For thou­sands of years, Span­ish farm­ers moved their live­stock from val­ley farms to graze in the high Pyre­nees Moun­tains for the sum­mer months. This move­ment cre­at­ed hun­dreds of incred­i­ble live­stock trails, now redis­cov­ered, and uplift­ed by local moun­tain bik­ers in search of adven­ture. This unique his­to­ry of Spain has helped cre­ate a vibrant moun­tain bike scene you need to experience.

The trails criss­cross over mil­lion-year-old sea beds, across wine-rich regions, through aban­doned mid­dle-age vil­lages and along rocky foothills, before meet­ing the rugged Pyre­nees moun­tains — the nat­ur­al bor­der between Spain and France. The ter­rain offers up the per­fect ingre­di­ents for an awe-inspir­ing moun­tain bike trip. Tech­ni­cal sin­gle­track rid­ing in the heart of the Pyre­nees is topped off with mouth-water­ing Span­ish cui­sine (‘tapas’ includ­ed), local wine pair­ings and fas­ci­nat­ing, rich cul­tur­al expe­ri­ences. Descend 4,000 ver­ti­cal meters in one day,  ped­al by 1,000-year-old cas­tles and take count­less pho­tographs — the mem­o­ries you’ll cre­ate on this ride will not be forgotten.

Is This Ride For You?

You are a skilled moun­tain bik­er who loves a good chal­lenge, long descents and a fair amount of ped­al assist­ed ped­al­ing to keep you in shape! You’re fine break­ing a sweat if it means incred­i­ble views and get­ting off-the-beat­en-track where the chances of see­ing anoth­er moun­tain bik­er are slim. You thrive off epic descents with the help of your ped­al-assist­ed moun­tain bike. You’re com­fort­able rid­ing rocky ter­rain, includ­ing rock slabs, loose rocks, grip­py rock, slip­pery rocks — rock on! You’re com­fort­able rid­ing for up to 6 hours a day, for mul­ti­ple days. You have a sol­id, well-main­tained do-it-all trail E‑MTB. (with rough­ly 130–160mm of trav­el, drop­per post and beefy tires. Rentals are also avail­able). You love eat­ing like roy­al­ty, try­ing new foods and learn­ing about the local cul­ture and his­to­ry of the des­ti­na­tion you’re visiting.

*e‑MTB is includ­ed in trip price. 

Itinerary

Day 1. The Out­skirts of Ainsa

We’ll pick you up from our part­ner hotel in down­town Barcelona at 11:00 am or from the Barcelona air­port (BCN) at 12:00 pm.

To begin the trip, you’ll get to know the ter­rain and famil­iar­ize your­self with the area by trav­el­ing on the his­toric paths clos­est to the medieval town of Ain­sa. These paths, some of which were includ­ed in EWS 2015 and 2018, fea­ture clas­sic drops and pow­er­ful climbs—perfect to give you a taste of what lies ahead in the next few days. This entire area, with more than 300km of trails offers vari­ety and a range of options that you’ll get to explore in the fol­low­ing days. 

Upon arriv­ing in Aín­sa, you’ll meet your guides, review the week’s itin­er­ary, get your bike set up, and enjoy your first Span­ish din­ner together.

There will be an option to go for a quick ride close to town to get your legs spin­ning and warmed-up for the incred­i­ble week ahead!

Day 2.  Valle del Ara

Rise and shine!

Enjoy break­fast at the hotel and then suit up to ride!

On the sec­ond day, we’ll trav­el to the area of La Solana in the Ara Riv­er val­ley. Depop­u­lat­ed because of a reser­voir project that was nev­er com­plet­ed, this area has a mix of trails between for­est and medieval stone walls and many unin­hab­it­ed towns—or inhab­it­ed by peo­ple who fled the big cities in search of the tran­quil­i­ty this area offers.

After the ride we’ll head back to the hotel and get ready for a very spe­cial din­ner and an amaz­ing intro­duc­tion to Span­ish cui­sine. Bring your appetite!

Day 3. La Fueva

Good morn­ing Aínsa!

After break­fast at the hotel, we’ll spend anoth­er day explor­ing the incred­i­ble trails around Aínsa.

Only 15 min­utes from Ain­sa you’ll find the Val­ley of La Fue­va, always under the watch­ful gaze of the the fortress high above in Muro de Roda (“the wall of Roda). This fortress-cas­tle will be our hub for the day, as many trails begin and end there. 

This region has a strong Mediter­ranean cli­mate, which you can see in the veg­e­ta­tion and rocky ter­rain. After the ride, we’ll enjoy a cold post-ride bev­er­age and cheers to anoth­er day on the trails! 

We’ll head back to the hotel and get ready for din­ner in Aínsa.

Day 4. Guara 

Rise and Shine!‎

We move to the south of Ain­sa, to the region of la Sier­ra de Guara, known for its incred­i­ble ravines and Mediter­ranean forests—and the amaz­ing trails between them. 

Trails with hun­dreds of years of his­to­ry await us, and to fin­ish the day, we’ll vis­it a wine cel­lar where we’ll taste the excel­lent wines from this region in the Pre-Pyre­nees (the foothills of the Pyrenees). 

Din­ner is on your own tonight and the guides can make rec­om­men­da­tions on the best restau­rants in Ain­sa. Explore on your own or join oth­er riders. 

Day 5. Sier­ra de Arbe

We’ll enjoy break­fast at the hotel and then head south of Ain­sa, an area that hides the‎ beau­ti­ful town of Abizan­da. from‎ where the route that will take us‎ to trav­el the best trails‎ of the Sier­ra de Arbe, sur­round­ed by Mediter­ranean for­est, we will trav­el trails where the main char­ac­ter­is­tic is its con­glom­er­ate rock, such as marbles‎

Day 6. Aban­don Vil­lages in the North Sier­ra de Guar

Today we go to Noc­i­to, a remote place with­out a doubt, with a very spe­cial energy—a place whose many kilo­me­ters of trails between aban­doned towns and small rivers with nat­ur­al pools make it a per­fect place to ride. 

Day 7. Wild Nocito

After wak­ing up in the tran­quil vil­lage of Noc­i­to, we’ll take a route among stone trails that offers rolling ter­rain and some fun descents. We’ll con­tin­ue trav­el­ing through the moun­tains, between aban­doned vil­lages and on trails with abun­dant history. 

Day 8. Walls, Wines & Trails

On the way back to Barcelona we will explore Tremp, an area of the Cata­lan pre-Pyre­nees famous for its large lime­stone walls and deli­cious wines.

In addi­tion to being a climb­ing par­adise, and thanks to the local rid­ers, they now have undoubt­ed­ly some of the best descents in the Pyrenees.

You will find your­self rid­ing trails full of rock and sand­stone. You will be impressed by the excel­lent work the local trail builders accomplished. 

We’ll check in to our hotel in Benasque, enjoy a final din­ner togeth­er, share sto­ries, and say “Salud” to an amaz­ing adventure!

Day 9. Last Day, Best Trails in Tremp

For the last day, we expect with­out a doubt some of the best trails in the area. Tech­ni­cal trails that are a blast to ride. Though this is the last day, it will leave you with a huge smile on your face.

We offer a com­pli­men­ta­ry shut­tle back to Barcelona. We will drop Rid­ers off at the Barcelona air­port (BCN) or pro­vide a drop-off to our part­ner hotel in Barcelona in the late afternoon.

The fol­low­ing data rep­re­sents a typ­i­cal itin­er­ary, but adven­ture trav­el can be unpre­dictable, and our Guides may need to make last-minute changes to ensure your enjoy­ment. Inclement weath­er, road clo­sures, changes to the itin­er­ary to accom­mo­date requests, and oth­er issues may affect the itin­er­ary. The ride data rep­re­sents an ‘aver­age’ itin­er­ary and may dif­fer when you show up to ride. Our guides make every effort to stick to the itin­er­ary as post­ed, but your safe­ty is our #1 priority. 

Ride Data: The Great Spain e‑MTB Experience

Day Hours of rid­ing Dis­tance rid­den Ele­va­tion gained Ele­va­tion lost High­est ele­va­tion
1 3 16 4900 0 0
2 5 21 5900 0 0
3 5 20 5600 0 0
4 4 14 4300 0 0
5 6 25 5900 0 0
6 4 19 3900 0 0
7 4 17 5200 0 0
8 5 21 5200 0 0
9 4 19 5900 0 0
Totals 40 HRS

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Dates chosen: Sep. 30, 2023—Oct. 07, 2023
Skill Rating: Black Diamond
Fitness Rating: Green Circle
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Skill Levels
Black Diamond

The Black Diamond Rides are  suitable for riders looking for that edge. Maybe it’s the edge of a drop, the edge of a cliff, or singletrack requiring focus and fast reactions developed from extensive experience riding “the edge”. You will find yourself on steep trails of varied surfaces. In the Pacific North West that could be slick roots and loam, in Nepal you will find exposed granite in the Mustang Valley and in Guatemala it maybe narrow stairways through cliffside villages. While airtime is rarely required, the ability to find the backside or clean a tabletop should be comfortable or in a state of progress. Obstacles on Black rides are likely to be outside the range of your bikes ability to cover your goofs with its awesome suspension and grip.

Blue Square

In general, Blue trails are narrower than green trails, encounter unavoidable obstacles such as roots, rocks, and drops that are up to 8-inches tall. You will want to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of mountain biking including body positions, powerful braking, cornering, riding on varied terrain, steep sections and experience riding trails that requires line choice. Airtime is not mandatory, but you will find yourself on trails with alternate lines giving you the option.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black ride is for those that already know they are looking for a Double Black. It’s going to be very hard and require advanced bike handling skills. You will find yourself on trails with sections most non-riders would look at and say, “that’s totally nuts!”. You will know how to look at a line and contemplate where it will work and where it won’t. Drops of a couple feet should be comfortable and getting your bike off the ground should feel predictable and fun.

Green Circle

Typically, green Rides are safe for beginners. Green Rides may have both avoidable and unavoidable obstacles. Trails are generally low grade, wide, consistent surface texture and have minimal features. You are likely to come across unavoidable obstacles 2-inches or shorter, which is small enough for mountain bike tires to simply roll over. More challenging than tarmac, but in general, a wonderful Ride for those riders new to mountain biking or looking for a casual experience.

Fitness Levels
Black Diamond

A Black Fitness ride will test you. Aside from needing to be able to manage up to 6 hours on the bike, day after day, including distance up to 50km/30miles and elevation gains up to 1750m/5000feet of climbing, you will be adding extra challenges along the route like periods of hike-a-bike and the extra effort required by the whole body to safely dance with your bike over technical terrain. Generally, riders who are up for a Black Fitness ride, likely spend time on the bike a couple times each week.

Blue Square

Blue should be considered a good deal more effort than our Green Rides.  You should be able to handle 3 to 5 hours in the saddle covering up to 45km/30miles and be able to pull off a big day of 1000m/3000feet of elevation gain. Managing fuel is important as well.  You should have a good understanding how your body responds to multiple days on the bike. We will help with positive coaching, a manageable pace and plenty of trailside snacks.

Double Black Diamond

A Double Black will be for those with the strength and endurance to get to the top of anything they want and understand the term “turning the screw”. Distance could be quite high on some routes and elevation gain numbers could hit 2000m/6000 feet+ in a day. You are likely riding multiple days a week during the dry periods and have a trainer or belong to a gym for the rest of the year.

Green Circle

You should be ready to spend 2-4 hours per day on the bike. Mileage may be up to 30km/20 miles and elevation gain will be under 500m/1500feet. On e-MTB tours, numbers will be higher, however the approximate effort would be considered similar to a standard Green Circle ride. If you get on your bike once a week, you will be just fine. However, when preparing for a Ride, you will benefit from more rides and time in the saddle.