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.
From Xochimilco it runs 138 km to Xochimilco; allow about 3 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: Central University City Campus of the Univ, Historic centre of the city of México, Historic Centre of Mexico City and back through Central University City Campus of the Univ. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Before the Spanish arrived, the Valley of Mexico was a land of lakes, and the people who lived around them developed an ingenious way to farm the water. They built chinampas, artificial islands of mud and vegetation anchored by willow trees, separated by canals, and grew maize, beans, squash and flowers on them. In Xochimilco, in the south of Mexico City, a remnant of that world survives, with a network of canals and chinampas that is still farmed and navigated today. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco, and the most famous image of the area is the trajinera, a brightly painted flat-bottomed boat that carries visitors along the canals, often accompanied by mariachi bands and floating food stalls.
Read the complete Xochimilco 2 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Xochimilco 2 is where the day begins. Next is Central University City Campus of the Univ.
The main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, known as Ciudad Universitaria, is one of the great architectural achievements of the twentieth century. Built between 1949 and 1952 on a field of lava from the ancient eruption of the Xitle volcano, in the south of Mexico City, it brought together dozens of architects, engineers and artists to create a modern campus that would blend international modernism with Mexican traditions. Its most famous building is the Central Library, a tall block covered entirely in a mosaic by Juan O'Gorman, depicting the history of Mexico from pre-Hispanic times to the modern era. UNESCO listed the campus in 2007.
Read the complete Central University City Campus of the Univ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central University City Campus of the Univ comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historic centre of the city of México.
Under the paving of the Zocalo there is a lake bed, and under that, the island city of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs founded it in the fourteenth century on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco, linked it to the shore with causeways and filled the lake with floating gardens, and when Hernan Cortes arrived in 1519 he found a city larger and cleaner than any in Spain. After the conquest in 1521 the Spaniards drained the lake, built their cathedral on the ruins and began a new capital, and the result is the layered centre we see today. The Metropolitan Cathedral, a huge, ponderous baroque pile that took nearly three centuries to finish, leans noticeably, because the ground beneath it is soft clay, and engineers have spent decades trying to stop it sinking unevenly.
Read the complete Historic centre of the city of México write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 35 km into the recorded legs you reach Historic centre of the city of México.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central University City Campus of the Univ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Central University City Campus of the Univ, about halfway. Next is Historic Centre of Mexico City.
The Zócalo, the vast main square of Mexico City, is one of the largest public squares in the world, and standing in it you are at the centre of over seven hundred years of history. This was the heart of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, built on an island in Lake Texcoco and home to perhaps two hundred thousand people when the Spanish arrived in 1519. After the conquest, Hernán Cortés's men built their new city directly on top of the ruins, using the stones of the temples to construct churches and palaces. The historic centre, together with the canals of Xochimilco to the south, was listed by UNESCO in 1987.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Mexico City write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Centre of Mexico City sits at 68 km, about halfway. Next is back through Central University City Campus of the Univ.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central University City Campus of the Univ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ comes up about 86 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Historic centre of the city of México.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic centre of the city of México write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 105 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Historic centre of the city of México.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central University City Campus of the Univ write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ, late in the day. Next is Xochimilco 2.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xochimilco 2 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 138 km.
Xochimilco 2 → Central University City Campus of the Univ is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central University City Campus of the Univ → Historic centre of the city of México is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic centre of the city of México → Central University City Campus of the Univ is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central University City Campus of the Univ → Historic Centre of Mexico City is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Mexico City → back through Central University City Campus of the Univ is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ → back through Historic centre of the city of México is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic centre of the city of México → back through Central University City Campus of the Univ is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ → Xochimilco 2 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.