hey all..

I've just come back from a few days of trail riding in the mountains and foothills of the Pyranees on organised holiday..

2 full days of riding in awsome terrain with 1000's of miles of trails. Trails for all abilitys and skillsets. Full of technical hill climbs and drop offs and miles and miles of singletrack, fireroad and river beds etc.

Well, if your looking to improve your confidence and skills offroad then I cant recommend this type of riding enough.. I REALLY wish I did something like this before my trip.. I think I would of gone looking for the dirt and gravel more than worrying about it.

I've got a fair deal of riding experience and done some a fair few offroad overland milage but this experience has dramatically improved my confidence and skills on 2 wheels.... I think its a MUST for anyone a little nervous when the going gets rough. By the end of the trip I was FLYING on the WR450 doing things I thought only possible by the pro's.

Sure, riding enduro bikes is easier than dragging a packed up overlander around, but the skills and techniques are the same and there is a great deal of "crossover"

I used this company Go-Sun-Go: Off-Road Biking Holidays in Spain but I WOULDNT use them again for this reason:

On the last day, our mates bike hit a rock put a hole in the radiator (a common thing) The company wouldnt/couldnt supply a spare bike, didnt have any spare parts or ways to repair anthing. They didnt refund his lost days riding and then charged us £25 for the repair job.

It left a bad taste but didnt detract too much from the AWSOME experience of mountain trail riding.

Get out there and do it

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Sounds great Ted, what were the approx costs? I'm thinking of taking the bike down to Spain this summer, any recommendations?

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Mike


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Well ours was a package. Bikes, equipment, accomodation etc..

Cost was £270 + flights (£40 return) for 3 nights and 2 days riding.. Obviously you could just ride down there or take bikes in a van but I think it works out cheaper going with a company and you get to use their bikes (made for the job) without worrying about damaging yours etc and having a guide who knows the area and all the best riding.

Theres LOADS of people who do it out there. The back of most bike magazines have ads for them..

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

For those coming to (or here already in) the US, Southern California specifically, there are similar tours that will let you recreate the Baja 1000 (maybe not so far, but still...). I do think the prices are a bit more expensive, but many of the tours are guided by actual Baja 1000 racers. You can find those using search engines.

I do think that dirt riding is a very good all-around useful skill to have for all kinds of riding. Excellent advice, Ted! If I win the lottery, or pull off a really big bank job, I would like to try one of the Baja tours, and Spain sounds interesting.

'tis true Ted. Good practice indeed and allows one to test one's limitations. I found mine on day one; upside down in a tree!

I spent 4 days in the Pyrenees, staying in Ampolla, 3 years ago. The same trip 2 years ago got cancelled because the guy told us that doing this was now illegal.

About the repair; did you not have an option of insurance?

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How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

The bikes were covered 3rd party only and it was in their small print about paying for damage... Its a bit cheeky really..

We wernt bothered about the £25 (only £5 each), it was the fact that he couldnt supply a spare bike and didnt refund and THEN asked for money. A blob of chemical metal in the small hole and a top up with water would of sufficed but he didnt even have that.. 2 of us had to ride with flat tyres for a couple of hours too as he didnt even have anything to sort them out. The guy obviously wasnt a mechanic and didnt want to pay for one either.

He was trying to sell the business so he was obviously winging it until then.. No spares on the shelf etc.

Still, we did get it heavily discounted and we have an AWSOME time

I'll be doing some more in UK this summer... Im totally hooked.

Hey Mick, could be a business idea for you in Colombia. I'd come and help you with that one

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.