Trans-Mexico Part 2 Day #3 Grutas de Cacahuamilpa to Chaucingo

Trans-Mexico Part 2 - Day #3

January 4, 2023

Grutas de Cacahuamilpa to Chaucingo - 92 Km

Start 7:01am Finish 6:26pm

Total Duration 11:25

Moving Time 7:26

Stopped Time 3:59

Ascent 1,720m

Descent 1,980m

Tour Total 289km

Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/110967516

I slept so-so last night in the parking lot out in back of the cave entrance. Nearby, in one of the commercial stalls, there was a cat in heat that moaned all night long. In addition, the wind continuously flapped my tent and trucks were aero-breaking down the hill on the nearby highway. I covered my head with my sleeping bag and tried to drown out all of the commotion.

I woke up at 6am. It was still dark but I got up and start packing so that I could be on the road by sunrise. The wind last night had concerned me. I had a long day planned, and didn’t need a headwind. The brown dog that was begging from me last night had slept in a tree pit right next to my tent. With one eye shut, he watched me pack.

The cave was in a valley, and I had an immediate climb up to the ridge where I took a left on Mexico 95 towards Taxco. There wasn't much motor traffic but my rear light and radar was on. I rode a series of ups and downs through the scraggly Sierra Madre del Sur range.

At the top of one climb I took a left on Mexico 95 towards Cuernavaca and Acapulco. There were people waiting for transport at the intersection. A huge valley opened up in front of me, and I enjoyed a nice long descent. I rode alongside the impressive walled compounds of Rancho El Guamúchil and Rancho La Octava Maravilla Joan Sebastián, and the downhill continued.

I crossed back into Morelos as I entered Teacalco. I stopped at Casilla Liz, next to the collectivo stand, where I purchased a Del Valle Durano peach juice, a package of Tia Rosa Tartinas, and a liter of water. Teacalco was a nice little town that had tiendas, small businesses, and a church.

Because I had drained my phone battery on the first day out of Mexico City and hadn’t been able to recharge in a hotel, I was facing a potential battery deficit. I decided that at night I’d only recharge my GPS. My other devices would be charged by demand, and I’d no longer fill them to 100%. I’d use my iPhone as sparingly as possible, and try to recharge at stops along the way.

In the next town of Huajintlán, the route took me off tarmac onto gravel and over baby-head chunky rocks alongside the Amacuzac River. The road turned to pavement over a bridge crossing, and then I had a steep chunky section of hike-a-bike. I encountered cows wandering down the middle of the track.

I came to a gate and went through it. I enjoyed a nice section of dirt, and then missed a turn. Then I went through another gate. I rode through an area of thick sand and my tires handled it well, with no spin outs. I passed through another gate and rode through grassland. I saw the occasional cactus and rode alongside scrubby trees. I was ringed by distant mountains, which I knew I'd eventually have to contend with. I went through another gate and rode in between two barbwire fences on grass and chunky track. Then I crossed a small stream.

I came to a section of steep paving stones and had to hike-a-bike. I passed a few houses, and then hit pavement and then a downhill. I stopped at tienda Diconsa in Casahuatlán for juice and cookies, and then descended and crossed underneath a highway underpass. I pedaled uphill on concrete and missed a turn. I returned alongside the Rio Saldo on dirt. Eventually the pavement reappeared, and I entered the nice little town of Coahuixtla.

On the other side of town, and again on dirt, I went through another gate. I enjoyed riding through the cultivated fields, and then passed through yet another gate. I crossed a stream and then the pavement returned. I came to a two-lane highway and took a right, and started climbing. The two-lane road had no motor traffic, and I was able to make up time on the asphalt. I passed cornfields, sugar stalks, and cattle. I then took a right on another asphalt two-lane road, where I met horses in the middle of the way.

I stopped in at Abarrotes Gemita in Tilzapotla and enjoyed a chicken gordita and two Cokes. I charged my devices and boosted my phone up to 44%. There was phone and Internet service so I checked my email and posted to Instagram. I would be teaching a new class in the spring and my supervisor wanted to meet with me. I suggested the 12th, two days after my planned arrival in Oaxaca. She proposed the 13th. I put on my arm protectors when I left. I then hit the dirt, which was encompassed by cornfields and cows.

It was sunny and hot as I rode chunky dirt through agave fields. I continued climbing, and there was barbed wire to either side of the track. A Volkswagen Beetle passed me going the other direction. I passed white arrows painted on rocks.

I came to a paved steep uphill, and rode into Coaxitlan. I stopped for a Coke and took a photo of the colorful town name sculpture. I was at 2650', the lowest elevation so far. The town was completely paved and I passed a cement factory plant as I was leaving. The dirt returned as a herd of goats was being shepherded in the opposite direction.

I crossed back into the state of Guerrero and endured a long grueling uphill, paralleling freeway 95D. The brutal ascent was a thousand feet in the hot sun, and I continually thought about stopping for a break under a tree. My left sandal was coming apart and needed repair. I crossed under the freeway and kept climbing. The Voile strap was missing from my lower water bottle cage, and my middle cage had a newly broken right rod. The bottle was now only supported on the left side. My water bottles were a precious resource. I finally made it to the top of the pass and enjoyed a flat section. I rode a kilometer through a boneyard that included cow skulls, cattle bones of all types, and numerous carcasses. I found a piece of rope that I used to refasten my lower water bottle. Eventually I reached a pleasant cool downhill.

On the descent I could see the freeway in the distance, and I eventually crossed a bridge over a stream. I stopped for a coke, and then enjoyed a nice level section that was less chunky. Fields of agave stretched as far as my eyes could see. A blue pick-up passed me and kicked up a cloud of dust. Because of the heat I hadn't been wearing my buff. A guy on horseback passed me, followed by a white pick-up truck, a motor scooter, another pick-up truck, and another guy on a horse.

I stopped in Chaucingo and found a tienda in the center of town. They cooked me two hamburgers, which included slices of ham and tomato, and they let me charge my phone while I sat out front in a white plastic chair. I had a nice cold bottle of Coke and purchased a two-liter container of water to top off my bottles. I talked with the proprietor and he mentioned that several other cyclists had passed through town, including one who was going all the way to Argentina. We got to talking about local mezcal and he offered me a few sips of a local variety. There was an adjoining playground and I thought about asking to camp there. However, there was a noisy celebration in the nearby plaza. It was a local boy’s 15th birthday and Mariachi music was blasting. I had another thirty minutes of daylight and decided to pump my legs for a little more distance. When I left my phone was back up to 65%. It was a steep climb out of town on fine dirt. It was starting to get dark and I noticed a two track behind a closed gate. I untied the rope knot and let myself though. I continued down and away from the road and set up behind a tree. By the time I crawled into my tent my phone was down to 61%.