The silver carts of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro needed to cross streams on the high plain between Mexico City and Zacatecas, and at Ojuelos, in the northeast corner of Jalisco, a stone bridge was built in colonial times to carry the road. It is part of the World Heritage listing of the royal road, along with the historic centre of Ojuelos, which grew around a presidio, a fort built to protect travellers on the road from the Chichimec peoples who resisted Spanish expansion.
The country here is high and open, at around two thousand two hundred metres, a land of grassland, nopal cactus and mesquite, with fields of maize and beans and wide skies. It is part of Los Altos, the highlands of Jalisco, a region known for ranching, rodeo, charrería and cheese. The winds can be strong, and the nights cold even in summer.
The riding here is about wide horizons rather than curves: long, straight roads across the plateau, with little traffic, few towns and big skies. Highway 70 and Highway 51 link Ojuelos with San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes and León. Surfaces vary, and topes appear at the entrance of every village. Watch for livestock on the road, especially at dusk.
Ojuelos de Jalisco, eighteen kilometres away, is a town of about twelve thousand with fuel, food and simple hotels. Its colonial centre, with a plaza, a church and the presidio, is pleasant for a stroll. Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí are large cities a couple of hours away. The area is quiet, but check local advice on security before travelling and ride in daylight.
Spend a moment on the bridge and think about the traffic it once carried: long trains of mule and ox carts, soldiers, friars, merchants and families heading north to the mining frontier, sometimes for months at a time. The presidios along the route were the anchors of that journey, and towns like Ojuelos grew from the need for water, rest and protection. Many of the place names along the old road still remember those stages. Try the local cheeses, birria, a spiced meat stew, and the tortillas made by hand in small restaurants.