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

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The Start. We got there early for a change!

 

 

 

 

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Ready to Roll in my SA cycling Jersey :-)

 

 

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After race refreshment area and the Podium . . .  which I didn't quite need this time!

 

 

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I've been doing some more exploring. This time I'm checking out some of the routes the EWS used when it was here . . .

 

Took a ride up a Pista (Stone Track) that goes "the back way" from the small town of Boltaña where we're living now, up towards the village of Campodarbe.

 

When the EWS was here the other week they climbed this pista on one of their stages. The views, as always, are amazing.

 

 

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Today was a lovely sunny late summer/early autumn day and this lunchtime I was out testing some new bits of route in preparation for guiding people.

 

Took the first pic up on the Ainsa Castle wall, then rode down a flight of steps afterwards. Second pic is a view point looking north towards the Pyrenees and France . . . beautiful as always.

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Yesterday I did a nice "local" ride from home which included the Zona Zero Route 5 climb out of the back of Ainsa up to the top of the "Partara". I've ridden it several times - it's not too long or too technical and there are some nice flat "recovery" segments, but the bits that go up, really do go up.

 

Great fun and there are several ways back down to try out . . . .  :-)

Edited October 25, 2018 by Bonus

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Plenty of sign posts around here! :-)

 

 

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Did a ride from Boltaña today that came along the river, looped through the Ainsa Castle and then climbed up to the "Partara". Wanted to see how much snow had fallen to the north. Low cloud hid most the tops of the mountains, but there's certainly some snow where the peaks were visible.

 

There are several descents from the Partara so I came down the "Partara Express" first time then did the climb again and came down the descent that was used in the recent Enduro World Series held in Ainsa in September.

 

Both descents are ace :-)

 

 

Check out the Relive video . . .

 

https://www.relive.cc/view/g26369463706

 

 

 

 

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When the Enduro World Series visited Ainsa in September a Jump was built at the end of Sundays Stage 7.

 

 

I see it's still there . . .

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Ainsa and the Pyrenees . . . it's not all about the trails and the singletracks.

 

Today I blew the cobwebs off the road bike and we went out for a spin. Beautiful weather, cool enough for arm warmers but warm enough for shorts! The drivers here are patient and courteous and, as always, the views were stunning . . . .

 

We're putting together a route that winds its way through the foothills of the Pyrenees and passes through some of our beautiful local villages . . . .

 

 

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What exactly is "Zona Zero" and where is it . . . ?

 

 

Zona Zero is the name given to an area on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees mountains that is home to a collection of around 1000 kilometers of signed and maintained MTB trails.

 

The name Zona Zero means "Ground Zero" in English. Zona Zero is considered to be the "Ground Zero of Mountain Biking" in this part of the world. 

 

Years ago, when Mountain Biking first became popular here, local youngsters used to ride their mountain bikes along the fire-break tracks, sheep trails and ancient footpaths of the area. Slowly but surely over those early years, lots of the little paths - or Caminos as they are known, were "bedded in" through regular use and joined together to form a network of trails. The "Asociacion de Amigos de los Caminos Tradicionales de Sobrabe" (the association of Friends of the Tradicional Paths of the Sobabe area) was formed to look after their upkeep.

 

Then around 10 years ago Spain (along with much of the rest of the world) entered a period of recession. Spain was hit hard and entered what is today referred to as "The Crisis". The bigger towns & the cities of Spain suffered, but the rural areas were hit especially hard. Testament as to how hard the rural areas were hit can be seen today when riding through the deserted and abandoned villages that litter the countryside. . . .

 

The story goes that a group of local businessmen, councillors and the members of the "Asociacion de Amigos de los Caminos Tradicionales de Sobrabe" sat down together one day to discuss what could be done to save the medieval town of Ainsa and it's neighbours from suffering the same fate as was happening to the rest of the country and whether the cycling trails could be a part of the solution. Ultimately, this is how Zona Zero was born.

 

Today Zona Zero is a large and professional operation. Bilingual staff in the office, new trails are being added all the time, accurate and easy to read maps are available in shops, hotels and tourist information offices and this year an App called "ZTrails" was released. Zona Zero has twice hosted a Round of the Enduro Series. In 2015 and again this year.

 

Geographically, Zona Zero is situated about mid way between the Mediterranean coast to the east and San Sebastian over on the west coast, and is 45km south of the French border.

 

Surrounded by beautiful scenery, mountains and valleys, fields and forests, rivers and lakes . .  and all covered in a web of trails, tracks and paths, winding between the many villages and hermitages of the area . . . . Truly a very nice place to live!

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Took this video in the middle of yesterdays ride from Boltaña up to the village of Campobarbe and back. 

 

A loop consisting of a nice 40 minute road climb, followed by 30 mins of XC followed by 20 mins of downhill!

 

Then 15 mins along the river to get home. 

 

https://youtu.be/lwAL-jNKxPw

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Second video from yesterday - some nice views from halfway down the singletrack descent.

 

https://youtu.be/E3b7iuZP-xI

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You can find us on Instagram . . . .

 

@tonymtbainsa

 

for more pictures and videos.

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Loving our little trip to New York..... But missing my bike and the mountains.

Normal service will be resumed next week when we're back in Spain.

 

Meanwhile, I'm seeing loads of bicycle couriers here in the city, but they are nearly all on E-Bikes.

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Back in Spain after a fairly chilly 10 days in the US.

 

The trails are looking good and the weather here is very nice at the moment. Sunny and dry. It's not hot, but it certainly isn't cold either.