Tricepilot's Oaxaca

Crossroads

Ser-en-dip-i-ty

[ser-uh n-dip-i-tee]
:noun

1.
an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

2.
good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job applied for.




Some of the best discoveries and meetings are serendipitously accidental. And a perfect example of this was in Oaxaca one fine day just walking around the streets in the vicinity of the zócalo. I'm walking south, from the Maela, in the direction of zócalo, when walking north in my direction comes Kurt and Kelly. Two travelers from the U.S. who are in the process of going around the world. On bicycles. This is going to be good, was my first thought.

Their bikes were the initial attraction. I'm somewhat of a bike aficionado. The first thing I did when I left the military was take a three week bike mechanics course at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon. Two weeks of that was dedicated to basic bike mechanics and bike shop operation and the third week was advanced wheel building. The set of wheels I have on my Trek 5200 today are DT Swiss hubs and rims I built up as part of the graduation exercise. I used discounts earned at that school to outfit my own home-based bike shop that includes a welding station.

Within minutes of meeting Kurt and Kelly and having good conversation, I learned that they had just arrived in Oaxaca and were walking through the center of town to "get the feel of things" before moving on to the outskirts to find a place to camp and prepare dinner. I offered to nix that and treat them to a dinner at the Asador Vasco on the southwest corner of the zócalo, a place I had already tried and loved. I couldn’t do any less for a pair of weary and hungry explorers.



I was eager to tap their minds for all sorts of information. How long have you been on the road? How long will you be gone? Where are you going? What kind of bikes do you have? Tell me about the mods you’ve made! Doesn't your butt hurt from riding all day?! (duh - what a rookie question) Have you felt safe? How much is this costing you? What do your parents think? Are you going to get a real job someday? I knew they have answered these questions and more a hundred times over and they were both gracious in their response. We shared our interest in Mexico, Kelly's first "foreign" country on the world tour they were starting together. Kurt had been around parts of the planet before - this wasn't his first rodeo. I returned favor by explaining why I was in Oaxaca, what drew me to the place. Why I find Mexico magical. I urged them to enjoy their meal with gusto, since it is somewhat widely known that Mexico has the best cuisine in the Americas. "By the time you make it to Honduras, you'll be missing Mexico", I told them.

After dinner, we walked back in the direction of the Hotel Maela. Both Kurt and Kelly used the shower in my room while I went down to the front desk to ask if there were any rooms available. I had planned to surprise them with their own room but found out that none were available due to the Día de los Muertos festivities in Oaxaca. I broke this news to Kurt and Kelly then we came up with an idea - out back in the area of the estacionamiento was an open, unfinished apartment. Kurt and Kelly were happy to pick a corner and pitch their sleeping bags and gear there, which they did; it was also an place where their bikes would be safe and sound. Bike security to them is a priority, especially having their wallets and passports temporarily stolen while in the Copper Canyon region.





Kurt’s bike is an interesting quasi Frankin-Bike creation that he has modified for long-distance touring. He calls it Samu the Savage Mule. And it weighs a ton. I tried to pick it up fully loaded and was shocked how heavy it is. He's carrying everything on that bike. Clothing for four seasons and tools for most expected repairs. The most immediate eye-catching modification to his mountain bike frame is a frame extension made by Xtracycle. This is basically a tail assembly that bolts onto an existing frame, attaching to the seat stays and the existing drop outs. The increased length provides two major advantages: (1) extra length means extra space for hauling cargo and (2) the increased wheel base offers added stability. Kelly's bike did not have this mod. Kurt had considered other options such as a completely modified original frame that is offered by specialty manufacturers such as Peter White Cycles, but he ditched this idea because he wouldn't be able to break the bike down to smaller sections if he ever decided he needed to ship it home. The Xtracycle option would allow him to do this. Kurt’s own skills as a bicycle mechanic (he's at a level that puts me to shame) and welder/brazer allowed him to significantly modify the Xtracycle extension by chopping certain elements and reinforcing and brazing others such as a custom made additional connection point to the frame, eliminating a critical weak spot. Going around the world on a bicycle going to be killer on the ass, you think? Kurt nixed that possibility by adding a Spiderflex saddle. This is a bike seat without a protruding horn and basically two rubber doughnuts for your tailbone. Certified cojones-friendly. Another interesting component is his Schmidt Dynamo Hub, which provides a source of power for bike lighting and accessory recharging. I asked Kurt what his most important mod was to the bike other than the Xtracycle extension. He said the number one thing heavily loaded touring requires is a strong rear rim. It's this part of the bike that takes all the pounding. Kurt selected Halo's downhill, 48 spoke rim for this job. It's held up everywhere he's went so far.











Kelly's bike is recognizable as a mountain bike but it didn't start out life that way. It’s a lightly modified Bridgestone . Here's a list of features from her blog:

1993 Bridgestone XO-2
Shimano XT 8 integrated shift/brake levers
XT front and rear derailleurs
Original crank arms with combination of chain rings (RaceFace, Black Spire, Suntour XC Pro)
Shimano half platform, half clipless pedals
Alloy MTB riser bar with ergon grips
We replaced the original fork with a beefier, more rigid steel fork
Wheels are hand built 40 spoke with White Industries hubs (Daisy front and M15 rear) and Velocity Dyad rims. Tires are Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus, 26×1.75
Tubus front and rear rack, plus a little Blackburn front rack
Shimano UN-52 bottom bracket










You can check out their blogs at these links:

Kurt: http://pocket-thunder.blogspot.com/

Kelly: http://uparoundthebend.wordpress.com/

Kurt and Kelly aren't the only round-the-world cyclists I've met in Mexico. "Chico" (as I call him), below is a Japanese cyclists who I met on the Into the Blue tour in the Yucatán.



At the time I ran into him, he was on his way to TDF from Alaska, and then around the world.

And in an even more intense example of Serendipity, sometime before the Oaxaca trip and after the Into the Blue tour, Kurt had run into Chico as well, outside of Istanbul



Bike Rentals in Oaxaca



I can't stress enough that one of the best things you can do for yourself if you have any extended length of time to spend in Oaxaca is to rent a bicycle from Zona Bici. Just 4 blocks straight up from the Zócalo on the corner of Garcia Vigil and Bravo streets. They'll provide you with the bike, a helmet, a lock, and a detailed map of the area. And they also do tours. You'll keep fit on your trip to Mexico but you'll also see A LOT more of Oaxaca in the amount of time that you have. There are a ton of bikes already in the city to keep you company. Want to pick up some stuff at Mercado de Abastos? Just buy a cheap backpack (and I do mean that they are cheap) at the market as one of the first things that you do, and all your purchases can go inside the backpack.

The owner is Italian and speaks perfect Spanish, English, and obviously, Italian. The also sell components as well as complete bikes. You can ask for suggested tours by bicycle and he'll give you various itineraries as well. Get out by bicycle and see more of Oaxaca!

Below is a scan (poor, lo siento) of the backside of the brochure. You can see the zócalo (green patch) on the bottom of the photo and the red arrow/yellow square depicts the corner of Garcia Vigil and Bravo streets. The store is actually in the middle of the block. The telephone number, actual street address and hours are indicated:



And here is the link:

http://bikeoaxaca.com/

I absolutely agree with you. Long distance bike touring has a special place in my heart. I've done RAGBRAI in Iowa in '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 and '08. And I've always wanted to do America by Bicycle.

Not everybody is born to throw the 9-5 Rat Race into the trash and just take off, especially for years like those two are doing. But their tales sure do make one look to the horizon and dream.

Let's do this Leo! Around the World - by bicycle! We can do it!

Next Up:

Food & Drink and Places to Eat in Oaxaca

Featuring:

You know the rules!

But I did find these interesting pieces:







Great intro to the food segment, thanks!

Feliz viaje......¿vas por el caballo? (.....'stoy bromeando )

I've copied this to the Is Mexico Safe? thread. There are 2,700+ posts and 180 pages+ over there that talks to this. I and other inmates there can (and have, extensively) expound on my/their thoughts and experiences.

I'll give you a little teaser right now though: Now is the time to visit Mexico, especially since the news media reports of violence are at an all-time high. Sounds like backwards logic, but I have provided the rationale behind it. See the thread link.

Thanks for the compliment. I'll say that I've asked the same questions of other ride report photographers and most answers share the same common denominator:

Light + Composition + Story = results you want

The answer is NOT in how much money is spent on equipment. In fact, fancy equipment provides capabilities that most people never use.

The camera I have used to this point is either the following or a version of it (link):

Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Although I no longer will be carrying that camera as a primary. I now recommend the Canon G12 for the express purpose of adding the capability of capturing images in RAW format. In future ride reports my images will be post-processed on a Macbook Pro with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.

Even these cameras are not required. One of my favorite stories is the high school photography contest won by a student who used a shoebox pinhole camera.

While I haven't fully explored it yet, anyone who wants a good thread to start browsing should check out this one by Antontrax

Although I have a full-on DSLR with some excellent glass, I personally don't bring that type of equipment to Mexico. Too bulky and too stand-outish for the way I roll. I do recommend a small tripod for any portable digital camera due to their inherent disadvantage in night photography.

My photographs pale in comparison to what Igorshen accomplished in Yet another KLR succumbed to the Latin fever. The photography there is eye-poppingly delicious and a visual feast. The original testimonial for the don't-need-to-carry-a-DSLR-on-a-motorcycle-ride mantra was coined by Raoul Duke in:
Nebraska to Alaska - Top of the World Moto Odyssey - Summer 2008

Truth be told, all ride reports (and the photographs in them) all fade away with time. What they really are, are personal journals shared for a brief moment and then put away like an album of memories in a closet. I can go back to each photo taken in Mexico and the feeling of the moment comes back...the texture, the mood, and the emotion.

Latin America, and especially Mexico, is a fusion of time and patina, stone and paint, and most importantly the shadows and history that fade into each other.

Actually, see Kelly's "Oaxaca" entry of 17 November on her blog....

The Culinary Side of Oaxaca

7 Moles

Chocolate

Cheeze

Coffee

Mezcal

Chapulines

Markets

Tlayudas

Without question, Oaxaca is a destination all by itself for cultural cuisine as anything else. I consider it the epicenter of Mexico for foodie explorers. Gringos used to Taco Bell, Taco Cabana or the usual rice-beans-lettuce combo band found everywhere in the north will be shocked by the food in Mexico in general, but particularly in Oaxaca. Chefs from around the world come here to study and learn, and major portions of cook books have been dedicated to Oaxacan cooking and the specialty ingredients found here. The main idea to grasp is that Oaxacan cooking traces its roots to pre-colonial times and the foundations of many recipes are tied to the traditions of the zapotecs and the mixtecs. Above are the 8 themes that should form the foundation of your motorcycle trip to Oaxaca. Don't leave there without trying each one for yourself

7 Moles of Oaxaca



At the top of my list of recommendations is to come to Oaxaca for the express purpose of trying each of the "7 moles of Oaxaca". What is a mole? (pronounced mo-lay). Well, simplified, it is "just" a sauce, but that's an unfair description. Oaxaca and Puebla sometimes compete for "mole capitol of Mexico". Puebla is famous for mole poblano, which you might have heard of. The king of the moles in Oaxaca is mole negro. It was the first mole I was eager to try in Oaxaca. I had a plate of it at the Asador Vasco on the Zócalo and it was delicious. Mine was served over chicken, with a side of rice. The word mole comes from the Nahuatl word molli, which means "mixture". And there are a lot of ingredients in most moles. Chiles, tomatos, tomatillos, fruit, chocolate, seeds, nuts – the list is often long and the process of preparing the mole can be complicated.


Here is a sample list of ingredients for a mole negro:

1/4 lb. chilhuacle or mulato chiles, seeded and deveined
1/4 lb. pasilla chiles, seeded and deveined
2-3 cups hot water or broth
1 whole head garlic, unpeeled
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 dried avocado leaves
1 head garlic
1 bolillo or French roll
2 tortillas
3 ounces each almonds and shelled walnuts or peanuts
1/4 cup raisins
4" stick cinnamon
3 whole cloves
6 whole allspice
1 sprig each marjoram, thyme and oregano or 1/4 teaspoon of each dried
2 medium white onions, chopped
lard or corn oil necessary for frying
1/4 lb. tomatillos, husked 1/2 lb. tomatoes
2 tablets Mexican chocolate (4 ounces)
salt and sugar to taste

In addition to mole negro, which is a must-try, here are the other 6 Oaxacan moles to put on your to-do list:

mole colorado
mole amarillo
mole verde
mole chichilo
mole coloradito
mole mancha manteles (a.k.a. "the tablecloth strainer"

And to complete your Mexico Mole Tour: mole poblano (from Puebla)





Each of these moles are distinctive. They all contain one or more types of chili pepper (ancho, pasilla, mulato or chipotle). In the past, the women of the family would gather to prepare moles, but the availability of electric grinders means that many families take their ingredients to a centrally owned grinding service to get the job done.

Mole is always served over something like chicken, turkey or pork, with turkey (Mexico: guajolote; elsewhere: pavo) being the most traditional. If you want the really authentic meat with your mole, ask for guajolote.

Mole sold by the kilo is available in many Oaxacan markets, such as mole negro and mole colorado. Examples of these two that I've seen at Mercado de Abastos were extremely thick and placed for sale in colorful tubs. Without the accompanying sign it would be difficult to tell what they were. Customers buy these mole pastes by the kilo, then take them home to use as a base for their own cooking.



Some famous chefs/cookbook authors who love Oaxaca are Diana Kennedy, Susana Trilling, Rick Bayless and Zarela Martinez, among many. The following titles are in my library at home. Stop by, you're welcome to go through them on your visit to Casa Tricepilot:











Chocolate

Oaxaca tops the IgoUgo.com list of the top ten worldwide chocolate destinations.

Link



Chocolate is known as the "food of the Gods", and the current Lord of Chocolate in Oaxaca is Mayordomo. This is the store/company in Oaxaca to whom the locals come to buy freshly ground chocolate for cooking and drinking. I literally stumbled upon a Mayordomo store walking back from Mercado de Abastos. I could smell the chocolate in the air well before I came close to the actual store and the line of people inside it, waiting for their turn at the register and the grinders. The idea is to pay first at the register for what you want, then take your receipt to the crew of grinders to get your product. I didn't buy any ground chocolate this visit (next time I will), I was happy to buy some boxed Mayordomo chocolate to sample on the street and bring home (the supply for home got smaller as my time in Oaxaca lengthened).



The Mayans were early users of chocolate in rituals, and the Aztecs learned many uses of chocolate from Mayan tradition. To taste chocolate in Oaxaca is to taste history, so don't expect the flavor of a Hershey Bar. Chocolate is used in drinks such as Atole, Champurrado (actually, chocolate based Atole), Mexican hot chocolate, and Tejate. All of these are traditionally whisked with a molinillo.

Atole: masa (corn) based drink, often contains cinnamon or vanilla. Sold on the street almost everywhere in Mexico. Kind of thick and takes just a little getting used to. You’ll love it once you do. Very classic Mexico drink. You have to have your Atole stamp to be considered a Mexico Adventurer.

Atole Recipe

Serves: 5-6
Ingredients:

1/2 cup masa harina (masa flour)
5 cups milk or water, according to taste
1/4 cup piloncillo, (Mexican sugar cones) chopped fine or grated
1 stick cinnamon (canela) or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise) or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation:

In a large saucepan, whisk the water or milk into the masa flour little by little until completely mixed and free of lumps. Heat over meadium heat, stirring constantly, until it just begins to thicken. Add piloncillo and cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan or add vanilla extract. Stir vigorously until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly to keep it from becoming lumpy.
Remove cinnamon stick. Serve hot in mugs.

Champurrado: Atole with the addition of cacao. Often served with churros or tamales during Christmas and Día de los Muertos.

Mexican Hot Chocolate: milk with melted Mayordomo chocolate chunks (typical example)


Tejate: Maize and cacao drink. includes seeds of the mamey fruit. Very popular with Mixtec and Zapotec people in rural areas as well as in Oaxaca proper. Kind of a pasty drink because of the ingredient rosita de cacao that floats to the top. It’s served cold. Very Oaxacan. Look for women selling Tejate at the markets, they’re known as Tejateras. Its an historic drink and not to be missed in Oaxaca.



As mentioned, these drinks are often frothed using a molinillo, a type of fancy wooden whisk. You'll find them all over Oaxaca so get one as a souvenir (something I purposed to do but forgot until I had left Oaxaca). As I was typing this, I took a break and broke out my supply of Mayordomo Clásico to make Mexican hot chocolate. Funny thing was, when I bought the box in Oaxaca, I thought I was buying chocolate bars. I opened the box there, unwrapped one of the gold foil bricks of chocolate, and commenced to munching. It wasn't until I read the instructions on the side of the box that I learned they were bars for melting in milk for a drink. (hint: to speed up the melting process, pulverize the individual chunks in a blender. Use as many as you wish, to suit your taste). I stirred in the chocolate powder with a spoon, I wish I had a molinillo. To use a molinillo, simple place between the palms of your hand and move the molinillo back and forth rapidly to froth the drink.

Keep an eye out in a Mayordomo store while there, as in addition to chocolate and its derivatives, they also sell mole negro and mole rojo(coloradito), although I recommend buying moles in a market for a more rustic experience.

If there was a way for me to get dual citizenship I'd gladly do it

I've been talking with Arte via PM about the DOO jobs for the KLRs. Don't let them reinstall linear springs! Go for the torsion springs!