Amy, from our team in Newcastle, gives us the lowdown on her recent Skedaddle mountain biking trip to the Spanish Pyrenees.
Before setting out on my first Skedaddle mountain bike adventure in the Pyrenees I didn’t quite know what to expect. I’d biked in a few high mountains before – the Alps and the Scottish Highlands – would there be similarities in terms of the riding or would this be a totally new experience? Head of Skedaddle Espana and avid mountain biker, Dan, had described it as simply amazing trails and beautiful scenery, which didn’t exactly give much away, but his smile said enough to convince me I had to check it out for myself.
A warm welcome to Spain
I must confess that, unlike most Brits, I’ve only ever visited Spain once before, and that was Madrid in August when the locals tend to escape to cooler climes. I know that some of the coastal regions are heavily impacted by tourism, but I also know from chatting to our local Spanish team that there are vast wildernesses waiting to be explored. As I landed in the little airport of Zaragoza a local young woman started chatting away to me in Spanish. Slightly embarrassed I said “No hablo Espanol” and she switched to perfect English. “Oh, wow. How come you’re visiting Zaragoza?”. I explained that I was heading up into the mountains with my bike and she was curious and slightly impressed. “We don’t really get many tourists passing through here.”
My fellow mountain bikers were easy to spot in the airport as we all waited for our bikes at the baggage reclaim, and I was relieved to find a friendly mixed group with a few other solo travellers. My worries that I might end up on a proper ‘lads’ holiday were soon dispelled. In fact, by the end of the holiday it felt like we were all genuine riding pals, with so many laughs and words of encouragement along the way. At the airport we were also warmly welcomed by our guides – Dan, Russ and Antonio. Bikes loaded, we piled into the vans and spent the duration of the transfer chatting about our favourite mountain biking destinations. I was filled with nervous excitement as we headed up into the mountains to our first hotel where we spent the rest of the afternoon building bikes and sipping beer in the warm sun.
The Riding – Variety is the spice of life
How to distil a week’s worth of riding into a few sentences? It’s a challenge! The itinerary describes the Spanish Pyrenees as a first-class destination for Enduro style riding and this is absolutely true. What’s hard to capture in a few words is the sheer variety that you’ll experience over the course of six riding days. You’ll be swooping down steep and loamy switchbacks, speeding across grassy meadows, picking your way down techy rock gardens and tentatively traversing narrow and exposed singletrack.
Digging into the detail, what you’ll be treated to is a delicious cocktail of ever-changing natural trails. A rocky singletrack descent could be filled with immovable or loose boulders, or rattling shale. It could test your bike handling skills with large obstacles, slabs and rolling drops. It could even be a trail that is firmly bedded into the side of a mountain scree! A foray into the forest will unsurprisingly throw up roots and loam, but as you descend from the widely spaced evergreen alpine trees into trails that weave tightly in and around deciduous woodland, you might find yourself skidding playfully among the dry leaves that paper the trail. Every turn brings something new, and each trail, carefully selected by the guides, is guaranteed to leave you grinning from ear to ear.
If you’re looking for plenty of perfectly groomed bike park runs, then this holiday probably isn’t for you, but if you dream of escaping into the mountains in search of endless joyful singletrack descents, then you’ll be in biking heaven in the Pyrenees!
The setting – A breathtaking region of the Pyrenees
Our holiday explored the central southern side of the Pyrenees predominantly found in the province of Aragon. The region is home to some of the highest mountains in the Pyrenees, their snow-capped peaks jutting proudly out of the lush green valleys. Spring was a gorgeous time of year to visit. The meadows were awash with wildflowers – cowslips, oxslips, orchids and more. Rocky paths were covered with alpine flora and purple aquilegia lined the rough road tracks. The air was rich with the scent of wild thyme and pine trees. It’s no wonder the Pyrenees are often referred to as the flower garden of Europe. To me it felt like we were riding into a dream fairytale landscape, and I had to pinch myself once or twice.
The architecture of Aragon only adds to this mythical scene with its medieval castles and villages. Along our spectacular traverse of the Tena Valley, we enjoyed a coffee in the charming village of Panticosa where traditional stone houses form steep and narrow streets against a backdrop of spectacular mountains. Another highlight was our stay in the medieval hilltop town of Ainsa, dining in the cobbled plaza with sunset views across a beautiful river valley. I was impressed by some of the ancient village ruins atop the mountain passes – how on earth did people regularly travel and farm at such high altitudes, especially over the winter? Even today, driving between some of the towns and villages felt like an adventure in itself, as we ascended narrow dirt tracks up and over into the next valley. The whole area is steeped in history, and we were often riding centuries old trails and paths.
An ever-changing itinerary from our expert guides
Dan and his guiding team – Russ and Antonio – worked tirelessly throughout the week guiding, fixing mechanicals, driving and preparing incredible picnics. Then there was all the behind-the-scenes stuff that appeared to happen by magic; the pre-route planning, van logistics, bikes loaded and unloaded, checked and tweaked.
Dan has been riding in this region of the Pyrenees for almost 20 years, and his local knowledge is key to what makes this holiday stand out. When you’re mountain biking across high mountains in ever-changing conditions you need a flexible plan. Each morning the guides would review weather, trail maintenance, forestry work and anything else that might come up. Once we were out on the bikes I didn’t care if we were riding Plan A, B or C because you just know that each is as good as the other. Even the day we had to make a final descent down a fire road to avoid a gathering thunderstorm didn’t disappoint, as it was a rare opportunity to relax and enjoy the epic scenery from the saddle whilst we sped down the mountainside.
This was my first experience of being on a guided mountain biking holiday and it made a refreshing change from my past experiences which, whilst exciting in their own way, almost never went to plan.
Fitness and bike skills
The holiday is graded 4 out of 5 on the Skedaddle mountain bike grading system so a good level of fitness and confidence on the bike is required. You’ll want plenty of experience riding natural trails before your trip, especially as some of the trails are narrow and exposed.
Most of the riding days have some van uplift to access high mountain trails. Don’t let this fool you into thinking that this makes the trip any less of a challenge though. There is still a good amount of pedalling – up to 1100m of elevation on some days (you have to earn those turns!). Then, as you’ll know if you’ve ridden technical descents, the downhills take it out of you even more. Prior to this holiday I’d never ridden 6 days of back-to-back riding on long natural trails. My past experiences were a mix of bike park and natural trails with uplift. On this trip, the pedalling combined with technical descents certainly made it physically demanding. You also can’t zone out for a moment like you can in the bike park. It’s as mentally challenging as it is physically but all the more exciting and fun for it!
Food and accommodation
I’ve never felt so healthily fuelled for my riding as I did on this holiday! Skedaddle picnics have a reputation for being next-level delicious and this trip was no exception. Instead of pulling a sad and soggy sandwich from my rucksack (as I’d do at home) lunch was a full spread of home-made salads, local cheeses, fresh bread, dips and gazpacho. Forget your Haribo trail snacks; each morning we’d fill up a little sandwich bag with nuts, berries and dates to make the perfect trail mix. In true Spanish style, lunches were often late and dinner even later, so it was important to stay fuelled throughout the day. Evening meals were always delicious with plenty of fresh vegetables and salads but you may have limited options on the menu if you’re vegetarian (I’m pescatarian). The food highlight of the trip without a doubt was our lunch at a mountain refugio where the owner had cooked up two enormous pans of paella and vegan paella.
I was impressed with the quality of each accommodation we stayed in, which was a lovely mix of characterful old hotels, modern spa hotels and gorgeous guest houses. Perhaps I’m just more accustomed to bike adventures where you rough it in a tent, van or hostel, but it felt like a real treat at the end of each day spent riding remote mountain trails to enjoy a cold beer, a hot shower and a delicious meal before resting my head in a comfy bed for the night.
Weather and climate in the Pyrenees
I checked the forecast before I left home. It was fairly inconclusive. Depending on which weather app you chose, we could have a week of sunshine or rain and clouds! I decided the best approach was to pack for four seasons and this was ultimately the best decision. Spain is known as a sunshine destination and whilst it’s true that the Spanish side of the Pyrenees is slightly hotter and drier than the French side, it certainly doesn’t guarantee a week of sunny cycling. Just like any high-mountain territory, you never know what the elements may throw at you in any given day. We were lucky and experienced hot and sunny weather for most of the week, with one day hitting a slightly uncomfortable temperature in the mid-thirties. A day and half saw stormy weather and heavy rain. On the day we were riding in heavy rain, the temperatures felt cold, necessitating winter riding gloves and extra layers under a waterproof. The snow line was clearly visible along the highest peaks so I imagine it might still be possible to get caught in a snowstorm, even in late spring.
Bike, kit and other essentials
I’m particularly attached to my bike, so I took my own. It’s a reasonably old Santa Cruz 5010 but I’ve increased the travel on the forks up 140mm, which is better suited to this kind of terrain. Skedaddle’s hire bikes are Giant Trance with 150mm front and 140mm rear suspension, and 29-inch wheels. The two customers who rode them were very happy on the bikes. We also had one member of the group recovering injury on a Giant Reign E+2 electric bike.
Aside from the kit basics like helmet, gloves, suncream and jerseys, I would advise:
- A good waterproof – I’d made use of my Endura discount code before Christmas to treat myself to the new MT500 jacket and I would definitely recommend it. After 3 hours of riding in the rain I was still completely dry.
- Knee pads – again I’d recommend Endura.
- Decent riding glasses – I always ride with shatterproof glasses, but I was especially glad of my quality lens that made a big difference when riding in the contrasting dappled light of the forests.
- Warm gloves and base layers – you’ll need them if the weather turns.
- Riding pack – at home I tend to ride with a hip bag but for a big day out in the hills a backpack is best so you can stash extra layers, snacks, spares and plenty of water. My pack is old and not very fancy, but the guides swear by their packs which we get from our friends at deuter.
- Travel wash – useful for giving stinky kit a quick rinse and a wash!
- Electrolytes – I foolishly didn’t bring any with me, so I stocked up as soon as I found a sports shop. They definitely saw me through long and hot days in the saddle.
- Bike and travel insurance – Travel insurance is a requirement for all holidays but for this kind of trip you might need upgraded cover due to the high altitude and nature of the riding. Through Skedaddle, you can get 10% off your Travel Insurance with Bikmo and their Ultimate policy is best suited for tours over 2500m.
Join us in the Pyrenees!
If all of that wasn’t enough to convince you why the Spanish Pyrenees should be on your mountain biking bucket list, then check out the video highlights from my trip…
Pyrenees All Mountain Traverse