The last group of 2026 rolls out of Tremp next weekend, and with it our eighteenth season comes to an end. It has been a good one: dry trails in spring, a long, settled autumn in the high mountains, and a lot of familiar faces back on the bikes.
Before we put the vans away for the winter, here is a look back at the year, what we have been building, and the dates for 2027.
The season in numbers
- 24 weeks of guided riding, from the first Tremp vs Ainsa in April to the last one in late November
- Around 225 riders from 13 countries: the UK, Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Spain.
- 19% female riders, 17% of people came as individuals, and 58% of people had already done one trip with us previously.
- A quiet August, as always. It is a strange time for a company like ours to stop but the guides need a break too!
The number we are proudest of is the number of people who come back again. A big part of every group is people who have ridden with us before, and some of them have been coming back for over ten years. That trust is the reason we still do this.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Highlights from the year
Andoni Takes Over Our Social Media
You may have noticed that we have been more active on Instagram lately. That is because Andoni, our guide, has taken over and we are sharing more of the stories from our trips. Check it out on https://www.instagram.com/basquemtb
Spring: Tremp, Ainsa and the Backcountry
We opened in April with two weeks of Tremp vs Ainsa and a week of Ainsa Enduro, then three Backcountry Pyrenees weeks through May. The Pre-Pyrenees were dry and fast all spring, and a standout moment in my memory was bathing in the waterfalls of Guara after another sunny day on the bikes!
Early summer: the Basque Coast
Three weeks on the coast from late May into June, and a fourth at the end of August. It was a great Basque Coast season for us since we have been transforming this area with our non-profit and help from the Orbea Foundation and local governments. It has been a lot of work, by a lot of different people, and it was amazing to share the results with our guests this year.
The high mountains: High Pyrenees and Pyrenees Odyssey
The High Pyrenees was busy again, with one week in July and seven running back to back from September to late October. The Odyssey ran in July, and we also did a special “High Pyrenees Extreme” trip for a returning group in September that was a lot of fun. Autumn up high was settled and clear for most of those weeks and as always we enjoyed the changing of the trees towards the end of October which always brings spectacular riding conditions. It was great to see the familiar trails here getting a major make-over in many places thanks to an injection of money from the Orbea Foundation.
Pamplona to San Sebastián
Last year we ran our first point-to-point week from Pamplona to the coast with a small group. It went well enough that we ran it twice again this year. We are calling it the Great Basque Traverse and it’s a point to point, in an XC or touring style. It mixes quiet roads, singletracks, and dirt roads to join Pamplona to San Sebastian over 5 or 6 days.
In The Press: Orbea´s Bike Launches
This year Orbea asked us to guide the riding for four of their launches, with journalists from some of the biggest mountain bike titles. It is a nice compliment: when a bike brand wants the world’s press to see their new bike at its best, they need trails that work and guides who know them.
| Launch | When | Where we rode | Read and watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orbea Rise | November 2026 | A Tour around Aneto | Enduro Mountainbike Magazine, Mountain Bike Rider (video) |
| Orbea Wild LT | June 2026 | Valle de Benasque, Pyrenees | MTBPro, BikeRadar, The Loam Wolf, Pinkbike |
| Orbea Oiz | June 2026 | Basaburua and Eremua, Navarra | MTBPro, Bikerumor |
| Orbea Rallon RS | January 2026 | Eremua, Navarra | BikeRadar, Enduro Mountainbike Magazine, Singletrack, MTBPro |
Enduro Mountainbike Magazine summed up their first two days around Aneto as: “sweat, sunburn and an ear-to-ear grin”. That is about what we aim for every week.
BIKE Magazine came out with us this year and ran a feature in their October issue. BIKE Magazine, October 2026: “The best place to go for long, epic tours in the countryside is the Spanish tour operator Basque MTB: The guides know the Pre-Pyrenees and Central Pyrenees like the back of their hand and can organise shuttles and accommodation for these areas.” Lesen Sie den vollständigen Artikel.
Trail work at home and contributions across the Pyrenees
When we are not guiding, a lot of our time goes into the trails around Bera, through the local club, Bikedasoa. This year was a big one.
- A maintenance agreement was signed in September, so the Bera and Lesaka trails now have funding for regular upkeep.
- New trail builders joined the crew, which means more hands on the tools through the winter.
- Igantzi Bike Park, opened with a blue and a black line, giving over 1000m of trails.
- Bera Bikepark, which opened in July 2025, had its first full season.
Our local riders, and basqueMTB guides, also did well at the Puro Pirineo Enduro in Benasque, coming home with two golds, a silver and a bronze. These are the people who build and ride these trails every week.
Of course, we ride in many different places across the Pyrenees. And we contribute to them too, making donations to several different trail associations like Bikedasoa so that the profits from our biking trips help them to keep their centers running.
What’s new for 2027
- High Pyrenees: Updated itinerary. The High Pyrenees itinerary is getting a major rework. We have been testing some ideas this summer and we will make the changes for 2027. If you want to be the first riders on the new itinerary, HP v2.0, then we are taking bookings for that trip in July. Get in touch for more details.
- E-bike trips. We will have a small number of e-bikes for hire next year. We will offer group trips on ebikes, starting with the Basque Coast, where e-bikes open up so many different possibilities. Get in touch for details, we are buying the bikes just now so the sooner you enquire the more chance of getting the right sizes for your groups!
- Smaller groups per guide. Each guide takes a maximum of 6 riders, and 5 in the high mountains. It means more time with your guide and a pace that suits you.
- More autumn and summer in the High Pyrenees. Departures in July with the new itinerary, and from mid-September to late October.
2027 dates
All trips start on a Saturday. Places can go fast, so if you have a set week in mind, or a bigger group, please get in touch early.
| Reise | When | 2027 start dates |
|---|---|---|
| Tremp gegen Ainsa | Frühling | 17 Apr, 24 Apr, 1 May |
| Backcountry Pyrenäen | Frühling | 8 May, 15 May, 22 May |
| Baskische Küste | Early summer | 5 Jun, 12 Jun, 19 Jun |
| Hohe Pyrenäen – First departures on the new itinerary | Summer | 3 Jul, 10 Jul |
| Pyrenäen-Odyssee | Summer | 24 Jul |
| Baskische Küste | Late summer | 4 Sep, 11 Sep |
| Hohe Pyrenäen | Autumn | Weekly, 18 Sep to 23 Oct |
| Tremp gegen Ainsa | Late autumn | 6 Nov, 13 Nov, 20 Nov |
For places left on each week, see the full calendar. Nothing to pay when you ask: we check every rider’s level first, then confirm within a day or two.
Thanks to everyone who rode with us in 2026. See you on the trails.
Doug and the basqueMTB crew
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