Spencer went down to Hermosillo, Mexico, for the inaugural Vuelta A Hermosillo, weekend gravel packed with dirt roads, rural Abarrotes, puppies, amazing food, and great company. The event, put on by Danial Diaz and Karla Robles, is worth a visit to Mexico in November. Read all about it below…

Around 2014, I started taking random dirt roads I’d come across on rides to the outskirts of my hometown, Hermosillo, in the Mexican state of Sonora. My only bike at the time was an ’80s road bike with 700 x 32 tires, so riding on dirt was rough – I had to walk sections more than once – but rather than feeling discouraged, I had a lot of fun doing it. I was initially just looking for a peaceful place to eat the food I’d packed, but I also noticed how much less traffic there was on these roads; I could focus on the ride instead of constantly looking over my shoulder.

The years passed, and I made friends willing to venture onto unpaved roads on skinny-tired bikes – my now-wife Karla being one of them. We were three guys on steel road bikes and Karla on a more modern hybrid that cleared 38s with room to spare (we knew she was onto something). Then the word “gravel” started being thrown around to describe what we’d apparently been doing all along. At some point I riffed on the logo of the legendary Cuban band Buena Vista Social Club, and the Sonora Gravel Social Club was born. Recently, we were recounting this story to a friend and she asked: where are those bikes now? Well, save for Karla’s – which she sold – the other three frames are all broken. I still have mine, convinced I only need to replace the fork to bring it back to life, though I see absolutely no reason to ever ride 32s again.

After more explorations, we began piecing together 30-50 km loops, which we eventually found ways to connect. In August 2020, I mapped the final connector needed to close a bigger loop – one that incorporated all the others – totaling just over 120 km, the majority of it offroad. It went unnamed for a couple of years until, drawing inspiration from road stage races, we called it “La Vuelta a Hermosillo,” since the route traces the edge of the city.

Karla and I had long talked about opening the route up for a group start, so in November 2024 we put together a beta edition of La Vuelta a Hermosillo as a weekend event, with three friends from Mexico City and a handful of locals serving as our testers. The feedback was positive, and we decided that for November 2025 we would generate a bit more buzz while keeping it 100% self-supported. The itinerary went something like this:

Weekend Schedule

• Friday night: meet up at a local bike shop (shoutout to Double Black Workshop for opening up their doors throughout the weekend) for a quick Q&A about the routes, then a talk with our very special guests Eli and Mali from Básica Estudio, a frame building and community bike shop in México City that we’ve documented here on The Radavist. We intended to have two more speakers: a bag maker from Tijuana who couldn’t make it due to a job opportunity, and a local downhill rider who had a significant accident on her motorcycle days prior to the event (she made it out fine but still needed to stay home); both were justifiably excused.
• Saturday: warm up/test your bike ride on 40 km of sometimes rocky, sometimes sandy, almost all rideable dirt road around a dam. A classic weekend ride for Hermosillo locals.
• Sunday: La Vuelta a Hermosillo, 120 km (75 miles) with about 500 meters (1640 ft) of elevation, around 75% offroad, with options to cut down to 40, 60, 80, and 100 km. One of our favorite aspects of this route is that it’s a choose your own challenge kinda ride where you decide whether to continue or go home around every 20 km.

Having provided some context, I’ll let someone who came from out of town to the event take it from here. Here’s Spencer’s view of the Vuelta…

Spencer’s Vuelta

I had been meaning to visit Dani and Karla for years. They’d made regular trips up to Tucson for rides and hangouts, and I kept telling myself I’d make the trip down. When I saw them formally organizing a weekend of rides around their home city of Hermosillo, I knew it was time. Even better, I could just jump in a car with some friends from Tucson and skip the logistics entirely. Count me in.

Right off the top, I’ll say that Hermosillo surprised me and won me over easily. The food was incredible at every turn. We found a surprising number of vegan options for our plant-based crew. There was also locally made ice cream, incredible fish tacos, and some of the best vegan tacos I’ve ever had. The riding was great, but honestly, the food alone is reason enough to make the trip.

Friday night, we gathered at Double Black Workshop for talks by two of the attendees. First up was Eli de Bicla from Básica Estudio in Mexico City, speaking about her experience as a frame builder. The second speaker was Mali Nua of Somos Bicis, a nonprofit bike co-op also based in Mexico City.

We were greeted by a chorus of friendly farm dogs as we unloaded for Saturday morning’s warm-up ride. We set off early, as temperatures were forecast to climb past 90°F. The route wound through rural farms, over rocky passes, and across wide sandy riverbeds. Midway through, we fell into a snack vortex at a roadside abarrotes, which was equally popular with the local dogs. If you’ve done any touring in Mexico, you know the simple pleasure of a bag of salty chips and a cold Coke from a hole-in-the-wall store. The ride finished with everyone working together to navigate cattle fences and skirt the edge of a large reservoir.

Sunday morning was the main event. Staring down another hot, exposed day, most of our group opted for the shorter 80 km route, which still let us roll out with everyone for the group breakfast (another outstanding meal). With a few cups of café de olla in my system, we made our way through the local farmland, even spotting a group of Crested Caracaras (I wasn’t quick enough for photos).

We pushed deeper into increasingly remote terrain south of Hermosillo, dotted with spectacular cacti and sweeping desert vistas. I was genuinely sad to peel off before the longer route, which looked to venture into even more remote riding. But with the sun bearing down, the pull of ice cream and fish tacos pointed me back toward the city.

My trip to Hermosillo was a few years overdue, but I’m so glad I finally made it. It’s easy to forget how many incredible places are just a few hours south of Tucson. I’m already looking forward to going back this fall for the full Vuelta – and to make a proper dent in Hermosillo’s mountain bike trails.

If you are curious about more riding in Mexico, then I’d keep an eye out for the 2026 Vuelta A Hermosillo announced by the Sonoran Gravel Social Club.