Friday, March 21, 2008


Hey there amigos,
I hope everyone's doing well. We're still kickin' arse and taking names down here. Its Semana Santa craziness time in Guatemala and we're all in full swing. This is the time of year when the Gallo swilling heathens and the sweet lord baby Jesus seem to co-exist in a haze of Churrasco and Copal incense smoke and where religious fervor is rivaled only by the spring break style partying.
Luckily for us here at O.T.O it means we're running full tilt greasing single track all over this great country. Here's a shot of yours truly out at Lake Atitlan a few days ago. It doesn't get much sweeter than this. Thats my office a few days a week and I'm certainly not complaining I didn't get the corner office with a view. We're gearing up for a good fun summer season and even looking to expand/explore a few new rides. Got a hankering for sometime fresh, come hang with us in Antigua and we'll show ya the goods.
See a on the trail,
Mateo
Photo credit Patrice Halley. Visit his site at Patricehalley.com

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Taking the dog for a walk


Had a nice time this afternoon taking the pooch for a walk. This normally means a leash and a trip to the park for most. For us however this was a trip up into the hills on a mountain bike with chela doing her best to clog the trail in front of me. I'm not sure why I thought this was going to be 1 a good idea, or 2 fun. But I gave it a go riding the trail with chela on my back. Surprinsingly enough she was able to hang on for quite some way. At any rate, hope you got out this afternoon, even if just to the park.

Hasta luego,

Mateo

Monday, March 10, 2008

Lake Atitlan Slick Rock Trail

Tomorrow our the Mountain Biking crew from Sacred Rides will be joining us for this chunk of Trail. An amazing descent from a trail-head near Solola to Panajachel on beautiful Lake Atitlan. Quite a ride!

El Hato Training Ride

Upon joining the team at Old Town I discovered I needed a little training to get me up to speed for the local climbs. The x-country mountain biking here in Antigua, Guatemala is pretty amazing but the climbs can be large. Training is key. This little ride, the El Hato Training Ride includes a good size climb; about 1/2 an hour or 40 minutes to the town of El Hato. From El Hato, a nice chunk of single track drops you back into San Felipe just outside Antigua. It's the perfect little training ride.

It just so happens this classic trail ride was technical enough to buck me on camera, making this a classic mountain biking video. You don't always get a good digger on camera! Happy to oblige y'all.

Enjoy, Tim!

Santa Cat Trail

In case you were wondering what some of Guatemala's premiere Mountain Biking looks like! Here's a little video The Old Town crew shot on the trail recently. The Sacred Rides Crew joined Matt and Luisa on this trail yesterday. If you are a mountain bike rider and plan on visiting Guatemala you should consider catching this chunk of trail and drop in to beautiful Lake Atitlan.

On The Trail with Sacred Rides


We're out on the trail now with the lads from Sacred Rides, a mountain bike touring company based out of the Toronto Area. Once from the interior of BC in Fernie, Sacred Rides is looking to branch out and partner up with Old Town. So we're giving them a taste of what Guate has to offer. Keep tuned into BIKE magazine to see the fruits of out labor.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

New Old Town Blog!

After much time the new Old Town blog spot is up. Follow us on our adventures around Guatemala as we ride, paddle, trek, camp, and climb all over this great place.