The Pyrenees - Road, MTB & Enduro Riding, Trail Building, Iconic GT Climbs & Nearby Attractions....

[Bonus]

I must say, Golfo, Lolita and Lily don't look too impressed with the "Christmas Antlers"!

[Bonus]

Back in November I did a couple of rides with some new friends we made who were over from Scotland.

 

These pics were taken at the top of Zona Zero Route 4 Light - The Muro de Roda (The Wall of Roda).

 

The views are fantastic, the climb is not too hard and the descent is very enjoyable.

 

Here's me and my friend Mark (or "The Large Child" as I tend to refer to him)

Edited January 11, 2018 by Bonus

[Bonus]

We're having some spectacular clear sunny days here at Zona Zero and around Guaso generally. There can occasionally be a sharp wind but nothing like the weather a north west Spain is currently suffering!

 

Apparently next week will be colder, but they often say that and it doesn't materialize. We will see I guess :-)

[Bonus]

One of the things we'd like to be able to do once our B&B is up and running (See our Hub-Thread  "Bonus & Wendy's Big Adventure"!), is help our cycling guests to find their way around the trails, roads and caminos of the area and of Zona Zero in particular, safely and competently.

 

We'd like people visiting here to make the most of their time, on and off the bike. There is so much to see and do.

 

With that in mind I'm looking at getting myself a Guiding Certification with European approval.

 

Will post my progress through the in's and out's of Spanish bureaucracy and red tape as I go . . . . .

 

Wish me luck :-)

[Bonus]

I'm was so happy to see my friend Angel Cheliz receive an award this weekend. He has been one of the main driving forces responsible for creating from scratch the hundreds of km's long collection of MTB/Enduro trails that we now know as "Zona Zero".

 

 

"On Sunday February 4 in Boltaña, Ángel Chéliz received the "Cruz de Sobrarbe" (The Sobrabe Cross).

 

For us, the prize awarded to Angel Cheliz is very special. A visionary, a child in an adults body that never stops dreaming, to see beyond what the...ir eyes reach. Surely we are not the only ones to be grateful to him and his "comrades in battle" at the Pyrenees MTB Center, Zone Zero. For the passion he has instilled in much of this territory and its future. THANK YOU.

 

There goes our little tribute."

 

 

 

[Bonus]

Guiding in Spain - the basic requirements:

 

I mentioned before that I was looking into getting myself a Guiding Certificate so that we could show visitors around "Safely & Legally". This Is what I've found out so far:

 

1) You need a Guiding Qualification with "European Approval".

2) You need a current "Outdoor First Aid Certificate"

3) You need Public Liability Insurance.

 

I'll be posting about what each of these involves over the next few mornings :-) 

[Bonus]

My son is over from the UK for a few days and thankfully the snow and rain we had last week have gone away.

 

Today we walked some of the trails I'm busy building on Ramon the Farmers land. Did a bit of cleaning up and cleared some of my drainage ditches. It's looking ok, despite the fact that I haven't given it much attention since we started building our garden walls and terracing our sloping back garden.

 

It's good news for me that I can ignore my trails for weeks or even months if necessary and they don't fall apart while my back is turned!

[Bonus]

Had a nice afternoon clearing out the rainwater drainage ditches that I dug last year.

 

After Fridays heavy rain I was able to see where the ditches were working and where they weren't. Thankfully I had got it mostly right first time around last year, so only a bit of adjustment to do.

 

Once the channels into the new ditches are in the right place, they pretty much keep themselves clean after heavy rainfall!

 

Working drains means dry trails! :-)

Edited March 12, 2018 by Bonus

[svm3000]

Hi I want to plan a ride from east to west across the Pyrenees I do believe there is a MTB trail does anyone know where I can get the GPX file to download to the Garmin

[Bonus]

Hi I want to plan a ride from east to west across the Pyrenees I do believe there is a MTB trail does anyone know where I can get the GPX file to download to the Garmin

That might be the Trans Pirenean (give or take a bit) I'll see what I can find out.

[svm3000]

Correct Bonus I am keen to ride that , if you can find me a GPX route that will be awesome

What is the weather like normally end May 1st week June

[Bonus]

Correct Bonus I am keen to ride that , if you can find me a GPX route that will be awesome

What is the weather like normally end May 1st week June

Where we are, last year it was really nice in May and in June the Summer arrived early.

I'll see if any of my buddies have a Trans GPX.

[Bonus]

I have a GPX file for you to look at . . .

Edited March 17, 2018 by Bonus

[Bonus]

Would love to get to Stage 6 of the " Volta Ciclista a Catalunya" on Saturday.

 

It's going to pass here about 40km away. Just depends on work & weather!

[Bonus]

The weather here is driving us nuts at the moment!

We had a long almost entirely dry winter. It got colder much sooner at the end of last year than it did the year before. Winter came early - November was sunny but chilly :-(
It was fine for riding though - just had to wrap up, and although it was cold, it wasn't wet and muddy. In fact it was so dry that the percentage levels of how full the various dams and lakes in Spain were, got down to the low teens.

Where we are living, "Spring" seems to be constantly flicking between two states - one day it's 20 degrees & sunny and we see people on bikes all over - the next day it's raining all day, the trails are wet and muddy and no one is to be seen anywhere!

In the last few weeks in other parts of Spain there has been so much rain that some of the major rivers are now flooding through towns and villages. Thankfully we're fine where we are, although we've had a fair bit of rain come down in the last two weeks ourselves.

Today it's sunny again, yesterday I worked in waterproof clothes because it rained hard all day long! Living in the foothills of the mountains certainly makes life interesting . . .

:-)

Edited April 14, 2018 by Bonus

[Matchstix]

send some of the rain to cape town