The Pyrenees - Road Riding, Mountain Biking & Enduro Riding…… and more!

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Monte Perdido and the three Marias (Tres Marias) in the Ordesa National Park taken from just outside Ainsa on Sundays ride.

It's getting hot here now!

 

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Summer evening ride - 34 degrees at 8pm and a couple of hours of sunlight left yet ....

 

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Cookin' tonight!

A couple of pics from a recent late afternoon ride. "Late afternoon" here in Spain during the summer can be anytime between 5pm and 8pm.....

This is half way up a climb a few km's outside Ainsa . . . . which is in the background.

Into the Badlands . . . .

I've posted from this spot before - up through the Old Town, out the back of the Castle and over to the "Mirador" - the viewpoint above the Rio Cinca.

So often when you look north you see heavy weather over on the French side of the Pyrenees.

 

[matticus]

Summer evening ride - 34 degrees at 8pm and a couple of hours of sunlight left yet ....

... which is why I can't seem myself visiting in July ...

 

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Ride under the trees in the shade - it's perfect!

 

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Summer is here for sure!

The average daytime temps at the moment hover between 30 and 34 degrees but we peaked at 37.5 degrees yesterday afternoon.

Much like when I lived in South Africa, in the summer the mornings up until around 10:30 are perfect for riding. Unlike SA we also get to go out again in the light evenings here - between 7:30 and when it gets dark - currently around 9:30pm.

I do love my summer evening rides!

 

[itboffin]

it was 37.7 today here in Windshire and its still 27 now at 6.30 on my short 40 miles ride today you could have used my second bottle to make tea/coffee

Hot water is defo not refreshing

 

[Bonus]

it was 37.7 today here in Windshire and its still 27 now at 6.30 on my short 40 miles ride today you could have used my second bottle to make tea/coffee

Hot water is defo not refreshing

I've had rides in SA like that where the second water bottle gets cooked. Here I ride with one bottle because I know where all the local water points are so there's always cool water available.

A word or warning though - when you get to a water Fuente (a public water source) ALWAYS check that it has running water BEFORE you throw away the warm water left in your bottle....... because warm water is better than nothing and very very occasionally, the fuente isn't running!

I found that out the hard way :-(

 

[itboffin]

Only 30c here today but a very hilly and fast club ride I’ve drunk about six pints of water since returning home and three bottles out on the ride, hills speed and heat not a great combo

 

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Last year I guided Rodney - an American who's lived down the road in Zaragoza for the last 20 years.

We kept in touch and became friends and he's been keen to come back to Zona Zero since his last trip. Finally, after a Covid enforced delay, we're riding together again, with him on his new bike.

It's always nice when clients had such a good time they look you up again :-)

This was last night on ZZ Route 5 Light - a nice fast XC route!

 

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Zona Zero has just released maps and details of 21 new XC routes - "For Bikers with the Soul of a Wolf".

I'll be trying them out as soon as I can find some time!

 

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We used to get amazing sunsets when we lived in South Africa. Here it's not generally so easy to see them because of the mountains but tonight was an exception . . . . the sun setting over the Zona Zero MTB trails, Ainsa.

 

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Ainsa now has it's own Pumptrack! It opened yesterday evening and today the kids were testing it out.

 

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I know I've posted this view before - looking north towards France from up at the "Mirador Del Cinca" - but it's a place I pass on my normal "get out for an hour or so" ride and it never fails to impress me....

Also on yesterdays ride, I managed to find a little stretch of "dry river bed" hidden in the trees that I can use to extend one of my XC routes nicely :-)

 

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Heavy traffic on the trails on Sunday...

It was like driving on the M25 at rush hour for goodness sake! ........ well maybe not ;-)