I´ve been riding and pedaling bicycles as long as I have been walking. Its the best way to get around, to transport myself in daily activities as well as to get great exercise while experiencing beautiful scenery right around Guadalajara
Raul
Cycling for health and fitness
It only takes two to four hours a week to achieve a general improvement to your health. Cycling is:
- Low impact – it causes less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.
- A good muscle workout– cycling uses all of the major muscle groups as you pedal.
- Easy – unlike some other sports, cycling does not require high levels of physical skill. Most people know how to ride a bike and, once you learn, you don’t forget.
- Good for strength and stamina– cycling increases stamina, strength and aerobic fitness.
- As intense as you want– cycling can be done at very low intensity to begin with, if recovering from injury or illness, but can be built up to a demanding physical workout.
- A fun way to get fit– the adventure and buzz you get from coasting down hills and being outdoors means you are more likely to continue to cycle regularly, compared to other physical activities that keep you indoors or require special times or places.
- Time-efficient – as a mode of transport, cycling replaces sedentary (sitting) time spent driving motor vehicles or using trams, trains or buses with healthy exercise.
“Cycling is a sport but its an individual sport, you are in your own world within the landscape”
Beginning with baseline two-hour rides, you can build to a longer and more challenging ride by about 30 minutes each week for two or three weeks in a row. What we do is develop training and cycling plans based on your personal goals, whether they be fitness, simple enjoyment through increasing aerobic/fitness levels and exploring areas you are curious about.
Bicycling is fast compared to walking, so you have access to a wonderful variety of landscapes.
The Lake Chapala area with surrounding towns Ajijic, Chapala and Jocotepec is surrounded by mountains and has a wealth of outdoor activities including biking – there are bike paths around the lake as well as in the mountains. https://www.wikiloc.com/trails/mountain-biking/mexico/jalisco/ajijic Has a great list of trails along with difficulty levels, average times and elevations.
“you are your own source of power, your own motor. Enjoying the rhythm of the ride, sweating and breathing, exercising body and mind”
La Primavera forest is a large forest area located in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Its location is west of the city of Guadalajara, sharing land between the municipalities of Zapopan, Tala and Tlajomulco de Zúñiga becoming the “lung” of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara and its surroundings. Since 1934 he has had several declarations as a federal and state protected forest zone, such as that granted in 1980 by President José López Portillo as a forest protection zone and wildlife refuge.
“I ride my bikes for transport, for training and exercise, for appreciating the parks and for fun”
The best areas for mountain biking in nature within the metro area are the Bosque de la Primavera, El Diente and the Barranca de Huentitan
The Barranca de Huentitan
The Barranca de Huentitán, is a canyon carved by the Río Grande de Santiago within the greater metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco on the edge of the municipalities of Tonalá, Zapotlanejo, Ixtlahuacán del Río and Zapopan in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area.
It includes approximately 2,810 acres and it has an average depth of 600 metres (2,000 ft). The difference in elevation between the rim of the canyon (1,520 metres (4,990 ft)) and the river (1,000 metres (3,300 ft)) is 520 metres (1,710 ft) at the point of a funicular. This canyon is also named Oblatos-Huentitán due to the areas in the city crossed by it, called Oblatos and Huentitán respectively.
Mountain biking and hiking around the Barranca is accessible for all levels although it can also be and usually is a huge challenge. We are very fortunate in Guadalajara to have such a huge bio-diverse area right within the metro area. I get to many routes within an hour bicycle ride to the Monumento de los Niños Heroes in Colonia Americana. Better yet put your bikes on a rack and access
Increasingly in Guadalajara we have good protected bicycle paths, we have the Sunday Via Recreactiva with 62 km. of car-free cycling, and other self-powered movement every sunday for 15 years now in the 4 municipalities of the Guadalajara Metropolitan area: Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tlaquepaque y Tonalá http://www.viarecreactiva.org/ The MiBici bike share program has been a tremendous success in promoting bicycle transport around the city: https://www.mibici.net/en/how-it-works/
Here are some places to locate great routes around our metro area: https://www.mapmyride.com/mx/guadalajara-jalisco/