Ft. Yoann Barelli & Nate Spitz
Video and Photo: Matthew Tongue
We headed south to Oaxaca, Mexico, with our bikes 'n buddies to briefly escape winter, rip singletrack, sip mezcal and experience the Into The Gnar x Oaxaca Bike Expeditions '6-Day' Tour with Yoann "Juan" Barelli and Nate "Nito" Spitz.
Javi, owner of Oaxaca Bike Expeditions, and his team have built something pretty unique here that is shaped by their passion and deep local knowledge. They lined up a simple but effective itinerary for us: ride, eat, mezcal, sleep, repeat. No complaints from us.
This one’s less about words and more about what it actually felt like to be there, so we'll let the video and photos do most of the talking!
________________________
Oaxaca (pronounced "wah-ha-kah") sits high at over 1,500m, but it's what rises above the city that really stands out. The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca stretches across the region - a mountain range known for its deep canyons, Oaxacan hero dirt, pine and oak forests, and wild biodiversity.
Here, we split our time between San Pablo Etla and La Cumbre Ixtepeji shuttling, riding, eating, and sneaking in the odd siesta or two. The trails change a lot depending where you are, and are built around the natural terrain with multiple line choices, so no two laps really felt the same.
Locked 'n loaded!
"Easy, Breezy, Steezy, Beautiful. CoverGirl"
Yo and Nate walking the group through line choices and body positioning, always starting the day with an easier trail before getting Into The Gnar.
The higher we shuttled, the better it got and the more excited everyone became. It's hard to explain, but the forest just feels alive. There's endless moss, clouds weaving through the trees, vines and ferns everywhere… proper dank conditions.
Into The Jungle.
Nate was having a Oaxaca'n good time on this corner!
Yoann helping Matt secure the nugs.. and sampling the hero dirt courtesy of Nate's cornering clinic above.
If thespeedykiwi didn't wear her favourite Mellow Yellow Liteweight MTB Pant.. did she even ride!?
The Doble Derrame trail was a favourite, so we rode it at least 6-9 times. If you're wondering what Nate's wearing - he's rockin' the cool grey SVG Race Jersey and cypress DP5 Pant.
Each day was spent shuttling the upper trails to get in as much riding as possible, heading down for a very late lunch (or as Nate called it, dunch), then we'd finish it off with one proper top-to-bottom lap.
These would mostly start above 3,000m and take close to an hour to ride. Even after a big feed, you’d somehow find a second wind and be fired up to drop in. Funny how there’s always a bit left in the tank when it counts.
Javi reminding us to go easy on the mezcalitas (mezcal margaritas) before the last lap. We cannot confirm or deny that the reminder was received a bit too late. 🤠
Stacked meats, cheese and plenty more for lunch/dunch during the tour. Every meal was paired with a game of 'is this spicy?' - 69% of the time it was spicy, every time.
Coast Optics owners Sam Grainger and Alex Evens were also along for the OBE tour. It would've been rude not to get a 'Sea to Sky locals go to Mexico' shot.
Nothin' but smiles at the the top of the El Toro trail. Big views, bigger descents, scattered with wild flowers and giant agave plants alongside (pro tip: don't ride into those). 10/10 would lap this one again!
Yo making the most of the natural terrain.
OBE's shuttle rigs. 👀
A special thanks to Javi and his team from Oaxaca Bike Expeditions for an unforgettable experience that now lives rent free in our heads. Until next time...
________________________
Share:
Pro DH Series Photo Roundup: Utah Delivered