Who are the people behind basqueMTB? Why do we have so many repeat visitors? What is the thinking behind our holidays and why do we get so many great reviews all over the web? Hopefully this page will go some way towards answering. If it doesn’t then please drop us a mail and ask!
Why Choose basqueMTB?
At basqueMTB we do a few things differently to make your holiday special, and to ensure we have a positive impact on the places we ride. It is something we are proud of.
We know that holiday time is always limited and we want to go that extra mile to make sure the time you spend with us is special. That means taking care of your experience, the areas you ride in, and the team you ride with.
Looking After Our Trails
We share some of our profits with the people who look after the trails we use and in our spare time we also run a non-profit which supports our trail systems.
Great Groups Mean Great Trips
All our guests are streamed by level and fitness. We put a lot of effort into putting together solid groups which can gel and enjoy riding together.
Big Team, Small Group
Each week we have a team of drivers and guides to allow groups to divide and to cope with any unexpected events. This lets everyone have a great trip no matter what.
Support Local People
We use locally owned accommodation, restaurants and shuttle companies. That puts money back into the valleys we ride in.
Looking After Our Guides
Local guides who are fairly paid, and are fully, legally employed. That means contracts, sick pay, holidays, a pension and time off between trips. We believe that happy guides make amazing experiences.
For Riders, By Riders
We live and ride here all year round and that means we can give you the best mountain bike experience.
What We Expect Of You
We expect you to treat our guides, local partners, local people and the environment we ride in, with respect.
How We Run basqueMTB
We are by far the longest running mountain bike holiday company in the Pyrenees, running our award winning mountain bike holidays here since 2008. We have been working with the trail builders and businesses in all the areas we ride in, helping many of them get started and set up. This gives us a great relationship with the people we work with and adds a lot to the mountain bike holidays we offer. You can read about the start of our journey on our “10 Years of Mountain Bike Holidays” post.
Despite really high demand we choose to limit the number of people we guide each week to allow us to provide better holidays. On our holidays you can expect a team of between 4 and 6 people on the trails for a group of 12 to 15 riders. This lets us split groups and deal with anything unexpected without affecting the rest of the group. Unfortunately this means we are normally fully booked and turn away some people each week, so if that is you then sorry!
We use our dedicated vans and trailers to offer uplift. This generally means up to 80% of the climbing done in the vans but we also offer the option of less uplift or of using the vans to do big backcountry point to points. The fact that the vans are dedicated to our groups for the duration of the trip means that we can really tailor the riding to how our groups feel in the morning.
The BasqueMTB Team
Our guides are fully trained, both in guiding and in first aid, and we have properly thought out procedures for any emergencies that should arise.
You won’t find our guides racing down the hill leaving all the guests behind, we will be looking after you and helping you get the most out of your holiday and, if you want, develop your riding.
Doug
Doug: “El Jefe”
Doug has been biking for as long as he can remember and has been helpless as the addiction has taken over his life. Doug met Amaia in a seedy club in Edinburgh and fell for her Basque charms and moved to the Basque Coast with her in 2008.
Doug is the founder of BasqueMTB and one of the main guides. He holds a SMBLA mountain bike leader guiding qualification and has been riding XC and DH around Scotland for years so will ensure that no matter what your level you are properly looked after and kept excited! He can also offer some coaching to help you get the most out of the challenging local terrain. Doug is also a keen photographer and snaps lots of photos during the trips ready to share with you.
When not biking he can often be found digging new trails in the hills behind his house.
Antonio
Antonio: “Silver Fox”
Antonio has been guiding for basqueMTB’s for several years now and holds a local guiding qualification and first aid certificate. Born and bred in the Pyrenees he has been biking since before mountain biking was mountain biking and his knowledge of the wider Pyrenees area is breathtaking. He has forgotten more trails that most people will ever know, however that might be due to his affection for red wine!
Antonio’s English is improving every day and he is always a fun and charismatic guide with a wealth of local knowledge.
When Antonio isn’t guiding, and once everyone is safely home, Antonio can be found hanging around bars eating red meat, drinking red wine and being right about everything.
Andoni
Andoni “Freeride”
Andoni brings a touch of freeride to the BasqueMTB team. He’s a blast to follow, with his bike either in the air or going sideways! Andoni is Basque for Antonio which is Spanish for Tony… so really we have two Tony´s on the team.
Andoni is from our home town, here in Northern Spain and has been a figure on rides and dig days for years. Finally we managed to convince him to join the team. With his smiley face, helpful nature and great English he is a firm favourite with guides and guests alike.
When Andoni isn’t riding he can be found working out, camping in his van or travelling.
Eñaut
Eñaut “Second Breakfast”
Eñaut came to work with us when he did the last stage of his Spanish guiding qualification with us back in 2018. He was absolutely fantastic and I spent the next two years offering him a job. Finally at the end of 2019 he accepted!
Eñaut, (“enyaut”) is a very Basque name, so you wont be surprised to find out that he is from the Basque Highlands, near our base in Hondarribia. He has always been involved in some kind of sport, after many years playing rugby, he got into cycling due to an injury. Eñaut has been working for years in the Pyrenees as a white water guide and know the mountains really well. He has also been working on the TransNomad enduro race in the Pyrenees as bike patrol.
When Eñaut is not riding, he is either climbing or running in the mountains, but never with an empty stomach.
Zumai
Zumai
Zumai is another rider from our local town. We need to get him a nickname, it is a work in progress. He has been riding with us for years and is a regular on the trail dig days. He is also one of the smoothest riders I have ever seen. It is incredible how he can ride so fast and be so smooth.
Zumai has been guiding with us since 2021 and if you have had a problem on one of our trips then probably Zumai has been the one who has worked out how to fix it. That comes from years of working in bike shops!
When Zumai isn’t riding he is trail building, or helping out at his families croft. But seriously, he is always riding!
Amaia
Amaia: “The Real Boss”
Amaia is a local Basque girl who grew up in San Sebastian. After studying business in San Sebastian she visited Scotland, planning to stay a few months to improve her English. She stayed for several years until she hooked a good Scottish boy and dragged him home! Amaia is our advisor for all things cultural, the more refined things about the Basque Country.
From 2020 Amaia has given up her proper job and has joined the basqueMTB team full time. As our business has grown and got more professional there is a lot more paperwork and we need to make sure we are doing things correctly. She will be doing our accounts, handling accommodation booking and trying to make sure that we do everything as properly as possible. This frees up Doug to ride his bike more with our guests.
Amaia doesn´t bike, so when not biking she loves visiting the local towns, cities and shops.
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