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

[Odinson]

Lucky bugger! I'm freezing my ass off here up in Belgium.

 

The Pyrenees sound like a good destination for some summer '17 riding.

[Bonus]

What is Zona-Zero in Ainsa?

 

 

This summary from an article on the "BikeMagic" website sums it up nicely . . . .

 

"There is a small but devoted scene of local mountain bikers, unlike any we are used to in the UK. Riders of all shapes and sizes share the hillside and the sport brings the townsfolk together in riding and maintaining the ever-growing number of trails.

 

The local government made the forward-thinking decision to signpost and advertise the area as a mountain bike trail centre and it is now growing in popularity amongst Spaniards and foreign tourists alike.

 

Trails vary from short loops around the town to epic descents from high up in the Pyrenees mountains, which sit as a backdrop to the town. All the rides are clearly detailed on a trail map and are well marked with coloured wooden posts and signs. The longer rides are reasonably arduous but never venture a huge distance from civilisation, so it’s easy to return to town or to a tar road if necessary.

 

From up high, rocky traces of singletrack negotiate steep mountainsides with an epic backdrop of cliffs and in springtime snow too. These longer trails really are fantastically adventurous and take you on a journey from summit to valley encountering every terrain imaginable in-between, along with tiny traditional hamlets and rest-stops along the way.

 

Expect dusty rollercoasters down low and sometimes precarious singletrack up high. But above all, be ready for an adventure to remember"

 

These trails are what we call "Zona-Zero" . . . .

[Bonus]

Zona-Zero was host to Stage 7 of the Enduro World Series 2015

 

 

[Bonus]

It's been a busy week and sadly I've been neglecting my riding and trail maintenance lately.

 

On Thursday I did manage to join Angel from "Zona-Zero" though and we did some trail-clearing out near Route ZL-004, which is one of the "Light" routes. This particular one is near the "Muro de Roda" which is a very old castle up on a hill. The plan is to clear several old paths and cut a few new ones in the area to form a network of trails with Route 004 as the "Base route".

 

The weather has turned a little colder but was still pleasant. It won't mean much to the folks in SA but the Hubs European posters will appreciate this picture of me just 10 days before Christmas  . . . .

[Bonus]

Been busy exploring and managed to pick up a little bit of mud crossing a farmers field . . . after a long dry summer I'm not used to this!

[Bonus]

First week of January and between around 11am and 4pm the weather really is beautiful!

 

Checking out more local trails for the bike and soaking up the winter sunshine . . . .

[Bonus]

This week I am trail-building.

 

Working on a very special project which I am very excited about :-)

 

details to follow . . . . .

[Bonus]

Lots of cross-country walking this week - searching for old overgrown pathways and checking out potential routes.

 

I found a couple of small ponds and started to trace a small local stream back to its underground source. Not quite found it yet and today it's raining - which confuses the issue somewhat!

[Bonus]

Some pictures of work on our "Bike Park" as mentioned in the "Bonus & Wendy's Big Adventure" thread:

 

Ramon the Friendly Farmer helped me with the main dirt road from our houses down to the flat area in the middle of the farm. 

[Matchstix]

Seems like your bike wasn't picking mud up as it was not leaving anything behind.

[Bonus]

After a couple of days of light rain, I thought I'd take the opportunity to cut some "rain water run-offs" sideways from the main dirt track that runs down through the farm, sending the water off towards a little tree filled valley - in an effort to give the road better drainage and keep it a bit dryer.

 

That's the "technical" version of what I'm doing anyway . . . . what I'm actually doing is playing in the rain and the mud and loving it!

 

:-)

[Bonus]

Today I skipped doing any work on our "Bike Park" and took Wendy for a look around. We walked some of the trail I've done so far and then we went a bit further down the farm to see an area that I haven't really explored yet.

 

As you can see, there's a lot to learn.

 

Looking forward to doing more work tomorrow - I want to get at least one basic circuit finished asap.

[Bonus]

A bit more work on the bike park . . .

 

The Bike Park and the Farm above it are all on a hillside so whenever it rains, even if it's only a light rain, you end up with quite a bit of water coming down and funneling into a few specific places. No problem for the tractor but not so good for cars or bikes.

 

I diverted the water away from this access road further up the hill and now Ramon is using the tractor to level off what was previously was a "part-time river" . . . 

 

Really pleased with my old car. For a quite heavy front wheel drive station wagon - it can get almost anywhere!

 

:-)

Edited February 20, 2017 by Bonus

[Bonus]

Today I walked the entire length of the Mountain Bike Trail that I've cut/cleared/built so far. From our house in Guaso, through the farm yard and down onto the farm land.

 

I took tools with me because I knew I had to widen a couple of corners that I had thought were ok but turned out to be a bit too tight on a bike (I'm on a 29er) when I tested the trail the other day.

 

Aside from that it was just a case of trimming a few bushes and kicking a few stones out the way as I walked - most of the trail was good. I'm pleased. It's only about 3km long so far but it's a good start. More trail building tomorrow :-)

[Bonus]

For the last week or so I've been splitting my time between working on the first section of Bike Park MTB Trail - which is now complete and working on the main dirt road that goes down onto the farm.

 

I'll test the newly completed first section of MTB Trail on my bike tomorrow to see how it feels

 

The dirt road, which needs some serious re-modelling to try and prevent it from flooding and becoming waterlogged for a week whenever it rains, is more of an ongoing project. It's about 1000m long and has several sections that turn into quite a muddy-stream when it rains, so I'm trying to slope it into waterways I'm cutting beside the road. The first dodgy section is done and we will see next time it rains whether I got it right or not. The other problem areas will be dealt with one by one . . . .

 

Mud-fest part one - before and after.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Bonus

[Bonus]

Here around the Ainsa / Guaso area there are lots of ruins of abandoned houses and even whole villages locally. We often stop and investigate them.

 

This big old house, which is situated in the middle of what will be my "Bike Park" on Ramon the Farmers land was once-upon-a-time a "Meson" - an Inn for passing travelers to eat and rest.