This thread is aimed at covering everything to do with XC MTB and Enduro Riding here where we live at Zona Zero in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains.
I'll also post details of local events, attractions and points of interest....
We've been living here in Ainsa-Sobrabe, Spain, for nearly 3 years now and we love it. I split my time between working as an MTB Guide (either solo or with other guides in the area), clearing and maintaining MTB and Walking trails and volunteering at local events.
Here's a picture from Sundays ride. Sunshine, dry trails and very few people about . . .
You're very fortunate to live in such an awesome place. I spent a week in Ainsa with Basque MTB last month, such spectacular scenery and amazing natural and handcut trails, great weather too.
I'll certainly be back...
Second that, we were out for the EWS, will definitely be going back
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
We were there end of October, 3rd year in a row.
It was noticeably busier than last year. We must have seen 15 other riders this time!! 😉
It’s a great place and I’m delighted it is becoming better known. Hopefully we have helped a bit with that. Not as much as the EWS of course!! It’s like a second home to us and one of the many jewels in the crown of the Pyrénées. I happened upon it ten years ago, seeking dry trails and rear derralieurs. Most of the basqueMTB team I know from riding around that area too. I can’t imagine how many days we have racked up there this last decade! I actually just wrote a thing for my web with some advice and a bunch of photos, old and new if you are interested.
https://www.basquemtb.com/ainsa-enduro-mountain-bike/
I've enjoyed Mctrail riders vidoes on youtube , the place looks very special indeed. Looks like there are a crazy amount of trails.
My friend Andrew was out there for a month before moving on to Madrid.
I was there in September 2017 and due to rain and hunting we didn't do much, but will probably go back again.
It was a shame because every day there was hunting taking place near a few official trails and we were recommended to stay away.
The hunting is at the weekends and can close a lot of the trails. There are always good options though and often we speak to the people responsible to check when they finish. By lunchtime often they are in the bar. 322 sunny days a year too so definitely worth a revisit. You will find that the new app really helps with the trail closures. Or get a good guide who knows how to link trails up and also venture into the surrounding areas which aren’t marked!
We went a few years ago. We would go again. Brilliant place to ride
@Tracey - be good to see you guys again. Keep us posted!
@Polisherman - I rode today and saw 1 other person! We ended up riding together....
@stanfree - around 1000km of trails currently. And lots more bits that not many people know about!
@Spaniardclimber - There are so many trails, the hunting shouldn't need to interfere with your riding. You just need to know your way around.
As Doug mentioned above, there is an app called "ZTrails" which is supposed to be up to date with any issues effecting the trails, including winter hunting.
Hunting takes place during the Winter months on Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays and is usually signed and publicised.
We pass on any relevant info we get through our Facebook Group - "MTB Ainsa!" as well.
On yesterdays ride I stopped in for a nice chat with Russel from Fox at the Fox Factory workshop support van.
They were carrying out product testing on the Zona Zero trails near my house.
Russel is from Cape Town but lives and works in Germany now. Was nice to talk about stuff we had in common.
The Enduro World Series visited us here in Ainsa-Sobrabe this September and raced on the MTB trails of Zona Zero. It was the second time the EWS had been here - the first time being back in 2015.
We volunteered to help out and had a fantastic week - long days and a fair bit of stress, but the weather was good, a there was a fiesta every night for those that weren't shattered by evening.
We met a lot of nice people, made some new friends and I did a bit of riding with a couple of the independent riders. It was a good time all around.
Hot weather, dusty trails, blood, sweat & a few tears and no shortage of pretty impressive bike handling skills...... here are a few of my fav pics from that week.
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of riding XC with Kevin from the UK and his dog Bella.
Kevin - @trailguru on Instagram - has been living in his beautifully converted van for the past two years. He works on-line, so can work from anywhere, and spends his time surfing and mountain biking. He’s also the guy behind the “ https://www.trailguru.co.uk/” website, which covers dozens of trails in Wales.
Our ride was based on Zona Zero route ZZ-019 - “The Route of the Arraclan” which we adapted slightly to suit us.
Starting from the village of Santa Maria de Buil we quickly got into some nice quick singletrack, which this route has lots of. Aside from the flowing singletrack, there’s Jeep Tracks, Fire Roads and the route goes through several nice stretches of forest. It has a couple of quiet tough but not too long climbs and of course the amazing “Balcony of Sarrastano” section, with its views of the Pyrenees mountains. Throw in a couple of short technical descents and a quick food-stop at a Hermatige of Santa Waldesca on route and you have a perfect morning of riding.
We only saw 2 other riders all day - a couple from the south of France who said they come here every chance they get because the riding is so good!
Been watching Andy Mctrail Riders videos with a great of envy, looks like a fantastic place.
Yeah Andy rode with my mate and they made a couple of nice videos.
It is amazing around here - I love it.
Watch out for more updates!
What will it be like 3rd week in Feb? It looks like my attempts to persuade the OH that we should stump up for a ski holiday may prove fruitless so I’m on the lookout for a decent winter venue for me and the lad. I was thinking either here or Finale.
Tim, in february the weather should be cold but nice. Like subzero overnight but warming up fast during the morning. It should be predominantly dry. We have had weeks in february at over 20degC and once we had a week where it didn’t get above zero! The bonus with a cold week is that the trails are amazing like that, so fast and grippy. Having transport and local knowledge really helps if the weather seems bad because normally it is very localized.
Here are a couple of videos we shot around this time in 2012. It was for something we were working with the Zona Zero guys on at that time which changed direction. Cold but the trails were amazing, I remember it clearly! The first video I’m not so keen on but it was shot on the Fossil trail in Zona Zero. The second one I like more and it was on some great unmarked riding about 30 mins from ZZ.
Hi Tim - as Doug says, the weather here can be very localised due to the mountains, so as long as you have transport you can almost always find somewhere to ride, whatever the weather. If you don't have your own transport there are other options available to you locally. I can give you details if you do decide to come down this way.
Maybe see you in Feb?
Is these a 'best' time or 'worst' time to visit from weather / riding opportunities point of view or is it pretty much an all year round option?
Thanks for replies - deffo one to consider. Other option would be to go for whit half term which I guess might be more reliable! Either way does look great...
gpw - broadly speaking, Winter is cold but mostly dry, Spring is warmer but can have a bit of rain, Summer is hot enough that we generally ride early and/or late and swim in the rivers mid-day and Autumn is pretty much perfect.
The uneven nature of the terrain, being in the foothills of the mountains, means that the trails generally drain really well. The biggest problem after heavy rains up in the mountains is if you need to cross a river down here - because the rivers can get big after rain. The answer is to avoid trails that cross rivers of course - which is easy enough.
Aside from that, we are blessed with hqving several areas here that benefit from micro-climates. There are lots of places up in the hills that get a lot warmer than it gets down in the towns of Ainsa or Boltana where the main rivers are for instance.
The majority of the water that fills our lakes comes from meted snow rather than rainfall.
For anyone wondering what the Winter weather is like here where we live in the Spanish Pyrenees - this was taken at lunchtime today on a ride with friends… .
#livin’ the dream
Climbing up the back of the Pena Montenesa on the route the Enduro World Series used back in September when they held Stage 7 of the Championship here.
We climbed just over 800m in 8km of fire road. None of it is steep, it’s just a nice gradual climb.
For anyone wondering what the Winter weather is like here where we live in the Spanish Pyrenees
Pfft, it was better in the mountains outside Madrid, no fog in the valleys 🙂
So help me out here. What's your website?
Looming for something very like finale for the family hiday this year..either Easter or whitsun
Ta.
The MTB Ainsa website is currently under construction.
If you go to the address "www.mtbainsa.com" it will redirect to a Group on Facebook called "MTB Ainsa!"
Alternativley we have an email address - info@mtbainsa.com, and I can email you our contact number if need be.
Of course we check for messages on here several times a day too.
If you are thinking of coming down this way, drop me a line detailing what you're after and we'll have a chat.
As well as Guiding, we can assist with sorting out accommodation etc and we'd love to help you.