Mountain biking in the Pyrenees has come a very long way. A big part of that has been the explosion in trail building. The North of Spain is now one of the areas with the heaviest density of trails on Trail Forks and is quickly finding it’s way onto the bucket list destinations of many mountain bikers. I’ve been involved since the start and we have come a long way from scratching trails into the mountains without permission. Read on to find out about it and how Orbea is supporting us as well as telling our stories through their latest Trail Tales projects.
See the latest Trail TalesThe Evolution of Mountain Biking In The Pyrenees
As soon as I arrived here, back in 2007, the first thing I started doing was searching for good mountain bike trails, from the Basque Coast all the way across the Pyrenees. At that time Ainsa and Zona Zero were just getting going and really they set the example. I was building trails here and there around the Basque Coast, but there was no mechanism to ask for permission and that was a really big obstacle to creating an official trail network.
Fast forward to 2020 and things were really hotting up. There were amazing trail projects pushing mountain biking all across the Pyrenees. In the linked Trail Tales video you can hear about how we set up Bizibide in our home town of Lesaka, Manu built Basaburua just over in the next valley and Javi was pushing the area around Riglos. That is just to name a few projects which are helping to develop mountain biking in the Pyrenees!
Rise of the Pyrenees Mountain Bike Centers
These projects are supported by the government and that gives some base, however it doesn’t give enough to build a trail network and keep it in world-class condition. These projects live by volunteers and donations. Hotels and restaurants make donations. Some, (but amazingly not all), companies like basqueMTB make donations. We for example donate money to the areas we ride. We also help run a non-profit that manages and advocates for the trails in our area.
And that is where Orbea comes in. As a worker-owned cooperative they choose to donate a percentage of their profits each year to projects which make the world better. That ranges from supporting grass-roots sports teams, to advocating for women’s rights, to supporting projects in developing countries to… wait for it… supporting trail building. Orbea’s donations give our projects stability, and often helps bridge the funding gap which occurs from when we have the vision up until where we reach a point where the local government sees the potential and begins to lend support.
Simply put: without this help the mountain biking in the Pyrenees would not as extensive, and the trails would not be in the amazing condition that they are in. There are no strings attached and Orbea doesn’t ask for recognition. But hopefully it gives you some background to this latest Trail Tales video which I was proud to be a part of.
See The Latest Trail Tales Video: Local trails
After all that introduction, why not watch the latest Trail Tales video featuring Manu, Javi and Us!!
See the latest Trail TalesThe photos are by Markel Bazanbide, a great local photographer. You can see his instagram here.
The video is by Sandro, his videos are well worth checking out. You can see his instagram here.
