We had a great time during our trip to Puerto Vallarta. This was our fourth time in PV, and our second time staying at Riu Jalisco, so we already knew what we wanted to do while we were there: eat, drink, and lots of relaxing in the sun. We managed to accomplish all three things quite easily, and we even threw in a mountain bike ride with a local guide.
On Thursday, we met up with Alex from Outdoor Vallarta. Alex is a great guy. He owns Vallarta Bikes in PV, and also leads hiking and surfing trips. He spends most of his time in the shop doing tune-ups on local bikes, but also organizes group rides on the weekends. It seems to me like PV isn’t really known for mountain biking, but it should be! The Sierra Madres are right there, with beautiful terrain and great trails. Shameless plug for Alex – If you’re looking for a mountain biking trip, connect with Outdoor Vallarta!
We rode with Alex on country roads, through small villages, when we were in PV two years ago and had a great time. This year, we went for something a little more challenging… or, I should say, challenging for ME. Cliff and Alex had no problem riding up those hills, but I walked quite a few of them. They were very steep and once I lost my momentum, I’d fall over if I couldn’t get clipped out fast enough. Thus, lots of walking. But, we started in San Pancho at sea level, and rode up a mountain road to the top. When we got back down to the bottom, we ate lunch at a little place in San Pancho, where Cliff and I were introduced to Chilaquiles. YUM!
We returned last night, and were glad that our plane was not delayed or diverted due to snow. It took quite a while to get through immigration, get our bags, then go through customs and finally catch our shuttle to our car. Two hours after we left the park-n-ride, we finally arrived to pick up the dogs. That trip would normally take an hour at the very most. To top it off, I then looked at the chicrosscup series results, because they had not yet been posted by the time we left, and I saw that my Montrose results weren’t included. I may have finished DFL, but the fact that I raced and finished would move me into the top 10 for the series. I’ve emailed the chicrosscup organizers, and hope they’ll fix it.
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- Happy to be in Mexico!
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- Sunset – Day 1
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- Alex from Outdoor Vallarta
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- Are we to the top yet?
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- Taking a break.
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- Dorky Touristas!
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- Through the jungle.
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- More jungle riding.
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- The paparazzi were everywhere!
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- Pushing up another steep hill.
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- Our Lady of Guadalupe
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- Parade celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
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- More parade
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- Parade line up
Velosnaps 