“What a beautiful creation the mountain bike; what else can circle so many hard to reach places within an embrace of so many kilometers.”

This Saturday we were treated to an amazingly epic mountain bike route in the southern foothills of the Pyrenees. I could claim that this was research for my Spanish Pyrenees holiday, and indeed it was, but more than that it was about riding bikes with friends. This part of Spain is famous for its rock-climbing but the mountain biking is equally good here, and the scenery is spectacular, like something out of the wild west. The area is around and hour and three-quarters from San Sebastian so is a little bit far for our San Sebastian based mountain bike holidays, but it is possible to do as a day trip or with the option of spending one night here during a weeks holiday. Read on for more pictures and a description of the route. Read the post »

There have been a few big advances in mountain biking over the last decade and a bit. Suspension is definitely one such advance. Disc brakes is another few people would argue about. Some people say adjustable seatposts are another. Personally, I think that tubeless tyres are another. Tubeless tyres, don’t seem to have taken over the mountain biking world though. probably less than 25% of people use them. I mainly mountain bike in northern Spain, the Basque Country to be specific. I guide and run holidays on the Basque Coast and in the Spanish Pyrenees and put in a lot of miles in different types of terrain. I also get to see a lot of mountain bikers, especially during the holiday season, and see what works and what doesn’t. Tubeless tyres, in my experience, are virtually hassle free once they are fitted. In my opinion the hassle of fitting them is worth it for the trouble-free mountain biking you can enjoy afterwards. So whether it is UST, Tubeless, LUST, Tubeless Ready or standard singleply and doubleply read on for my take on going tubeless. Read the post »

Our current tops in action.

We are about to order a new batch of BasqueMTB mountain bike tops. Some of you who have visited us for a mountain bike holiday may have seen the tops, or you may even have one! This years tops are of the same design however we are going to use a new company to produce them. Read on for photos, designs and order information.

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A historical village at the top of a mountain.

Another day mountain biking in Spain. This time I left the Basque Country and drove south into Spain, towards Pamplona. The trail was a remote mountain, around an hour and twenty minutes from San Sebastian. My friend Javito had a holiday so was joining me, partly to show me some trails and partly to do some trail finding. We rode until the sun set, I crashed 4 times and we rode some of the finest singletrack I’ve ridden in a long time. Throw in war heroes, plane crashes, mountain top graveyards and it all adds up to a fine day mountain biking and somewhere we might take you on your mountain bike holiday. Read the post »

Biking high above Spain and France with the Pyrenees in the background.

As the economic crisis rumbles on my friend from Pamplona, Antonio, finds himself with a holiday every Tuesday. So, Spain’s loss is our gain and we plan to use his holiday for mountain biking each week. This Tuesday Antonio told me he had a new route from a mountain which sits on the border with Spain and France, around equidistant from San Sebastian and Pamplona. I had taken my bike there previously and not found a route but Antonio assured me that this descent was one of the best he knows. That was enough to convince me! Read on for more about how we spend Antonio’s Tuesday holiday… Read the post »