stories

Neil Halcrow finds out what its like to ride in a foreign country (with a little help from his friends and a Bikefax guide).

Riding abroad can be a real big learning curve, and for me riding in Southern Spain was no different. Not only do you find yourself in a big country with a strange language, a different way of doing things, and a very different approach to mountain biking, but without a little bit of expert help you really havent got a clue as to where to start riding. You know the trails are out there. Tall tales told of fabulous, glittering singletrack. But where!

Always open to new experiences (especially where it involves a mountain bike), when the opportunity to ride over in the Sierra Nevada area of Southern Spain arose, I jumped at the chance, packed my kit, bike and a spare set of undies, and headed for the airport to meet up with Sue Savage from Bikefax. After a late flight from Liverpool and an hour of so in a hire car, we arrived at the little town of Lanjaron, sitting quietly on the eastern edge of the southern hills of the Sierra Nevada, an area known as Las Alpujarras.  I couldnt see a whole lot of the town when we arrived at 3am in the morning, but after a few hours shut eye I awoke to a lovely back drop of mountains and the sound of Spanish voices in the street below.

After rebuilding my bike with the help of a few strong coffees, it was time to think about riding, but heres where the problem came in. I had been told about the endless riding to be had in Spain, and Lanjaron was smack bang in the centre of it all, but looking at the local map I hadnt a clue on where or even what to ride. No wonder people on a short trip use local guiding outfits to show them round the trails. Luckily for me though, I had my secret weapon in the form of Sue, who had been out riding in the area all winter, collecting information on the best trails to ride for the New Bikefax Southern Spain Guide. In the UK we are spoilt because we have detailed maps, guide books, magazines, and generally as a whole, mountain biking has a far higher profile as compared with the sport in Spain. Spain is a country with massive amount of mountain bike potential but little information. It can be tricky!

With another look at the local map and some guidance from Sue as to what you can ride on and what to look out for, we headed out to ride a classic trail which finished right back in the middle of town. What you will find with most Spanish trails is that there is normally always a fire road climb at the start, and although youll never find this part of the ride challenging, it does make you appreciate the awesome descents that will follow. And what a trail the Tello Descent was. Flowing singletrack cut into the side of a deep valley, with a mixture of technical sections, fast turns, switchbacks, and little need to pedal. It was a real joy to ride.

The next few days Sue and I travelled further away from Lanjaron to experience the vast network of trails Southern Spain and this part of Andalucia have to offer, and I was never disappointed, but all of this would not have been possible without a bit of research, and a hire car. After Tello we headed up to Bubion for the reportedly never-ending switchbacks of the Angel Descent and the Bubion Singletrack, and after thinking it just couldnt get any better than Tello, the awesome scale was just knocked up another level. But the scale definitely hadnt reached the top yet.

The next day we drove the half hour or so up the road to Busquistar to ride the very tight and technical zigzags on both sides of the Trevelez Gorge. Sue described this one as off the scale. Not wrong. Some of the switchbacks were so tight and the consequences of getting it wrong, this was certainly not a ride for the faint hearted or fool hardy. On from here we followed the tarmac road looking for an inconspicuous looking signpost pointing to Notaez, and different again, we were now riding fast though low gorse and scrub, and along the edge of olive groves, to finally drop steeply down through massive cactuses into the river bed of the Rio Guadalfreo. Another awesome route and one thats just as popular with DH riders as with XCers.

After a night on the tiles in Granada (just half an hours drive up the motorway) we were all feeling a little tired this morning. Coffees in a bar in Portugos gave us the strength to ride up the hill to the start of the Trevelez GR7 ride. The GR7 stretches all the way from one end of Europe to the other, but today, we were just riding the section from Trevelez to Portugos! The riding was quite different again. This time, fast earthy singletrack flowed downhill like hot oil, with little jumps, small drops, and short steep ravines popping up entertainingly but not too often.

Back for beers at basecamp Freeride Spain in Lanjaron, Sue said I really should ride just one more trail before heading home. With the offer of vehicle uplift to the start, who was I to refuse. An hour later with short but sharp, dusty steepness of the Rabiete Blast done and dusted, I was back in Lanjaron, sat outside at a terrace bar on the warm evening with beer in hand and tapas on the table. Heaven!

And all this riding in just four days. Unbelievable!  Anyone looking for a great location to ride their bikes just has to go to Spain. But I would advise that you do some research before you go, get a guidebook and a map and make the most of your holiday, instead of wasting your holiday searching around for places to ride while your out there.

Check out more rides in Andalucia with:

Mountain Bike Southern Spain