop Puerto Escondido.