MEXICO CIT-E!

Rob Warner and Hans Rey explore the Central American capital via e-bike

- Hans Rey

"Hans, I've cancelled my flight!" read the message from Rob Warner, on the morning he was due to arrive in Mexico City. I almost lost the plot. After planning this trip for over a year and working with Shimano and others for months to ship our e-bike batteries over (as hazardous goods, they can't be taken on planes), I'd arrived one day ahead of Rob to get everything ready and had found that one of the batteries was the wrong model. I was confident we could borrow one, but he got the wrong end of the stick and cancelled. After convincing him to rebook his flight, he finally made it to Mexico, but his bike didn't. At this point I was ready to kill him! Rob missed the first day's riding, when our local guide and fixer Mau de Avila (@dabco_) took the rest of us - myself, my long-time cameraman Cedric Tassan and my photographer wife Carmen along some sweet bits of singletrack between the city's different neighbourhoods. These varied from run-down shanty towns to areas with glittering skyscrapers and fancy houses, showing the city's massive contrasts. After a stop for some delicious street burritos, we checked out Templo Mayor - the main temple of the Mexica people until the Spanish conquistadores replaced it with a cathedral - and found some incredible urban riding challenges in parks and squares.

Thankfully, Rob was finally able to join us on the next day, to ride the Nevado de Toluca, a giant volcano two hours west of the city. This was a highlight of our trip. After circumnavigating the two crater lakes, we popped over the rim for a breathtaking descent towards the valley below - breathtaking because of the views, the lack of air and the technicality of the downhill. Thankfully, Mau, also on an e-bike, turned out to be a fantastic rider.