CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
278 km from La Cieneguita to La Cieneguita, about 4 h 57 of riding. On the way it passes Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist, Former hacienda of Chichimequillas, Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro and Historic centre of the city of San Juan de. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
The map gives this stop a name, the Bridge of San Rafael, and a spot on the edge of the valley of the Río Laja, west of San Miguel de Allende, close to the small settlement of La Cieneguita. What I can say is how a bridge like this fits the country. San Miguel stands on the slopes above the Laja, a river that wanders across the highland plateau of the Bajío, and for centuries the traffic of mule trains, wagons and pilgrims had to cross it somewhere. A stone bridge on a colonial road is a small, sturdy thing, of arches and cutwaters, and it is often older than anything else for miles.
Read the complete Bridge of San Rafael write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Bridge of San Rafael is where the day begins. Next is Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist.
North of the city of Querétaro, the land rises into dry hills dotted with cactus, mesquite and the remains of old haciendas. These estates were the economic engines of colonial Mexico, producing grain, livestock and pulque for the cities and mines of the north. The chapel of the former Hacienda of Buenavista stands in this landscape near the village of the same name, close to Santa Rosa Jáuregui, and it is part of the UNESCO-listed Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
Read the complete Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Former hacienda of Chichimequillas.
On the high, dry plain northeast of Querétaro, the village of Chichimequillas grew up around an old hacienda, one of the many great estates that lined the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Inland Road that connected Mexico City with Santa Fe, in what is now New Mexico, for nearly three centuries. Silver, mercury, cloth, livestock, missionaries and soldiers travelled this route, and haciendas like this one supplied food, water and rest. The route was listed by UNESCO in 2010 as a series of sites, and the hacienda is one of them; its old buildings, chapel and walls hint at the wealth and power once concentrated here.
Read the complete Former hacienda of Chichimequillas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Former hacienda of Chichimequillas. Next is Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro.
Santiago de Querétaro's skyline is defined by its aqueduct, seventy-four tall stone arches striding across a valley into the city, built in the early eighteenth century at the expense of the Marqués de la Villa del Villar del Águila to bring fresh water from the hills. Legend says he did it for love of a nun; the more prosaic version says he wanted to improve public health. Either way, it is one of the great engineering works of colonial Mexico, and the view of the arches at dusk, lit up against the sky, is unforgettable.
Read the complete Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro, about halfway. Next is Historic centre of the city of San Juan de.
San Juan del Río grew up as a stop on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal road that ran north from Mexico City to the silver mines of Zacatecas and on to Santa Fe in New Mexico, and its historic centre is one of the sites along that route listed by UNESCO in 2010. For centuries, mule trains, wagons and travellers passed through here, stopping at inns and crossing the river on the stone bridge built in the early eighteenth century, which still stands. The centre has plazas, churches, convents and colonial houses of pink and grey stone, and a relaxed provincial atmosphere, despite the city's growth as an industrial centre.
Read the complete Historic centre of the city of San Juan de write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic centre of the city of San Juan de sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro comes up about 192 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Former hacienda of Chichimequillas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 218 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas. Next is back through Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist, late in the day. Next is Bridge of San Rafael.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bridge of San Rafael write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 278 km.
Bridge of San Rafael → Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist → Former hacienda of Chichimequillas is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Former hacienda of Chichimequillas → Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro → Historic centre of the city of San Juan de is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic centre of the city of San Juan de → back through Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro → back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas → back through Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chapel of the former hacienda of Buenavist → Bridge of San Rafael is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.