April 11-12, 2016
A short ride to the local hot springs, making the hills along the way well worth it.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: Cardonal, Hidalgo, Mexico
Destination: Las Grutas La Gloria, Hidalgo, Mexico
25.0 km trip, 2:14 time, 60.2 km/h maximum speed, 11.1 km/h average speed
Route Description:
The day starts with a big climb up and the there is a big descent down. The Climb up is paved and the descent is not. There are incredible views and it takes you to La Gloria which is a hot springs area. It costs 100 pesos per person and that includes access to the park and the camping. It has a restaurant. The ride is worth it. You also have access to Tolantongo, which is on the other side of the river and includes the warm river although you must hike your bike as the path has many stairs. You must also pay to access the tourist parts of the other side across the bridge.
Accommodations:
Camping is included with your 100 peso per person fee to enter the hot springs park. There are also cabanas you can rent for a bit more money.
What happened…
Andrew writes: Hey, guess what was happening in Cardonal this morning when we went to leave? Absolutely nothing. What a shit town. Even at 0830hrs all of the stores were closed so we had to make do with what we had for the next day or two. Oh, and look, we spent a rest day here yesterday pulling out our hair at the horribly slow internet connection. There were nightly thundershowers to at least break up the monotony.
It was mostly flat riding out of Cardonal towards La Gloria until suddenly it wasn’t. We blasted down a wicked hill but then were faced with what I think is the hardest climb we have had in Mexico; probably the hardest since Jasper back in the Canadian Rockies. After the 6km climb the road disappeared and we had a 20-switchback descent down a dirt road down to Las Grutas La Gloria. I can’t really do the translation on what Las Grutas are, but basically it’s a series of hot springs built into the side of a mountain. We spent the entire afternoon hiking from one pool to the other. There is one pool, “La Gloria” that is 6m deep, and I would be lying if I said no way did we climb up onto the rocks and cannonball into the water below. Oh man, what a great way to relax, and laugh, and really, this is what the slow-roll cycle tour is all about, finding natural wonders like this, that normally you wouldn’t find or experience.
It’s going to be a hike-a-bike to get out of here in the morning though, but I’ll worry about that when I wake up, for now I’m off to soak in the warm river. Strangely enough, it advertises the river as being 38C, but no way is it that warm…maybe more like 28C. Ok, enough bickering, time to let these muscles unwind!
Amanda writes: As Andrew said the ride up was pretty tough … and rewarding. When you get to the top of climbs like this one it’s rewarding not just in the sense of the views but the feeling of accomplishment. Again I am really happy with the speed at which we all travel together. I ride pretty slow and when we combine picture stops and rests and my speed, we all seem to arrive at the top at about the same time.
The hot springs were amazing! What a little slice of paradise in the middle of Mexico. I’m so glad we decided to travel a bit North and follow Jean and Gareth on this adventure. We spent the afternoon trying out almost every little hot pool in on the mountainside and then set up our tents and played some cards. Getting out of here will be a bit of a work, but it’s worth it.