THE HIGHEST TRAILS ON THIS HUGE PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE ADVENTURE
Our Pyrenees Odyssey is a mountain bike adventure through the highest mountains in the Pyrenees. Each day starts with a big shuttle, followed by a climb to reach one of the high passes in the Pyrenees. The descents are massive, as we ride to the valley floor below where our team will lay out a great picnic with local produce. The afternoons are filled with exciting shuttle runs, providing a contrast and offering some amazing mountain biking. It is the perfect blend of adventure, high mountains and adrenaline.
Pyrenees Odyssey Mountain Bike Tour
- €1825/person
- 7 nights
- July
- 6 days guiding
- More than 18,000m descending, 5,000m climbing
- All breakfasts, all lunches and 5 dinners included
- Single room €300
- Transfers from Barcelona
PHOTOS | PYRENEES ODYSSEY MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR
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The Highest Trails in The Pyrenees
This is high mountain riding on the best trails in the Pyrenees, reaching almost 3000m, and enjoying descents that go on for ever. On two days we will enjoy single descents of almost 2000m, from the high alpine down to the hotel where you will sleep.
The Pyrenees Odyssey is something we have been working on for several years. It is a blend of different one-off trips, various explorations and our old Ultimate Pyrenees trip. The concept is pretty simple, each morning there is a massive uplift followed by some hard work to reach a high point for the day. From there you can expect a massive descent and a picnic to be waiting for you at the bottom. The afternoons are more focussed on shuttle assisted riding, packing in some descending and generally having fun.
Extra Information About Your Pyrenees Odyssey Mountain Bike Tour
What’s Included?
- What is included?
- Transfers from Barcelona.
- Full Van Support and Unlimited Shuttles.
- All meals included.
- 6 days of riding.
- Basically this trip includes everything apart from.
- Evening beers. A beer is around €2.
- Snacks.
How We Guide The Pyrenees Odyssey
- We have 3 guides each day to let us manage the group better.
- We have a support team of 2 or 3 drivers with 4×4´s. They assist with lunches, run the shuttles, and assist in case of emergency.
- We will have one basqueMTB guide moving luggage and organising picnics each day.
What is the biking like in the Backcountry Pyrenees?
The Biking
Obviously for this trip the riding is off the scale. Almost every day we will reach a high mountain pass, using uplifts, riding and hiking, and enjoy the endless descents on the other side. It is intense, physical and technical. The trails suit advanced to expert riders. Each day we will have some hike-a-bike and long, long descents so you need to have good to excellent fitness.
Highlights
- Crossing between Spain, France and Val d´Aran on the High Pyrenees passes.
- The black trails which are about 2500m in the Pyrenees.
- Riding at almost 3000m as we cross Llauset.
What Bike Do I Need?
A capable trail bike with 150mm of travel or more is the minimum. The guides will be riding 150mm/160mm Enduro bikes. Light electric bikes work but get in touch first.
Arrival
- Airports and Train Station: Barcelona.
- Times: You can arrive any time before 13:30 if you want to use our transfer.
- Transfers: Transfers take around 3 hours. Private transfers can be organised too.
- Car: You can drive to Ainsa.
Departure
Our transfer will leave the hotel around 9am, getting you to the airport for 12:00. Please book a flight that leaves after 13:30, or stay on to enjoy Barcelona for a few days.
Locally Owned
We stay in different hotels during this trip and as always we aim to use quality, locally owned accommodation. Each stop is different but all hotels have Wifi, Bike Storage and are right next to the trails!
Today we will ride a challenging series of uplifts around Benasque. There will be no hike-a-bike, this is to get to know each other and make sure our bikes are ready for the adventure. It is a big day with lots of amazing riding though.
Uphill: 300m
Downhill: 4500m
Today is a cross over with our High Pyrenees trip. We ride a series of big trails to our next hotel. There are two hike-a-bikes, one of around 2 hours and the other around 30 minutes. It is the first of the big days with and amazing lunch included. We sleep in a lovely hotel in the historic center of Bielsa.
Uphill: 100m
Downhill: 3000m
Today we have another day from our High Pyrenees trip. It is just too good to not ride! There are lots of options for how to ride.
Uphill: 400m
Downhill: 4500m
After an amazing shuttle ride we arrive close to the French border. We have a couple of hours of hike-a-bike, crossing back and forth between Spain and France at 2500m. We eventually arrive to 2750m and have an amazing descent to the lunch spot. One more uplift and a big ride to the hotel. We can do more riding but most people choose to have a slightly shorter day and prepare for the next two days which are big!
Uphill: 1000m
Downhill: 2500m
Today we leave from the hotel, with a short pedal to warm up. From there is it around 2.5 hours of hike-a-bike to reach the French border high up in the mountains. From there we have 2000m of descending back to the valley floor where we have a picnic waiting. After lunch we run shuttles until we are tired.
Uphill: 1000m
Downhill: 4000m
Today is the big finale. We have around 3 hours of hike-a-bike to reach an amazing pass, high in the black, volcanic rocks of the Pyrenees. From here we have over 2000m of descending, with some more climbing, to the valley floor. After a big picnic lunch we fill what is left of the afternoon with some easy shuttles to end the trip
Uphill: 1200m
Downhill: 4000m
On Saturday morning we will transfer everyone back to Barcelona airport, ready to catch and afternoon flight home. Or if you want you can spend a night or two in Barcelona.
- Trip cancellation. We won’t cancel, but you might have to due to injury etc.
- Your bike for theft and damage.
- Your luggage.
- Emergency medical cover.
- Rescue, including helicopter.
- Getting you back home if needed. This is a big one, if you have a broken leg for example you might not be allowed on a commercial flight.
- We will be riding marked trails, with a guide, the Pyrenees trips get up to almost 3000m and the Basque Coast 2000m.
It is essential that you organise your own insurance to cover yourselves and your personal belongings. This should specifically cover mountain biking. We need you to pass us a copy of the insurance for all members of your group. No insurance means no ride.
We recommend that your insurance should cover:
We have a deal with Yellow Jersey, using the code BASQUE10 for UK residents.
For non-UK residents our guests say good things about World Nomads World Nomads.
- What weather can I expect?
- The weather in the Spanish Pyrenees allows year round mountain biking. In winter the days are generally cold, however the skies are generally clear and this is a very dry part of Spain with around 330 days of sunshine a year. Temperatures are higher in autumn and spring, but you can expect general temperatures of around 10-20degC.
- I’m vegetarian / vegan / pescatarian.
- If you eat fish it is easy. If you are vegetarian it needs a bit more management just to make sure we coordinate menus to get some variety. If you are vegan there are going to be some limitations for you but we can totally do it. Please let us know when you book.
- What are the minimum numbers, and can I book as an individual?
- No problems to book as an individual. We don’t have minimum numbers to confirm trips.
- How much riding is there?
- We don’t limit the riding. We aim to be finished by 6pm, but sometimes offer more riding to those who want it. There are multiple shuttles each day.
- What is the difference between the High Pyrenees and the Pyrenes Odyssey?
- The High Pyrenees has some hike-a-bike but is generally focussed on the descents.
- The Pyrenees Odyssey goes higher. This means that we are higher than the vans can take us, meaning more climbing, mainly hike-a-bike, and the pay-off is long, long descents. There are a couple of days which feature on both trips. These serve as easier days on the Pyrenees Odyssey, to prepare for the next hard days.
- Why don’t you offer heli-biking on this trip any more?
- The descent we loved is no longer allowed for heli-biking. There is only one descent and we don’t rate it highly. It just doesn’t make sense to us when you can get more, and better, descending with 4×4 vans.
Submit your review | |
I can't speak highly enough of Doug and his team. You can see an enormous amount of work goes into planning the trip.
When you get out on the trails, checked into the hotel after a long day, see the team make adjustments to factor in weather, maintenance and mishaps, the hard work, dedication and love for the ride really shows.
It feels like the ultimate adventure. And thata probably why so many people keep riding with basqueMTB.
Would I do I again isn't a valid question. WHEN is the only decision I need to make
It was a really excellent week! Certainly the most relentless 'holiday' I've ever done - but in a very good way!
The trails we rode, places we stayed, and places we ate were all generally great, with some stand out absolutely superb places we ate (like Planet 81). To put all of this together is some feat of organisation - Basque is an obviously slick and experienced company.
Brilliant trip! Exceeded already high expectations. Amazing landscapes, trails, great guides and the food at times was special (overall, great quality, special mention to Planet 81 and hotel in Bielsa a close second). Our group loved it and we laughed a lot. I think the descriptions on the website are very fair, but I think more pictures/vids of the likes of El Gallinero might give the unsuspecting more idea of the technical level at times- I was a little worried before that we were in for a lot of fast but not very tech singletrack... It definitely delivered challenging trails!
Had an amazing week on the bike. Food was great, plenty of it for every meal. Difficulty rating was exactly as advertised. I was expecting it to have been easier than advertised, but it was bang on. Which was good - would have disappointed of there was less effort involved and less tech. It was the hike a bike and journey feel that made the trip. Happy with the amount of riding we did too. Always options for another run, but happy to have the flexibility to stop early and not crash if that felt like the right thing to do. Will be back. Though not sure what trip...
Guest Reviews
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