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.
A 181 km round trip from Cuernavaca - roughly 3 h 05 in the saddle. It goes by way of Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc, Ancient Convent of the Nativity and back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,550 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
The Franciscans arrived in Cuernavaca in the 1520s, just a few years after the Spanish conquest, and the fortress like convent they built here, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, is now the city's cathedral. Its massive church, with walls thick enough for defence and an open chapel for preaching to crowds of indigenous converts, is one of the earliest sixteenth century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl listed as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Inside, murals uncovered in the twentieth century show the martyrdom of Christian missionaries in Japan in 1597, a striking reminder of how far the Franciscan world reached; one of the martyrs, Felipe de Jesús, was born in Mexico City.
Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio is where the day begins. Next is Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc.
Xochicalco sits on a terraced hilltop south-west of Cuernavaca, and from the top you understand immediately why someone built a city here: the view runs over the valleys of Morelos in every direction, to the lakes, the hills and, on a clear day, the snowy shoulders of Popocatépetl far to the east. The city rose after the fall of Teotihuacan, flourishing roughly between AD 650 and 900, a time of upheaval when fortified hilltop centres grew strong by controlling trade. It was protected by moats, walls and ramparts, and its people mixed influences from the Maya, the Gulf Coast and central Mexico in a way that makes it unique.
Read the complete Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ancient Convent of the Nativity.
Tepoztlán sits at the foot of a wall of jagged volcanic cliffs in northern Morelos, and on the highest ridge above town, a small Aztec pyramid, the Tepozteco, dedicated to the god of pulque, clings to the rock. Down in the town, the Dominican convent of the Nativity, built in the mid-sixteenth century, is one of the monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl listed by UNESCO in 1994. Its massive church, with a facade carved with angels, the sun and the moon, and a large atrium, is impressive, and the cloister has remains of colourful mural paintings. Part of the convent houses a museum.
Read the complete Ancient Convent of the Nativity write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 90 km into the recorded legs you reach Ancient Convent of the Nativity. Next is back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc, late in the day. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio. That is the ride.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio → Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc → Ancient Convent of the Nativity is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Convent of the Nativity → back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc → Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.