After a week in Oaxaca we head south to the coast. Feels strange to head south to get to the Pacific Ocean. And it feels weirder that we left the Pacific in Puerta Vallarta weeks ago and have been riding east all that time, only to still be close to the Pacific. I think it’s an American thing. The Pacific is always at the west end of our roads, at least that’s what we were taught in school.

We rode the 175 down from Tuxtepec and choose to continue on that road toward the ocean. Ruben says its a great ride, and a couple of other friends have suggested it too. I’m excited for the day of twisties. We ride south of Oaxaca across the plains to Miahuatlan before finally starting to climb the hills. Oaxaca sat in a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, and reminded me of Denver in that it was at about 5000 feet altitude. We have another 5000 feet to climb today before then descending all the way to sea level, literally, when we arrive in the beach town of Puerto Angel.



We stop for lunch at San Juan del Pacifico and enjoy the view. There have been road crews working on the roads today, clearing shrubbery and mud and debris from ditches. The rainy season is coming and the gulleys and ditches need to be cleared out to make them work well. We can see the results of past rains. There are lots of washouts on the roads, small and large. I rode next to a pothole at one point and saw daylight shining up through it just before I went by meaning anything to the right of it was hanging out and ready to break off.



We ride up to an altitude where pine trees grow, nearly 10,000 feet. The road is very twisty and it reminds me of the Tale of the Dragon in the States on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. I can’t seem to find an angle that lets my camera do justice to the road.



The peeks we get in places are incredible.





In a small village called Copalita we stop and park to take a look at the ridgeline stretching out in front of us. The houses line the road and reveal where we will be riding across the spine of this particular mountain.



There are trucks around some corners, horses around others, and then there are goats grazing and crossing roads here and there.



And then on we go….ever downward and forward, turning left and then right.



It’s amazing to see and feel the difference in the world around you when you descend 10,000 feet in an afternoon from the tops of mountains to the shore.