Last week, having spent a few days out in the hills with clients I was in the mood for a long ride with a difference. Most of my clients are looking for cross country mountain bike routes, although from time to time, some clients tend to look for something without the technical challenges of off-road riding but still want a long day out.   With this in mind, I wanted to work on a route that would offer something completely different – and with huge variety. Essentially, I wanted to design a route that would begin in the countryside of [read more]

On Sunday 5th August I provided a day of guided cycling for a family who were holidaying at Villa Florencia guest house in Marxuquera. They had all cycled before although not all had experience of off-road riding and there were two young children within the group. Therefore, we opted to do a route that explored the rice fields of the Albufera Natural Park. To add to the experience, we also included a traditional paella lunch and a boat trip on the Albufera lake.   The children took turns to navigate the route through the network of trails that cross the [read more]

On Saturday 28th July I had the pleasure of arranging a family biking trip around the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. The trip was arranged as a gift for two Spanish children who had recently completed their school year and had achieved good exam results.   Not all of our trips are specifically aimed at mountain bikers, and today´s route was selected especially for this group of beginners and children. All along flat, largely surfaced lanes it provided a really interesting day out without the hazards of technical or demanding terrain.  We parked by the ancient chapel of Del [read more]

For 3 days in June I had the pleasure of providing a guided biking trip for an international group of doctors, scientists and medical experts from Australia, USA and Italy.  They´d attended a conference in the city of Valencia and wanted a short break afterwards that would be based on cycling but would take in some of the local culture.  After a welcome drink at the Casa Rural Casona de Ferrando in our home village of La Drova, we discussed the plans for the trip. On Sunday we travelled to the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. As this was [read more]

On 10th April I had the pleasure of providing a guided biking trip for a family group who were holidaying in Spain.  The group comprised 4 adults and 2 children, both aged 10.  Although some members had mountain biking experience, others didn´t so we opted to do a trip around the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia.  Although the route was 34km in length, it was flat with no technical terrain. Each member of the group hired a mountain bike from us, and after some last minute checks, we began the ride.  To make the day more interesting for the [read more]

Albufera de Valencia is a Natural Park just south of the city of Valencia. The area covers over 21,000 hectares and comprises a huge fresh water lake of 3,000 hectares in surface area, rice fields, reed beds, coastal wooded areas and a series of smaller ponds and canals. Although not an area associated with mountain biking (ie. it´s flat!) it can provide a good easy day out amongst some unique habitats. That´s exactly what Caroline, the lady who chose the route wanted – a good ride out that was comfortable yet rewarding. We entered the southern end of the Natural [read more]