CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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A 279 km round trip from Cuernavaca - roughly 5 h 00 in the saddle. The stops in between: Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc, Ancient Convent of the Nativity, Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th and back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th. 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 24 km in. 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.
48 km in you reach Ancient Convent of the Nativity. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
Tlayacapan lies in the north of Morelos, among dry hills, with Popocatépetl, the smoking volcano, standing in the distance. Its convent of San Juan Bautista is one of a number of fortress-like monasteries built by Augustinian, Franciscan and Dominican friars in the sixteenth century, within a few decades of the Spanish conquest, and they are among the earliest European buildings in the Americas. UNESCO listed the group in 1994. The church has a plain, heavy front and an open-air chapel, where the friars preached to crowds who were not yet used to indoor services.
Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th, about halfway.
In the 1530s and 1540s, Augustinian friars arrived in the valleys below Popocatépetl to convert the local population, and they built churches that look half like cathedrals and half like castles. The convent of San Juan Bautista in Yecapixtla is one of the finest: a tall, fortress-like church with crenellated walls, a striking Gothic rose window over the entrance and a vast atrium where the indigenous congregation gathered for open-air services. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, a group of fourteen convents across Morelos and Puebla.
Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th sits at 96 km, about halfway. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th comes up 119 km in. Next is back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient Convent of the Nativity write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
143 km in you reach back through 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.
The route ends here after 279 km.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio → Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc is 19 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 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Convent of the Nativity → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity → back through Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc is 39 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 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.