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Snakes Alive!
Came across this little guy yesterday whilst raking leaves at the campsite. He was sleepy and slow, but he started following me!


I re-homed him out in the countryside . . . .
YIKES! I was once followed by a sheep. I was on my bike and it managed to keep up remarkably well for a while ... but then I'm pretty slow! 😃
I'd rather be followed by a sheep than a snake! In SA I came close to being chased by a Hippo but managed to get away. I don't think the Hippo could be bothered getting out the dam he was in.
Jings ... I'd rather be followed by a sheep than a snake or a hippo! 😃
Taking a breather on the way to the abandoned village of Muro de Bellos.....

"Inter-Provincial Travel" should open up again shortly here in Spain.
For a while now IP Travel has been restricted - meaning that although local businesses that wanted to, could be (and generally have been) open, their customers have all only come from within their own province. In our case "Aragon".
I've been chatting to lots of my friends who are local "tourist business" owners and for some of them the off-season has been no different to any other year. Those that normally close, closed as normal.
Businesses that are usually open and even quite busy over our Winter season have seen fewer customers due to the restrictions but it has been partly balanced out by people from our own province who would normally go elsewhere for a week or long-weekend winter break and couldn't - coming here instead 🙂
There's no doubt that numbers are down, but given the circumstances, it's not been as bad for most of the people I interact with as it could have been.
The campsite that I sometimes work at decided not to open this year until IP Travel was allowed - they felt that the numbers of people likely to visit at this time didn't balance with the cost of opening and running the whole site. All the usual prep work we do has still needed doing and for me personally this year has been the same as previous years thankfully. The only difference being that where 2 or 3 of us normally get everything done by Easter for opening, I've been working pretty much on my own over the longer period of time that we've had to get everything done.
Let's see how the next few weeks go!
Remembering the "Jose "Pepe" Perez Memorial Race" held annually in October in Barbastro, a town about 50km south of where we live. Jose was a policeman who was sadly killed on duty.
I raced this in 2018 and loved it. Hoping it will be on again this year. The race was well organized and had a great atmosphere.

Working in Spain . . . .
My work here generally consists of three things. MTB guiding, Campsite maintenance and "helping local farmers". What I'm doing now is so far removed from what I've ever done before that it's hard to make any reasonable comparisons. I suspect that people doing similar jobs in the UK or SA to what I'm doing now will see a lot of similarities - but for me it's a world of difference.
"High Season" here is July, August & September. That's typically when I work 7 days a week at a local Campsite, usually 8am to 2pm and then I guide people in the evenings. Generally people I've met at the campsite of course. Last year I also did extra hours at the campsite in the evenings - they employed less staff but we did more hours. Thankfully they seem to like me, so any work going comes my way.
Outside of High Season I still do a lot of work a lot at the campsite - typically 9am to 2pm then 4pm to 7pm after a 2 hr lunch (which allows for a little Siesta). This is not a work pattern I've ever had before! In Spring and Autumn I do a fair bit of MTB Guiding - of course last year that was way down thanks to Covid, but the Campsite kept me busy to compensate. Out of season I occasionally help out farmers with jobs too.
Almost all of the work I do here now is hard physical work. I joke that it's like going to gym for 7 hrs a day. In reality it really is a good 5 or 6 hour workout a day with a bit of driving thrown in where I get to sit down for 5 mins. I'm not complaining, I enjoy it - I enjoy being outside, I love the mountain views and the workout certainly keeps me in shape. The campsite is 5 hectares of grass, dirt/gravel roads, walls, hedges, paths and swimming pools - with 26 chalets thrown in. It all needs constant attention. If you turn your back on anything for a week you can lose control! MTB Guiding is tough too - ask any MTB guide, no matter how much you love riding your bike, start doing it everyday for a living and it wears you out!
Earlier in the year I did 5 weeks "building site" work, working on the campsite owners apartment renovation project in the centre of Ainsa. That was tough going - the guys start at 8am, work until 7pm and only have an hour for lunch. We were manhandling building rubble from the third floor down to street level and into a truck for dumping, then manhandling bags of sand/cement and concrete blocks back up there to replace what we'd removed. It was an eye opener to see how long and hard these guys work. The atmosphere was amazing though, I learned some cool Spanish "phrases" to describe when things go wrong or are hard to do 🙂 and I made some good friends. I also recently did a week at the Campsite helping Jose-Marie, a local carpenter friend of the owners who was replacing wooden decking and Chalet panels - at the end of the week said I was a good "Carpentero"! He's actually a guy who's house I often work at in my spare time - pruning trees etc.
Working here can be hard, but it's very rewarding and I never drive for more than 10 minutes from home to get there! I pass people I've worked with in town or on the road, and they give me a wave and a smile. Out riding we share jokes about "who messed this or that up" on site, or "who couldn't keep up with loading rubble" (ok that's always me - these guys are Strong!), but the camaraderie is warm and there is respect. Living in a smallish community, knowing lots of people and being prepared to muck in and do whatever needs doing goes a long way.
I wish I was putting this sort of effort and these sorts of hours into our own "Project", but until I can, I'm happy to do this. It "keeps us going" and allows us to live in and experience a very beautiful part of the world 🙂
What a great post Spekkie.
Living in the middle of "Zona Zero" isn't just about riding MTB!
A couple of weeks ago Mrs Spekkie helped our friends Els and Pedro to make a promotional video about Kayaking here on the Mediano Dam (Embalse de Mediano). She enjoyed it so much that the following weekend we asked Els & Pedro if we could all do it again, so that I could try it!
I have to say, it was totally amazing!!
he dam is currently almost full. Maybe a meter and a half lower than when it's at its highest level. Els drove us all down to the start point with the 2-man Kayaks. We had them in the water within minutes and off we went. The water was beautiful and calm. Paddling the Kayaks was so easy it was a pleasure. We headed over to the tower of the old Mediano church - the only bit of the submerged village of Mediano that can be seen when the dam is full. From there we headed over to the East side of the dam and into one of the dams many "Barrancos". This one is where the Rio Usia that comes from the village of "El Humo de Muro" enters the dam. You can't get up as far as the village but we found a lovely little shaded spot halfway up to stop and have a picnic.
There is a knack to paddling a 2-man Kayak - you both have to work smoothly and in unison . . . . we struggled a bit with that!! but we did have a great and relaxing time on the beautiful blue water in the sunshine. I look forward to doing it again sometime soon. Happy Days 🙂


Els & Pedro set off . . . .

Heading towards the Church . . . .

. . . which you can paddle through . . . .

I'm doing all the work!

Chasing Els & Pedro towards a picnic spot.

What it looks like at the end of summer!

Amazing!
Cheers csb!
I'd highly recommend it!
Another reason to visit Spain...
Summer season is in full swing here and it's great. This really is a fantastic time of the year.
The campsite is keeping me busy until 2.30 seven days a week, then it's home for lunch and a Siesta and then a swim in the local river for an hour at around 5pm. Evenings I'm out riding then we have supper at 10pm and in bed by midnight. Restaurants are open now until after midnight and the fiesta mood is here 🙂
I'm seeing some amazing camper vans at the campsite, this one caught my eye the other day. You could take it way up into the mountains on a rough fire road and camp literally anywhere I think!

Always interesting reading your posts.
Looks like you are 'living the dream'.
@drnosh thanks - I enjoy writing them 🙂
Every year we get a week or so of crazy hot weather in August. I mean August is always nice and hot, but a week or so of temps exceeding 40 degrees.
This year has been no exception and over the last few days we've topped out at 41 and 42 degrees several times. When it's that hot you struggle to do anything, even thinking straight is hard! Like everyone, we do the best we can under the circumstances. Drop the outside blinds to keep the sun out of the flat during the day, drink plenty and swim in the river in the evening to try and cool our body cores down! Sleeping is hard, just sitting still is hard. I'm glad I finish work at 2:30 every day, because the afternoons are just too hot to work in unless you're in somewhere with aircon!
Yesterday the tempos dropped a few degrees and today they should drop a few more. We'll have 30 as a max instead of 40 - which will be lovely. I'm looking forward to getting on the bike again after a week off.
Thankfully we did have a cracking thunderstorm in the middle of the very hot spell and that settled the dust for a day or so.
Let's see how the next week goes . . . .
I did wonder if you kept riding when it hit 40c
@dave661350 - no, I generally don't. People were riding, but they were going out at 7am and finishing by 11:30 then hitting the pool!
By the time I was free in the evenings it was very hot, often with an added warm wind!
I was out on Tuesday eve and again showing someone around last night. Temps are much more agreeable now and both rides were really nice 🙂
@spekkie I sprained my MCL just before we set off, so proper mountain biking has been out of the question for me just the green routes with the kids. We’ve been here throughout the heatwave and the missus has been riding road riding at 7am every other day. This area is amazing we did canoeing and canyoning which completely did my knee in even though i don’t jump. We’ve spent most days in the rivers to keep cool.
We had some amazing food in the restaurants in town but also the surrounding villages.
We did try the blue from Ainsa and Boltana and it’s clear though the kids can do reds in the UK they aren’t used to the more natural feel of the terrain here and it spooked the youngest. Also there riding at home has been limited due to the fact I’ve been injured all year.
It was never going to be the holiday we planned as my knee swells up like a ballon after each ride but we will definitely be back in a couple of years, we come out to the Pyrenees most years. I’ll spend more time with the kids in the peaks and less time at trail centres, improve my non existent Spanish. I can speak French we are usually over in Luchon or Argeles Gazost. I’m also also going to get over my fear of jumping into water so I can do canyoning with the kids.
This is an amazing place for mountain biking and the infrastructure put in place for biking is first rate. I’d throughly recommend anyone to come here as change to to the usual mountain biking destinations. It’s also easy to get to from the Santander or Bilbao ferries much easier than driving to the alps from Calais or Caen.
Good to finally meet you @spekkie !
Last time we were up there a couple of weeks ago I got back from a run and my 8yo excitedly told me one of the campsite staff spoke English (he doesn’t hear many natives) and I thought that has to be Tony! But we left that day, I figured I’d catch you again at some point.
Fast forward to this week, I was on a moto camping tour doing some trail running around my end of the Pyrenees, so stopped at the Ainsa campsite to do a zona zero trail. ZZ-09 País de Lobos, it was hot but not unbearable, though I didn’t take enough water - every spring was dry. The abandoned village at Morcat was interesting but don’t go into the cemetery! Got a bit of a shock…
35km and 1100m later (and past Chez Spekkie) I was in the pool.
Met Tony yesterday as he was liberating a bat from one of the pool umbrellas!
Hope to be back before the end of summer. I love the high mountains but sometimes trotting around a signposted route is just what I need.
@Stainypants - what a shame to do that just before you left. Bummer! At least it sounds like you all still made the most of it while you were here.
The rivers are very popular all through summer. For a quick dip and a cool down we usually go to the nearest spot - 5 mins walk away - but if we want to make an afternoon of it with some proper swimming and a picnic then we go to one of the quieter spots, maybe 10 mins away by car.
Regarding the routes, although these here are generally very well maintained, they are often essentially still just very old footpaths worn into the natural rocky countryside.... Next time you guys are over we'll sort out some nice stuff to warm up on. Meantime, yeah, do as much of the real stuff as you can to practice 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it - and the local food IS good isn't it!?
🙂
@bob_summers - great to finally meet you man! Was a nice surprise to hear an English voice across the swimming pools. It was funny afterwards - the staff all running around saying "hey, did that English guy find you?"
The trail running here is very good - Morcat and back is a tough one, especially in the heat. You did well.
I wondered if you'd noticed the bat. I thought it was that you were going to ask me about when you called me. They often go to sleep in the morning inside the big pool umbrellas. I always open them carefully for that reason. I also always check the swimming pool weirs before I do anything else - to look for frogs that have gone into the pool over night! Some mornings I feel like Dr Doolittle!
Be great to see you next time you come this way. Keep in touch.
T.
Always a pleasure to explore Zona Zero but i’m really gonna need to get back on my bike to do the longer trails. And the town is great, first port of call is always L’Abrevadero for a few beers with Carlos!
Had to laugh though - we chatted about how guides were still worthwhile even on such well marked trails with GPX etc.
My nieces boyfriend and his mates were there a couple of days before me. He’s only just started on MTB and is still shaky on SPDs. So of course they chose an Enduro trail! He said he carried his bike most of the way round… two of his mates pushed their rented ebikes back to the hotel after having mechanicals* not even 5km in.
*i’m guessing the chain fell off or something, they still wouldn’t have known how to sort it 😀
lol - hopefully your nieces boyfriend and his mates haven't been put off, but yes, we do see a fair bit of people not really "making the most of it" here, which is always a shame. Often they've missed a great bit of trail or a water point that would have saved the day - by a few hundred meters in some cases - just because they weren't in the know.
Likewise I see Campervans parked in carparks next to rubbish bins or the on the little industrial estates outside Ainsa & Boltana - next to the only "busy" road in the area - when there's beautiful places to park not 5 mins drive away if you know where to go.....
Local knowledge rules!
🙂
"We all have that one friend who becomes a stuntman on a ride . . . "
Just found this "video still" on my hard drive whilst having a tidy up. I can confirm that no Americans were harmed during the making of this video....

Speaking of navigating; I tend to use Google Maps satellite view when exploring*; obviously this isn't fool proof, as reception can be very patchy especially in more rural areas, but does that work for you, or do you really need to learn stuff as you go along? I've had quite a bit of success (luck, perhaps) using this method, but maybe it's not such a good idea where you are?
* I will always have paper maps of the local area with me too, if available. Electronics aren't always reliable...
I'd want contour lines as a minimum for electronic navigation. Very hard to spot a lethal 80m drop from a satellite image! Also, many trails around here are invisible on the satellite view, it's not like the Lakes where Walna Scar road is visible from space, there's a lot of very thick forest, both ancient and working.
In the Pyrenees etc I'll use something like the Wikiloc app with the relevant IGN (OS equiv) map downloaded. i'm mainly running these days so I'll have the route with the map tiles already transferred onto my watch so I'm not stopping to get the phone out at every trail fork.
Very helpful, thanks. I've not considered the contour lines thing so much, as I'll have had a good look at a paper map beforehand, so will have some idea of how rugged the terrain might be. And I'm talking about more 'gentle' exploring rather than full on wilderness type stuff. But that's definitely something to consider. So far I've done ok with simple google maps and a paper map, but I'll consider a more in-depth electronic version for future trips, for sure.
Another vote for Wikiloc, or if you have paid Strava their heat map is also a good starting point.
And I just realised I drove through Ainsa in July, went from Val d'Aran to Pamplona along the N260. If I'd remembered this thread I'd have stopped off to say hello 🙂
When you're used to OS Explorer, IGN is horrific but it's usually the best we've got! I've got a box of battered Pyrenees IGN & SUA 1:25000 maps in the back of the van, and that's where they usually stay!
When you're used to IGN, OS is horrific. 😉 My exploring the Spanish side of the hill has definitely suffered from a lack of confidence inspiring maps.
I’ll have to try the French IGN maps, I’m usually close to the border so they’d likely cover me
The IGN app is great, and a game changer for me exploring french basque Pyrenees this summer. Paper maps are good but wish I'd discovered it earlier. As with the OS app it's being able to see exactly where you are makes navigation so easy. On tranfronterizmo rides though, you lose detail on paths/GRs/refugio etc on the border, just get contours, streams, roads etc for a few km (10 maybe? Looking at the app now.) Then roads, then nowt.
Anyway, is there no Spanish equivalent? Could Google I guess...
Anyway, is there no Spanish equivalent? Could Google I guess…
Wikiloc, as mentioned.
Switch between IGN, OSM etc. IGN only with Premium.
There's also an IGN app, at least on Android. I assume it's also available on iOS. It's quite good, shows contours+tracks+water (springs+rivers+etc)+everything else you'd expect.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orux.oruxmapsIGN
<blockquoteThere’s also an IGN app, at least on Android
Ta! Handy for an upcoming tenerife trip. Disconcertingly doesn't seem to have asked me for any money...
Disconcertingly doesn’t seem to have asked me for any money…
It's an official government app, should be free.
What I take with me on a ride depends on what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with. I have a selection of "Maps & Apps" on hand and I rarely lose phone signal on a ride.
I do find a proper map handy for showing someone I come across who's lost their way 1) where they are, 2) where they need to be and 3) what lies between the two points!
I always know where the next village/water point is and the quickest path to a point that a motor vehicle could get to in the case of an emergency - it becomes second nature when you live here and ride all the time.
The mountains are great fun and they provide some amazing riding, but they should be taken seriously, as should the weather and it's ability to change very quickly . . .
Safe riding everyone!
I've been road riding with Mrs Spekkie every afternoon this week.
The weather is warm & sunny and the roads of Zona Zero are quiet..... a perfect time to get some miles in!


@spekkie - sorry, I'm sure the answer is up there somewhere, but where's the campsite please? We have a ferry booking kicked forward to next July, so couple of weeks with van and tent from Bilbao. Couple of us looking to ride a bit, others just mooching/swimming.
The campsite I stay at is here, a couple of KM out of the town centre. You can walk to town out the back way across a couple of fields instead of walking on the road (headtorch at night!)
Not the cheapest but it's decent, has a pool, and Spekkie keeps it in tip top condition 😉
@boxelder - as above, bobs link shows you where Camping Ainsa is, which is where I do a fair bit of work throughout the year.
Be good to hear from you when you're here 🙂
We are definitely coming back at least once in the summer. I may come at Easter as well if the family go skiing in Andorra I’ll come down to Ainsa for a week as I don’t ski. I’m getting knee surgery in a few weeks and don’t want to anything in the snow.
I’ve still not got through the whole thread yet but it looks like we biked on the track past your house a couple of times whilst we were there in the summer. I’ll deffo drop you a line when I know my plans
@stainypants - good luck with the surgery. Take it easy.
Several routes go through Guaso - so there's a good chance you did! Keep in touch 🙂
We stayed at Camping Ainsa when we were out a couple of years ago for the EWS.
When we go back will stay on the same site again. 😎
Ah, perfect! Thought you might be near the Atlantic coast, which wouldn't be ideal. We've a week booked on the French side, but I was looking around your area for sites. Will be in touch next year.
Cheers all.
On the map, Ainsa is just about the center point between the Atlantic and the Med.
If you're coming from the French coast, might be an excuse to go over the Col de Tourmalet and over the border at Bielsa...
Through the Bielsa tunnel and it's only 45km south to Ainsa. A beautiful drive 🙂
On Saturday we swapped our Road Riding lycra for Baggies & T-Shirts to go exploring on the nearly empty Mediano Dam which stretches south from Ainsa town towards Barbastro.
It was a beautiful sunny day - perfect for a great ride with Mrs Spekkie .... and now we know how to reach the top of the Dam wall by bike!
Hard to imagine we Kayaked through the windows at the top of the church tower back in the Spring when the dam was full!
Looking north back towards Ainsa and the mountains . . . .

The Church tower that we kayaked through . . .

And the dam . . . .







Next Saturday (23rd October) the "Real Federacion Espanola Ciclismo" will be holding a round of the "Copa de Espana - Pump Track 2021" at the Ainsa Pump Track.
Our track hasn't been open long so this is a first for us here at Zona Zero and the Zona Zero team will be there to help out - much like we did for the Endure World Series back in 2018.
I'm looking forward to it and to seeing how the Pro's handle the course!

Nobody will ride it better than me on my lad’s skateboard after a boozy tea on the way back to the campsite 😉
🙂
@stainypants glad they enjoyed it! it's a lot greener now that the grass has established itself.
That is the farmers Co-Operative building in the background with its grain silos and of course the 2295m high Pena Montanesa in the distance.....
Autumn riding on Zona Zero Route ZZ-019 with friends from the Isle of Skye on Saturday.
It was a beautiful day and the route itself, whilst still tricky in places, has matured nicely with use over the last few years. Lots of nice fast singletrack and some amazing views! A really good technical XC route.


Yesterdays Road Ride with my friends "Alejo the Priest" and "Fermin the Sculptor" . . .
The weather was beautiful, the roads were quiet and well maintained and on the sections that are part of the Zona Zero Road Cycling network of routes, there are information signs to measure your progress!
It was another great day out, tough in places but well worth it. We stopped in Escalona for a drink and a bite to eat before heading home.

Stopped at a water point in Los Molinos ...

The back of the Pena Montanesa...

Monte Perdidio and the three Marias in the distance...

Info signs...

Still following this with interest, so many memories of the area in the 70's
After a long hot and very busy summer, we're finally getting some time to ourselves and we'll be posting some "non-cycling related" updates on our adventure soon.....
In the meantime, I saw this on a Campervan back in the summer and it reminded me of the conclusion we came to a little while after getting here when things didn't seem to be working out for us quickly enough. It's good advice!

Hi Spekkie, is the campsite in Ainsa open in early December? Might be up there for the puente weekend
Hi Bob! No, camping Ainsa is closed but I believe Camping Pena Montanesa and Camping Boltana are both open all year round.
Thanks! Might book into the Apolo as a treat then!
Peace and quiet walking up in the foothills . . . .

My son was here recently for a weeks visit and he bought his Drone with him so that we could do some filming. He's put together a few clips of villages we visited while he was here and of course our Project up in Guaso, and posted it on Youtube.
He's left his drone here for me to play with for a while . . . it's amazing fun!!
Yesterday it rained all day and was colder than it has been for a while . . . . today it was dry and we could see the damage yesterdays weather bought with it . . . . Brrrrrr

A stunning weekend!

Great drone vid and I love the old buildings and especially the roofs, maybe need the odd slate;)
@cvilla - thanks. A friend and I were just saying the other day that builders could use a tool like this to examine roofs more easily, especially on higher buildings like churches. I actually checked a neighbours gutters for him to see how full they were with dirt on Saturday. Saved him a climb!
We're currently in Denver, Colorado visiting Mrs Spekkies daughter and a new 6 month old grandson that we couldn't previously visit thanks to Covid.
The weather has been unusually hot for this time of the year, mid teens and sunny over the weekend, but that has now changed and we have a high of 2 degrees today with a low of -6 at 8am this morning....
Thankfully the houses are made for it!
Denver Trip Update .....
Two things we've noticed here:
1) There are cycle lanes everywhere! In Denver city centre and throughout the suburbs there's a dedicated cycle lane on both sides of the road. The roads in general seem to be clean and well maintained, no broken bottles here 🙂 There are also cycle lanes throughout all of the parks we've walked through and when we went out to an area called Red Rocks, there were no specific cycle lanes but there were dozens of cyclist road riding without seeming to have any issues with motorists. In our experience, drivers here seem to be very considerate.
2) They have a city-run "see one, grab it, use it, leave it anywhere for the next person" e-bike & e-scooter hire system. Looks like you have to swipe a card to unlock the vehicle and I'm not sure how they keep them charged, because they are left all other the place, leaning against trees etc, but it certainly seems to be well used.
Loving it here, but only a few days to go now and I see it's raining back home in Spain 🙁
Loving it here, but only a few days to go now and I see it’s raining back home in Spain
Spain's a big country, it was lovely and sunny in Torrevieja this morning, and cold, wet and windy back home in Madrid 🙁
Perhaps you'll get lucky!
haha - By "back home" I meant my actual house, which accdording to my weather app, it is currently raining on 🙁
Hi Spekkie enjoy your trip. It was hot here in denia 2 days ago, I swam in the sea at 14 degrees.
Mogrim- I just bought some HiFi at studio 22 madrid, free delivery, cracking bf prices on stuff no one else was discounting anywhere, audio pro and rega. Thought it was a scam but brilliant customer service, delivered via tnt, driver even phoned me up to tell me he was coming. Not had that since john Lewis in uk.
Cheers Poolman. We're currently seeing our first snowfall. Only a few more days left here but we're making the most of it!
We have our odd cold days in Spain for sure, but Nederland, Colorado wipes the floor with us!

Back home, shattered and jet-lagged but happy. And I'm pleased to say that today was a beautiful sunny day!
We're now back in Spain after 2 weeks in the UK.
You don't generally go to the UK in January "for the weather" that's for sure, but we did have an amazing time visiting family & friends 🙂
While I was there I gave my son a copy of some footage that I recorded after he'd left his Drone with me at the end of his visit back in October. I shot most of it before I went over to meet Mrs Spekkie at her daughters over in the States back in December.
For anyone on here who has visited the area - you might recognise some of this!
Yep, recognise all of that! Passed thru on a motorbike trip on NYD en route to Girona - went the scenic way - but didn't stop.
How do you fly to UK from there? Seems a long slog (4hrs?) to Bilbao, do you go from Pau?



