Bonus Posted January 6, 2019 Share Zona Zero Maxi Avalanche 1 and 2 - Starting point . . . From here there are several routes down the mountain: Maxi Avalanche 1 & 2, Zona Zero Route ZZ-07 "The Route Bajo Peñas" and Stage 1 and Stage 2 of this years Enduro World Series Race. We ride up when we ride down these descents, but there's also the option of getting "uplifts" with local taxi companies. JohanDiv, Duane_Bosch and DJR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted January 11, 2019 Share Today we rode Zona Zero Route 47 starting and finishing in Tierrantona. It's a 26.5km circuit that climbs a total of 964m (3162 feet), takes in the two villages of "Charo" & "El Humo de Muro", climbs to the Hermitige of San Salvador on its first climb and the Muro de Roda Castle on it's second climb, includes a kilometre of "almost dry" river bed and has some really nice technical descents! On these rides, you can never capture the true awesomeness of the views and the mountains. I always try, but I never feel hat the pictures really reflect what's actually up there . . . anyway, here you go . . . Edited January 11, 2019 by Bonus RossW, Blokman and DJR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted January 16, 2019 Share Did a ride today called the "Ruta de Piojos" - The Lice Route. Only 34.2km long but included 1296m of climbing - the joys of living in the mountains! The route is named after an old Inn "el Meson de Piojos" whose ruins still sit up in the mountains just off the trail. The story is that in the common bedrooms, the beds were so close together that if one traveller arrived with lice, by tomorrow morning everyone had them! The ride starts out of Boltaña on a nicely maintained track towards the village of San Pietro with a 50minute climb that rises around 600m in 7km, so you need to pace yourself. After that the climbs are spread through the ride, so not too hectic. There are sections of very nice but quite technical singletrack along the ridge, then comes some fast sweet singletrack down through the woods and then some "Black" descents down towards the village of San Vicente. Filled up my water bottles there at the natural spring and then it was up and over the last hill back to Boltaña. A great day out! Grey Hubs, Albatross, RossW and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted January 20, 2019 Share MTB is in the workshop for a bit of TLC so I'll be posting some details and photo's from road rides this following week. Pyreneen Cols and Valleys . . . looking forward to it. RossW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted January 27, 2019 Share Up at the "Muro de Roda" a few days before the cold front arrived. There are several routes that pass through this castle and they are all worth the climb - the views are amazing. Albatross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted January 31, 2019 Share This month saw the birth of Ainsas very own Cycling Club! The "Club Ciclista Zona Zero" was created and adopted its constitution at a meeting in mid January. The club will cater for Men & Women Road and MTB riders of all ages and as well as organising the usual rides, it will also arrange rides specifically for Ladies, rides for Children and Social/Family rides. We've joined the club and we're looking forward to an exciting year ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 3, 2019 Share Yesterday we spent the day in Binefar (a town nearby) attending a First Aid course presented by the Red Cross. It's a 20hr course spread over three Saturdays and covers all the usual stuff. We've both done first aid courses before, but some things have changed a bit and you need to have an up to date certificate for your MTB guiding license to be valid. It's all in Spanish but we speak enough Spanish (and remember enough from previous courses) to follow it without any problems. The course instructor speaks a bit of English too, so anything important or new that we don't get, we can check with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 5, 2019 Share Some time ago I explained how "Zona Zero", the 1000 odd kilometre network of MTB Trails that we live in the middle of, came into being. . . . A group of local business owners, working in conjunction with local councillors & authorities, realised that they needed to do something pro-active if they were to prevent their towns and villages from following the existing downward trend of declining business and de-population. . . . Their ideas have worked. The town of Ainsa and its surrounding villages all benefit from the income generated by visitors to Zona Zero. Roads & services to remote long-abandoned villages are being installed/re-installed and properties are being renovated & repaired. It's a big job and it's going to take some time to finish, but it is happening and we are a part of it! This article is in Spanish, but the high-lights are that it addresses the problems faced by people who live in remote areas of Aragon (the region we live in), suggests some methods of making life easier for those people and gives Zona Zero as a good example of what can be achieved. Great news for us all - and a testament to the hard work and devotion of the people who had the vision to come up with this and make their ideas a reality. https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/aragon/2019/02/05/francisco-boya-los-pueblos-montana-hay-que-ponerles-las-cosas-mas-faciles-1290926-300.html?fbclid=IwAR1QLlRI3N6IpCzFEjp_aIyLXkYdnFVMIE_pP_l8tjrD7DUTrfWhoPyTB60 Sparky and the Warden 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 7, 2019 Share There are several Zona Zero routes out of Ainsa - this one heads south up a trail that passes the Vultures Dining Room, heads up to the Partara viewing point and then down the Partara Express!. People rarely stop and look over their shoulders when they climb this trail, so they miss this view. Part of my job as a guide is to tell people when to stop and look behind them :-) #lovemyjob! Duane_Bosch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane_Bosch Posted February 7, 2019 Share My Fiance and I are looking at doing a trip out your way next year. Summer Time. We are looking at basing ourselves in Lourdes for 5 days. Tackle 4 TDF climbsHautacam, Tourmalet, Abisque and Luz Ardiden are currently on the list. Then make our way over to Girona and do so riding around there. Bonus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 7, 2019 Share My Fiance and I are looking at doing a trip out your way next year. Summer Time. We are looking at basing ourselves in Lourdes for 5 days. Tackle 4 TDF climbsHautacam, Tourmalet, Abisque and Luz Ardiden are currently on the list. Then make our way over to Girona and do so riding around there. Luz-Saint-Sauveur is only about an hour and a half from us I think. Just tried to check with an on-line route planner but it won't let me select our normal route because the tunnel into France is currently closed due to snow! I'd have to use the SatNav in the car to be sure - it doesn't know what the weather is doing :-) Feel free to pop in if you pass this way! Duane_Bosch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arries87 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Loving this thread! Keep it up! Bonus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 23, 2019 Share In December I had the chance to ride with a young French rider who has some sponsorship and is turning Pro. He had arranged with Pedro, a local pro photographer in Ainsa, to do a photo-shoot for him and they asked me along. We used a bike shuttle to uplift to some nice locations and spent a couple of hours riding and "posing"! Arries87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 23, 2019 Share Riding from the mountaintop village of Tella down to the village of Hospital . . . Albatross and Arries87 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 23, 2019 Share When you love what you do . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonus Posted February 23, 2019 Share Trying to keep the speed up . . . . RossW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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