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Ainsa now has it’s own Pumptrack!
It opened on Friday evening and on Saturday morning the kids were testing it out!
Saturday morning the kids were testing it out!
Aye right 😉
It was the Kids - honest guv!
Last week . . . .
After 24 hrs of heavy rain and thunderstorms, the cloud that stretched from horizon to horizon disappeared overnight and we woke up to beautiful sunshine and a mist over our two rivers and the lake......
It's nice sometimes to look up from whatever I'm working on and just enjoy the view 🙂
Pump track looks tops...
Having a few days off after working for 114 days in a row 🙂
7 days a week isn't as bad as it sounds. Pretty much everyone here connected to tourism works a 7 day week during the summer season, as do the farmers of course. My hours varied depending on what was going on - sometimes it was a straight 7 hrs a day with evenings off, other times it was a split day - 6 hrs in the morning and a couple more later in the evening.
After we've had a few days off now, I'll go back and we'll do all the shutting down and disconnecting work that needs doing before winter.
It's nice to be busy and see money coming in, and knowing that this sort of work is available and I have "first shout" at it, is very reassuring because when we eventually get our own place built, any supplemental income I can earn takes some of the strain off of the B&B when it first starts running.
Three days off so far and 3 days of intermittent rain so far! Nice to be catching up with all the "indoors stuff" but looking forward to getting out on the bike next week.
🙂
At the end of last year the work we'd been gradually doing to transform our sloping back garden into a terraced back garden was looking good.
The retaining walls were coming on nicely - it's slow work but we're getting there - the weeds and brambles were all cut back and everything was under control. Nothing grew much over Winter and then just as Spring and the sun & rain came along, everything started growing just as we went into Lockdown!
For the next 6 weeks everything grew like crazy but we were not allowed out. Then the day we were allowed out it was to go to work, not to go up to our Project. The growing continued!
Once work started it didn't stop, until last week. Now I'm back up at our Project in Guaso starting to clear up the weeds and the brambles again so that I can start building the next walls.....
In any case, it's nice to see ourselves making progress.....
The village of Sieste with the Pena Montenesa behind it, taken on route ZZ-018 - "Paths Of Mondebueno & Madalena"....
It's a beautiful day - dry, warm & sunny. Long may it continue!
🙂
In between knocking the garden back into shape over the last few days, we managed to squeeze in a little hike up on the top of Zona Zero Route 10 - ZZ-010 "La Coasta Doble".
It was a lovely day and the views are great. It's a nice place to go for a "quick hike" because it's only a 10 min drive from Guaso and you can drive a lot of the way up!
That terraced garden is a thing of beauty - great work!
Stunning!
Thanks guys. It has a way to go yet, but we'll get there!
Hi Tony, long time no speak, are you going to watch the Vuelta on Saturday? Looks a tough stage, the road along the reservoirs is pretty lumpy. Unfortunately we'll be in deepest France then as we have to return to Cornwall as Trish's mother died last week. We're driving via Vielha to Roscoff then ferry to Plymouth as this means having the minimum time in the UK and being in our own bubble in the camper. Quarantine restrictions allow attending the funeral but not the wake, finding a route is like threading a needle that keeps moving, no chance of the long ferry from Santander as Navarra is locked down, just praying Cataluña doesn't do the same. Heard Huesca city is a no go area as well as Teruel and Zaragoza. Our spring lockdown project was building a new bigger pool as the old one was in a state of collapse then when things freed up, training for the Badlands race in September. Glad to see the B&B work is coming on, how's Ramon your friendly farmer doing?
It's a temporary structure, honest!😁
Hey Duncan! Sorry to hear about Trishes mum 🙁 Good luck with your trip.
Ramon is good. His Vineyard was wiped out this year with frost so he's not very happy 🙁
I thought I posted this on here earlier but it obviously didn't quite work . . . .
******************************************************************************************
I posted this on my “Buying a Property in the Pyrenees” thread. I’ll copy it here too…..
This weekend “La Vuelta a España”, which was pushed back by 2 months thanks to Covid19, will be passing right through the area we live in 🙂
We currently live in Boltaña and the race will pass through Ainsa, 6km east of here at the 100km mark and again through Fiscal, 20km west of us at the 160km mark. With luck we should be able to see the race both times. Race officials are predicting about an hour and a half of riding between the two points while they take in the “Añisclo Canyon” with its “Alto de Vio” and “Alto de Fanlo” climbs. Plenty of time for us to get from one to the other…..
The weather and temperature differences between mid August and mid October are worlds apart. The weather is currently too changeable to try and predict. Yesterday I was working in shorts and a T shirt – today I’m at home and it’s raining and cold. Overall I’d guess that this is going to be a much colder & wetter Vuelta than usual.
Stage 5 is following a different route than that which was originally released last year. It finishes in a different place – I assume because of the snow on the peaks at this time of year.
The Route:
The race will leave the town of Huesca and head east towards Barbastro. They’ll be on the “old road” not the new dual-carriageway that we would use. It’s an undulating road which, overall, descends very slightly between the two towns.
In Barbastro they will turn left (North) and head towards Ainsa. 20km outside of Barbastro they will start riding alongside the El Grado Dam (Embalse del Grado) followed by the Mediano Dam (Embalse de Mediano) which takes them all the way up to Ainsa. The Mediano Dam has an abondoned village in the middle of it – you can see the top of the church tower, even when the dam is full. Currently the dam is 3/4 empty!
Through Ainsa and 11km up to Escalona where they turn left again (West) and hit the two climbs of the day. This road is not an easy road to get any speed up on – up and down and very wiggly! The riders will have to pay attention here. It does take in some really stunning scenery though. We’ve driven it several times.
They exit the valley at the small town of Sarvise, about 145km into the stage and turn left (South) to head down to Fiscal. This road is downhill all the way to Fiscal and it’s not a bad road. From Fiscal to the finish in Sabiñanigo they will be on, for the most part, a relatively new nice wide road that includes a 3km long tunnel and a 2nd Cat climb. I would expect an all out sprint for the last 20km of the race!
Incidentally, the road from Sarvise all the way to the finish line in Sabiñanigo is the same road that they rode back on 4th September 2016 at the beginning of Stage 15 of La Vuelta – but in reverse. That was the day Nairo and Alberto dropped everyone in the first 10km of the Stage!
On Saturday Stage 5 of La Vuelta passed through Ainsa and later through Fiscal - both on our doorstep.
Saturdays Diary:
We had a coffee in Ainsa and you really wouldn't know that a Grand Tour is about to pass through there other than there being more police than normal.....
We walked to a spot just outside Ainsa to watch the race. With the Peloton 10km away we could hear the helicopters in the distance and the first team cars and official cars started passing us....
We were at a point about 100km into a 184km race.
The break went past, then the bunch - looked like Froome was near the back of the bunch - then a little while later the back group passed.
After everyone had passed we walked back into Ainsa to jump in the car and drive a cut-through road to the second spot where we could see the race. In Ainsa lots of support vehicals were also taking the cut through road to jump ahead of the riders who were going to take about an hour and a half to do what we could do in 30 mins.
We parked in Fiscal and walked out to the Intermediate Sprint Point where we could wait for the race to catch us up. First came a breakaway of three riders - they held out to the end - then the Peloton nearly 5 mins later, followed little groups and riders for 20 minutes aftrewards!
I didn't get pics of the riders passing - I was too busy shouting and cheering! So lots of pics of cars instead 🙂
Spare bikes by Shimano!
Summary:
We had a really nice day!
We watched the "highlights" that night on TV and it was amazing to see the area we live in from the air.
It's easy to get used to the mountains around here and to forget just how cool this countryside is. So much that we still haven't properly discovered!
🙂
Sunday I was able to drive 30km west of where we live to see Stage 6 of La Vuelta.
I was going to go to Sabiñanigo so that I could watch them pass twice there (they looped the town) and then up to Biescas, where the stage started, to see them pass on their way to Formigal. I could see that the weather was closing in so when I saw several team cars parked at the side of the road on a long steady climb about a third of the way around the route I realised that I was passing the feed-point and I decided to stop there and watch.
20 minutes before the first riders arrived, the rain came in from the west and one of the team drivers I was talking to told me that the riders were already soaked!
When the break passed us, not one of them took a bottle or a musset. When the bunch arrived it was a different story. Aside from me, there were only two other people watching the race at the feed point, so I managed to pick up a few goodies for myself . . . .
18 Bottles and 6 Mussets, a dozen gels and assorted bits of food!
I came away happy . . . .
In the last fortnight I've spent 50% of my waking time working, 30% of the time riding and 20% of the time either being at, or watching on TV, La Vuelta 2020!
On Sunday I bumped into people on the road at La Vuelta who would be interested in staying with us and road riding the same roads that La Vuelta followed. Having coffee on the terrace at Hotel Sanchez on Wednesday morning I was approached by a lady from Holland who organises adventure holidays to this area and wants me too be her contact point for organising Kayaking, Canyoning and of course Mountain Bike Riding. Apparently Holland "has no mountains" so they would be interested in cross-country riding - which makes things easier for me. And then yesterday a local lady, who I worked with back in the summer, called me about English lessons for her son and reminded me that when we are up and running I said we would be running "Speak English Only" holiday clubs for local youngsters whose parents are at work......
On top of that, Ainsa Council, which covers (amongst other things) the town of Ainsa, the Zona Zero MTB Trails and the village of Guaso, where our Project is, curently has a dozen improvement projects on the go.
The future looks promising..........
spekkie
The future looks promising……….
Great to hear, got to keep this story going 🙂
For reference which is the best bottle/bidon? Hopefully get over there one year for a tour and a watch, not sure which year...
"For reference which is the best bottle/bidon?"
The Movistar, Ineos, Caja Rural, Bahrain and Trek Segafredo bottles are all the same "model" of bottle - "Elite 550ml/made in Italy". Very light, but it's because their walls are very thin. I guess these are "one-off use" bottles!
NTT, Mitchelton Scott, Astana, Quick Step and Jumbo are all the same model and are much sturdier with easier to remove lids. Also 550ml and made by Tacx.
The best IMO though are the Bora Hansgrohe bottles - 550ml and made by Specialized USA. I picked up three, they are tough and they have lid with a bit of a "grip" on them.
The best bottle of the lot, also a Bora Hansgrohe bottle, is a slightly taller "insulated" bottle. 600ml and made by Specialized USA. Obvs it weighs that bit more and almost cetainly won't fit on my MTB frame!
"MrOvershoot
spekkie
The future looks promising……….
Great to hear, got to keep this story going"
Cheers man! We're trying to....
Having lived in the UK for so long, between stints in SA, I still can't get over how good the "Northern Hemisphere" weather is here right through November and usually up until Christmas.
From yesterday mornings ride and then yesterday afternoons walk....... the Pena Monenesa and the Rio Ara 🙂
Hello spekkie - saw you on another thread which reminded me to come by to say thanks for this thread - only joined in a few pages back and have really enjoyed it - will catch up when time allows. 🙂
Thanks Rona - glad you're enjoying it. I'm enjoying writing it.
👍
Me too...I had hoped to holiday in the Pyrenees this year. Obviously, that didn't happen but maybe 2021 or 2022...
One day Mark!
I know that trail in the photos hehe! Was hoping for another jaunt up to Ainsa before the end of the year but latest restrictions have put the brakes on.
You are very lucky having that on the doorstep Spekkie. Not sure about there but here in País Vasco we're limited to doing exercise in 'municipios colindantes', in other words you can cross one municipal boundary but not two. Can't drive to do sport either, nt that I tend to. So route planning now is quite the art, have got my old paper IGN maps out and highlighted the boundaries; can ride/run my favourite local mountain if I cross the harbour by boat, but not by road as it goes through another district!
Same restrictions here in Cataluña, we live about 15km inland so we can get to the beach without breaking the 2 termes rule as well as riding the 80km mountain loop that I put together when training for the Badlands race. Bet no-one thought we'd be back to poring over maps working out village boundaries in 2020 when they were initially drawn up years ago.
Hey Bob!
Currently we have no restrictions here as far as I know. The only restriction today is that it's pouring down with rain. My Scottish friends tell me it's just as well I don't live where they live or I'd never go out!
There's no need for and real route planning here - as you say, there are just so many routes on our doorstep. I'd make myself aware of the municipal boundaries if it came to it, but for the moment it's business as usual.
One of these days you'll make it over this way and we'll grab a beer and a ride.
You're welcome @i_like. Glad you're enjoying it!
Yesterday I did part of Zona Zero Route 15 (ZZ-015) which is five minutes down the road from Boltaña town.
A 40 minute climb on a really nice gravel track followed by a 12 minute descent on a combination of farm trail / jeep track / goodness knows what.
The trail goes up to the village of Silves, which actually consists of two parts - the upper and the lower village (Silves Alto and Silves Bajo). The village is semi-inhabited. The houses will all have been "in the family" for ever and I'm not certain but I believe that the houses that are occupied are actually holiday places and the families actually live elsewhere. The village sits at about 900m and the views are, as usual, stunning.
It's surprising how quickly you find youself way up above the road you were just on!
Getting some altitude now . . . . .
Plenty signs . . . .
And some abandoned houses . . . . .
This little loop will be my go-to ride during the dry winter months. A nice workout but never too far from home.
Typical Spanish - there's a signpost to the bar 😀
A sunny Autumn afternoon riding through the Castle grounds up in Ainsa Old Town.
Normally there would have been loads of people enjoying the day 🙁
#Covid19 #2020
There was heavy rain up in the mountains for 24 hours over the weekend.....
It's difficult to imagine this is one of our swimming spots in the Summer time!
Thankfully the sun came back the next day and normal service was resumed 🙂
On Tuesday we did a little walk with some friends who live locally up to the "Samitier Castle" - a castle ruin perched on the edge of a rather long drop!
Nearly there . . . . .
The views from the top are stunning and it's not a difficult place to get to. I'd recommend it to visitors.
You can just see the tower of the church in the middle of the dam. The village of Mediano was lost when they flooded the valley. In dry season you can walk out to that church, in wet season only the top 2 meters of the tower are showing!
The river that joins the Mediano and El Grado Dams....
Some new XC trail to add to my existing routes . . . .
It's a great little trip, 20 mins from home to the village of Samitier and not nearly as hard to get up to the castle as you'd think. The views and the colours are stunning. We enjoyed it!
Loving seeing these pics. My favourite memories of the area are swimming and sunbathing in the various river gorges when it was scourching hot.
Gorgeous pics! 😃