Mountain Biking in Quito Ecuador, mountain biking trails, mountain biking tour operators in Quito Ecuador, and more like Quito hotels, hostals, haciendas, Quito city tours, quito restaurants, quito entertainment and night life, quito news and more.

The shoulders of Pichincha volcano and the Metropolitan park (the largest urban park in South America), to the north of the city, offer mountain bikers extreme experiences while doing cross-country and downhill biking.

The advantages of mountain biking are many. It allows you to have contact with nature that surrounds the city and is an excellent way to see Quito and the surrounding areas. The sport is exciting, fights stress and is not very expensive.

Bicycles can be rented or bought in numerous places within Quito. The quality between bicycles varies a lot, so it is recommended to check the bicycle very well before renting it.

Some travel agencies offer special programs with complete service and organize great routes in different parts of the country and with a variety of levels of difficulty.

Ecuadorian geography and its ample mountainous system make of Quito an ideal place for bicycling. The different terrains that you can find are: long rides, crossing the country, competition, long or short or specialized downhill trips.

For down hillers, the Andes offers a unique opportunity. Just two hours from Quito, Cotopaxi is an excellent place to make long descents (up to 3000 meters) or if you prefer you can choose other mountains, which will lead you to the humid forest of the Amazon.

In Quito you can obtain detailed maps of routes to make long runs that offer the cyclist slopes of all kinds and the opportunity to enjoy beautiful landscapes. These maps can be bought in the Military Geographic Institute, near the Catholic University, on the 12th of October avenue.

It is always necessary to plan long bicycle trips well and prepare yourself properly to prevent accidents that will ruin your trip. In other words, it is necessary to plan your route ahead of time and to always have your basic implements handy, like an extra wheel, screwdriver, nuts and air pump.

Another useful advice is to avoid main highways (Pan-American or the Occidental, avenue) and avoid dark places, especially within Quito.

For more information within the city, it is always possible to go to the store Biketech, located on the 6th of December Avenue, between Gaspar de Villaroel and Telégrafo, where groups of cyclist gather. Finding groups like this in Quito could help and be the difference between just biking through Ecuador or really enjoying by bicycle.

SOURCES

• Varied publications of the Ministry of Tourism (informative and flyers, magazines, guides, books).
• Publications by the Bureau of Conventions in Quito.
• Guides of the Bureau of Conventions of Quito.
• Information center of Captur (flyers).
• Equateur, guide of AOM French Airlines.
• Living in Ecuador. Chamber of Commerce Ecuadorian-American.
• www.lineajoven.com, magazine, nº2.