Cycling B&B in the foothills of the Pyrenees

[Bonus]

I was on the Col de Tentes (2207m) in the Pyrenees only 3 days ago, and thought of you. I was so close to Spain, but the dirt track from the Col to the border isn't suitable for road bikes, so I had to skip that bit.

I hope you've missed the various thunderstorms we've all been having? We're off up to France for Thursday & Friday to catch le Tour :-)

 

[Bonus]

We've had a nice couple of days with our British friends from down in Catalonia. They came to stay while they tested out their new camper van.

The trails were a bit wind & rain battered when I took them for a ride yesterday because we had an overnight storm, but they got to see a bit of the surrounding countryside.

Was nice to speak mostly English for a couple of days! :-)

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I hope you've missed the various thunderstorms we've all been having? We're off up to France for Thursday & Friday to catch le Tour :-)

I did, it seems they arrived shortly after I left (unwillingly ). On the day I rode up to Col de Tentes, it was hot, but briefly rained a tiny bit while I rode between Luz-Saint-Sauveur and Gavarnie, but that was all the rain I saw that day. Even up on the col, it was mid 20s and fine.

 

[Bonus]

There's been a complete lack of updates recently - the pesky Tour de France has got me all distracted.

On the other hand, I did specifically choose this part of Spain because of the mountains and the proximity to le Tour & le Vuelta :-)

We will be promoting both of those Grand Tours, and the tour of Catalonia, the Enduro World Series and any other races "within shouting distance", next year.

With stages being so close, it would be a crime not to try and see something. That's my story anyway. . . .

 

[mjr]

With stages being so close, it would be a crime not to try and see something. That's my story anyway. . . .

And you need to be able to give visitors tips on how to pick good viewing spots, too.

 

[Bonus]

Angel Cheliz, who owns the "Intersport" sports shop in Ainsa and who is one of the founding members of the whole "Zona-Zero MTB" concept - showing off the latest edition of route maps.

There are now 52 official base routes and too many variations and link-ways to even count. Somewhere in the region of 800km of track in it's various forms, Singletrack, Jeep track, Fire roads, Antiguo (ancient) paths . . . the list goes on.

I've barely scraped the surface so far!

 

[Bonus]

For the past month or so, as well as watching "le Tour de France" on TV and "live in France", "Mrs Bonus and I have been giving some serious thought as to which path we should take next on our Big Adventure . . . . . Should we stay here and "soldier on" or is it time to cut our losses, relocate, either to the UK or somewhere busier in Spain, where we can both get jobs, save some money and then maybe rethink in 6 months time?

In a nutshell - all of the banks we've spoken to have said the same thing - they love our ideas - particularly the ones that involve us providing services that will set us apart from your average Spanish "B&B", they approve of our business plan - which is conservative in its estimates and they can see that our passion for what we enjoy in life - essentially cycling & cooking/providing - means that we will enjoy our jobs enough to ensure that we succeed.

However . . . over at the head offices of these various banks, the "Risk Departments" whose hands, post financial crisis of 2008-16, are tied behind their backs, are struggling to approve us the top-up loan we need without us having some sort of independent income.

This is not something we, or anyone we spoke to at the outset of our journey (including the banks!), expected and the game-changer has been the fact that the banks can no longer accept your property as security against a loan you apply for. The reason being that Spanish banks are up to their ears in repossessed properties that they have no hope of selling, possibly for years.

We've decided that we're not ready to give up just yet and so we're going to push on with our dream . . . . but we're going to have to change the way we plan on getting there slightly . . . .

Over the next few days we'll post our various changes and, as always, encouragement and ideas will be warmly received!

Bonus.

 

[woodbutcher]

For the past month or so, as well as watching "le Tour de France" on TV and "live in France", "Mrs Bonus and I have been giving some serious thought as to which path we should take next on our Big Adventure . . . . . Should we stay here and "soldier on" or is it time to cut our losses, relocate, either to the UK or somewhere busier in Spain, where we can both get jobs, save some money and then maybe rethink in 6 months time?

In a nutshell - all of the banks we've spoken to have said the same thing - they love our ideas - particularly the ones that involve us providing services that will set us apart from your average Spanish "B&B", they approve of our business plan - which is conservative in its estimates and they can see that our passion for what we enjoy in life - essentially cycling & cooking/providing - means that we will enjoy our jobs enough to ensure that we succeed.

However . . . over at the head offices of these various banks, the "Risk Departments" whose hands, post financial crisis of 2008-16, are tied behind their backs, are struggling to approve us the top-up loan we need without us having some sort of independent income.

This is not something we, or anyone we spoke to at the outset of our journey (including the banks!), expected and the game-changer has been the fact that the banks can no longer accept your property as security against a loan you apply for. The reason being that Spanish banks are up to their ears in repossessed properties that they have no hope of selling, possibly for years.

We've decided that we're not ready to give up just yet and so we're going to push on with our dream . . . . but we're going to have to change the way we plan on getting there slightly . . . .

Over the next few days we'll post our various changes and, as always, encouragement and ideas will be warmly received!

Bonus.

First of all let me wish you every success with your project, combining two of my favourite occupations, cycling / cooking . Oh and of course eating.
To get to the point, l have recently bought a secondhand mtb from a guy here in SW France and while chatting to him he told me about his son who worked with Cannondale and has this set up in the Pyrenees. Just might be worth contacting him for info etc http://mikecotty.co.uk/challenge-rides/raid-pyrenean/

 

[ColinJ]

Good luck, Bonus. It would be a great pity if all of your hard work went to waste!

One thing though ... if "Spanish banks are up to their ears in repossessed properties that they have no hope of selling, possibly for years", wouldn't you have big problems trying to sell your property too?

 

[Shut Up Legs]

After following your efforts since you started this thread in October 2015, I almost feel like I've been living there also, @Bonus . I hope you manage to make it work somehow.

 

[Bonus]

First of all let me wish you every success with your project, combining two of my favourite occupations, cycling / cooking . Oh and of course eating.
To get to the point, l have recently bought a secondhand mtb from a guy here in SW France and while chatting to him he told me about his son who worked with Cannondale and has this set up in the Pyrenees. Just might be worth contacting him for info etc http://mikecotty.co.uk/challenge-rides/raid-pyrenean/

Cheers for that - I will check out the site.

 

[Bonus]

Good luck, Bonus. It would be a great pity if all of your hard work went to waste!

One thing though ... if "Spanish banks are up to their ears in repossessed properties that they have no hope of selling, possibly for years", wouldn't you have big problems trying to sell your property too?

Cheers Colin. Lots of work so far but it's all been fun.

We don't plan on selling our property any time soon. We will either follow Plan A and build it up as a B&B and run it until we get too old to carry on . . . or we will put the B&B plans on hold while we work elsewhere in the country or Europe and it will be our "place in the country", which we will renovate as slowly or quickly as income dictates.

 

[Bonus]

"La Batalla Del Inframundo" (The Battle of the Underworld) - This is the name given to a race being held on 23rd September this year at Zona Zero.

The sales pitch (translated by me!) goes along the lines of.....

"YOU CAN JOIN THE BATTLE OF THE UNDERWORLD - The GIANT TRAIL of ZONE ZERO.

We have good news. We have obtained a sponsorship of the last minute that allows us to reduce the registration to 67 euros and 120 euros for mixed couples.

In case you think it's an easy ride, the man in the photo will be the "broom man". Basically he will be dedicated to "finishing off" the stragglers. (read that as you like! lol)

Come and win the coveted Sword of the Victor engraved with the motto: "PUNISH THE BODY AND RELEASE THE SOUL".

In the Territory of Zona Zero - Survive and be Counted!"

 

[Bonus]

From the Zona Zero Website:

"The fate is cast, we have been tasked with defeating Mordor on 23 September - We need everyone's help, get your bike ready and come. And if we don't win, we might as well have a good time"

 

[Bonus]

The Enduro World Series calendar for 2018 has been published. Stage 7 will be here in Ainsa Sobrabe on 22nd and 23rd September!

Fantastic news :-)

https://dirtmountainbike.com/racing-events/enduro/enduro-world-series-2018-calendar-released.html