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

[michaelbiker]

Cool posts and pics! Thoroughly enjoying them. Definitely makes me want to visit as soon as it is “allowed”. Thanks for sharing.

[Bonus]

Cool posts and pics! Thoroughly enjoying them. Definitely makes me want to visit as soon as it is “allowed”. Thanks for sharing.

 

Glad you're enjoying them MB!

 

Be great to see you here one day :-)

[michaelbiker]

I have spent a large amount of time in Italy - Trentino and Umbria mtb’ing but I would love to check out the Pyrenees some day. My wife and I work remotely, so this looks like a good base to check out provided there is a decent Internet connection.

[SwissVan]

I have spent a large amount of time in Italy - Trentino and Umbria mtb’ing but I would love to check out the Pyrenees some day. My wife and I work remotely, so this looks like a good base to check out provided there is a decent Internet connection.

Judging by Bonus’s hub posts the connection is world class

[Bonus]

Pump track isn't going to get much use today!

 

 

[Bonus]

Last ride of the year - a spin in the snow.  :-)

 

It's cold here now, need to dig out my winter kit. Summer kit plus "arm warmers and a Buff" are just not enough! 

[ChrisF]

Last ride of the year - a spin in the snow. :-)

 

It's cold here now, need to dig out my winter kit. Summer kit plus "arm warmers and a Buff" are just not enough!

And we think a low 20 degree CELCIUS December day is cold ....

[Bonus]

And we think a low 20 degree CELCIUS December day is cold ....

 

It was around 4 degrees when I was out. The climbs and the flats are ok - but descending at 40km/h provides quite a nasty chill-factor! 

[SwissVan]

It was around 4 degrees when I was out. The climbs and the flats are ok - but descending at 40km/h provides quite a nasty chill-factor!

 

And if you sweat while climbing.......how slow can you climb so as not to sweat

[Bonus]

And if you sweat while climbing.......how slow can you climb so as not to sweat

 

It's tricky, even spinning up a steep climb gets you breathing cold air in deeply (which is tough on the lungs) and very quickly warms the legs....sweat-time will follow! 

 

Easiest option is a gently undulating XC ride!

[Bonus]

After "Storm Filomena" - This guy was as happy as larry out in the snow! 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Bonus

[Bonus]

The sign says "Route 3" - just have to take its word for it I guess . . . . 

[Bonus]

Sometimes it's funny how you meet fellow riders and make new friends . . . .

 

After last weeks snowfall, followed by 36 odd hrs of steady rain, the middle of the normally grassy public carpark behind our rented flat had turned into a bit of a quagmire. From our lounge window we could look down and see a little white Peugot 306 halfway across the carpark - spinning its wheels in the mud.

 

After a couple of minutes the driver got out, gave the mud "a good looking at" and then got back in a tried again, to no avail. I put on my wellies and went down to help him. Between him driving and me pushing we managed to get the car onto firmer ground and then over to the entrance of the carpark, which is tarred.

 

He got out and thanked me and wanted to buy me a coffee - there's a coffee shop next door to us - but my dinner was on the table so I declined. Then I noticed a bike roof-rack on his car and said in Spanish "you ride?". His face lit up and we chatted for 10 minutes about cycling. He rides road & MTB, same as me.

 

We friended each other on FB, swapped phone numbers and "promised to ride together soon". Then he thanked me again, looked up at the sky and said "You're an Angel". I laughed then he said "I should know, I'm the Priest of Boltaña church!"

 

 

Tomorrow we're doing a road ride together....

[DJR]

Sometimes it's funny how you meet fellow riders and make new friends . . . .

 

After last weeks snowfall, followed by 36 odd hrs of steady rain, the middle of the normally grassy public carpark behind our rented flat had turned into a bit of a quagmire. From our lounge window we could look down and see a little white Peugot 306 halfway across the carpark - spinning its wheels in the mud.

 

After a couple of minutes the driver got out, gave the mud "a good looking at" and then got back in a tried again, to no avail. I put on my wellies and went down to help him. Between him driving and me pushing we managed to get the car onto firmer ground and then over to the entrance of the carpark, which is tarred.

 

He got out and thanked me and wanted to buy me a coffee - there's a coffee shop next door to us - but my dinner was on the table so I declined. Then I noticed a bike roof-rack on his car and said in Spanish "you ride?". His face lit up and we chatted for 10 minutes about cycling. He rides road & MTB, same as me.

 

We friended each other on FB, swapped phone numbers and "promised to ride together soon". Then he thanked me again, looked up at the sky and said "You're an Angel". I laughed then he said "I should know, I'm the Priest of Boltaña church!"

 

 

Tomorrow we're doing a road ride together....

He just got a bonus

[Bonus]

Some pics from yesterdays Road Ride.

 

Jose (the Priest from Boltaña church) and I started together in Boltaña, rode through to Ainsa, where we were joined by his friend Rafael (the Priest from Ainsa church!), carried on out to the "Collado de Foradada" which sits at 1020m, then back again. 55km in all.

 

Climbed around 700m, almost all of it during the "there" part of the ride, making the "and back" part easy!

 

It was a great ride. Sunny, but we still needed to wrap up. It is January after all....

 

I've never been on a ride before where I was out-numbered by Priests!

Edited January 28, 2021 by Bonus

[Bonus]

From last year - starting the descent from the "Muro de Roda" (The Wall of Roda) castle in La Fueva, 20 mins outside Ainsa, on Route ZL-04 - on a sunny day with the Mediano Dam in the background.....