Tuxtepec is hot. It sits barely above sea level on the banks of the Papaloapan River, in the steamy lowlands of northern Oaxaca, where the state reaches toward Veracruz and the Gulf coast, and in summer the air is so thick and humid you feel it on your skin as soon as you take off the helmet. With more than a hundred thousand people, San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec is the second city of Oaxaca and the commercial centre of the Papaloapan basin, surrounded by sugar cane, pineapple fields, pastures and banana groves.
The town has a lively market, riverside promenade and plenty of places to eat, and the food is distinctive: the cuisine of the Papaloapan basin mixes Oaxacan and Veracruz traditions, with river fish, tropical fruits and dishes cooked in banana leaves. Tuxtepec is also a good base for exploring the Chinantla region to the south, home to the Chinantec people, with rivers, waterfalls and dense forest.
For riders, Tuxtepec matters as the start or end of Federal Highway 175 over the Sierra Juárez to Oaxaca city, one of the great motorcycle roads of Mexico. It climbs from the hot lowlands through Valle Nacional, a lush valley of rivers and tropical vegetation, then up into cloud forest and pine forest, reaching altitudes of well over two thousand metres before dropping down to the dry, high valley of Oaxaca. The road is an endless series of curves, often tight and blind, with changing surfaces, landslides in the rainy season, fog in the mountains and slow trucks on the climbs. It takes most of a day to cover the distance, and it is not a road to rush.
Tuxtepec has plenty of fuel, food and accommodation, and it is the last reliable place for supplies before the climb. Fill up, eat, and leave early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat and to give yourself enough daylight for the mountains. The rainy season, from June to October, brings heavy downpours and makes the mountain road more dangerous. In the dry season, from November to May, the road is at its best, though the lowlands are still warm and the mountains can be cold at night.