A Tale Of Two Cities…And The In-Betweens

When I arrived in Mexico City to help out on the 2025 North American Epic, I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. To my mind, Mexico evoked images of beaches and deserts so, I guess, that is the terrain that I thought I would be travelling through. Soon enough, I was to discover the scope of my ignorance.

Mexico City

First, however, I had to navigate the mega-metropolis that is Mexico City (pop. 9.2 million).

The first thing I like to do when I arrive in a new city is to, whenever possible, take a bike tour. To me, it is the best way to get a quick, and fun, glimpse of the city. Mexico City was in the midst of a cold snap or ‘Frente Frios’ when I woke up. Brr…14C and cloudy.

Our group headed out to sample the city’s street food, stopping at a few of the seemingly endless stalls serving up fresh and exciting tastes. I think you could spend a lifetime exploring the possibilities. Along the way we noticed the city’s efforts to promote cycling by adding bike lanes to the roads. In fact, the North American Epic’s entry into the capital city now takes place almost exclusively on these new bike paths.

Our guide noted that in Mexico, you are not required to take a test to get your driver’s license, you just need to be 18 years old! Despite this kinda scary thought, the drivers we encountered on our tour were unanimously patient. One TDA rider mentioned that as soon as they crossed the border into Mexico, they found the drivers to be very courteous, a relief after the more aggressive road users they encountered in the southern USA.

Palacio de Bellas Artes Museo Mural Diego Rivera to see his famous “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon” mural, Mexico City

The next day, I traded in wheels for shoes and spent the day walking through the city streets, often along roads named after European cities – Berlin, Naples, Milan, Versailles – a past attempt to create a European aesthetic to the downtown area. That may have been the goal the atmosphere is now distinctly Mexican – vibrant and alive. I wandered aimlessly, stopping to explore the Museo Mural Diego Rivera featuring his famous ‘Dream of a Sunday Afternoon’ mural and the beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Details from Dream of a Sunday Afternoon

I ended up at the Plaza de la Constitución, a massive main square also known as the Zócalo. I managed to visit the Templo Mayor (a 13th-century Aztec temple) but to my dismay the viewpoint from the bell tower of the baroque Catedral Metropolitana de México and the Palacio Nacional were closed due to another distinctly Mexican pastime – political protest.

The next day, the tour hit the road, heading for the next rest day in Oaxaca.

Oaxaca City

Oaxaca is all colour and art and history. As usual, I opted for a bike tour to scope out the city. While the one in Mexico City focused on food, the one here was all about street art. It was so insightful and fascinating. You can read about it here. Everything is art in this city – even the security bars on windows and doors. The architecture is amazing and human in scope as buildings are limited to a maximum of 3 stories, a precaution linked to the area’s intense seismic activity (300 small quakes a day!).

Our guide didn’t just provide information about the street art. He told us about the city’s unique governing system where neighbourhood committees approved such things as the colour of the buildings and the city itself runs on the traditional system of ‘usos y costumbres’ (indigenous customary law) for local self-governance. He also pointed out that Oaxaca has a special place in the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations as it is considered the place closest to the entry point to the Aztec underworld of Mictlán, a realm ruled by the gods of the dead.

The In-Betweens

On the road between Mexico City & Oaxaca

So much for my visions of beaches and deserts! This section of the North American Epic featured some absolutely stunning, and challenging, mountain roads.

One of the most rewarding aspects of taking part in a TDA adventure is that in between the major touristic sites like Mexico City and Oaxaca, you get to stay in towns that are way, way, way off the beaten track. This allows you to experience rural areas that have their own attraction, a colourful, alive, and unvarnished look at the local people. We stayed in small towns like Ixcaquixtla, El Camaron Yautepec and San Pedro Tapanatepec.

Each night the staff would venture down to the local plaza in these small towns to wander through the lively markets and listen to the local music. And each time, they discovered a lively, friendly, curious, crowd, a community simply going about their lives and enjoying their traditional evening gathering. The ability to interact in this manner is, I think, unique to our tours and something that most riders would rank as an experience to be cherished and honoured.

>>Related Post: The Magic of the Mundane

South of Oaxaca, we largely followed the Mezcal Road. This spirit is a sacred drink in Mexico, not just something to get drunk on, a way to connect with the gods. There were numerous artisanal mezcal factories along the way where you could stop, sample the wares and learn about the numerous ways to distill the spirit from the local agave plants .

Riders also learned that Auto Hotels would probably be better referred to as Love Hotels (!) and that some agave farms are certified as “Bat friendly’ if 25% of the agave is left to flower as food for bats, some of whom migrate all the way from Canada.

We also learned that Aztec bees were bred to lose their stingers and can be found in local kitchens and that the honey has medicinal qualities. The cyclists pedalled past an amazing variety of cacti and past vast fields of mango trees in a region aptly known as ‘La tierra del mango.’

The Mezcal Road eventually descended to the coast and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec where the proximity of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans creates some unique climactic conditions! Wind farms abounded and the traffic signs were made with holes in them so strong gusts wouldn’t blow them over. Fortunately, this year the riders only had to deal with a crosswind.

What did I learn from my time on tour? Well, as always, I am in awe of the riders who take on the challenge and who are universally so positive and optimistic. I also got to see just how hard our field staff work on these expeditions and how vital they are to each tour’s success. I got to see 2 incredible, historic cities and also was able to experience parts of Mexico that most people will never have a chance to – truly a tale of two cities and the in-betweens.

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