Pure Mountains – Mountain Biking in the Alpujarras Spain 5-10th Sept 2013
Brokeback Mountain meets the Magnificent Seven
“HOLA AMIGOS”…Blue skies, dry dusty trails and hopefully a warm September in the Alpujarras was what the three of us were about to experience, along with the potential chance of getting our ‘butts kicked’ by the Norwegian contingency also staying at ‘Pure Mountains’ mountain bike resort, in the small village of Berchules north of Malaga.
The flight from Manchester to Malaga was an early start, our bikes and bags packed and ready to go. The 7am flight was a ‘doddle’ and travelling out with Monarch was easy with their bike friendly service.
We arrived in Malaga on time at 11.30am and our belongings soon followed. The only problem we now had was a four hour wait for the Norwegians to arrive.
The last time we rode with Norwegians was three years ago and they were incredibly fit making all the trails look very easy to ride, so the thought of sharing more trail riding with them was a bit daunting.
So far this year we had all trained hard, putting the miles/hours in on the bike. I was feeling as fit as I could be, having cycled over 6,000km so far this year.
Our fellow mountain bikers finally landed and quick introductions were made. We now had a three hour drive to Pure Mountains. The bus picked us up and off we went. The driver spoke very little English so it was funny when he was miming “P” stop.
The drive from Malaga to Berchules is a stunning, very scenic journey. The road winds its way up the hills passing lakes, damns and beautiful mountains.
We finally reached Berchules where we met Jenny from Pure Mountains who had the Land rover and trailer ready to take us to the farmhouse that would be our home for the next few days.
Day 1 – Riding in Spain under blue skies
Meet The Norwegians: Gary, Gard, Peter, Hans, Petter and Vidar.
Meet The Brits: Rob, Breakers and San
The breakfast at Pure Mountains is always plentiful even though first thing for me breakfast isn’t a priority. After breakfast we assembled the bikes only to find that my 160mm rotor had been damaged in transit and was un-repairable but thank the lord Tim had a spare.
The Norwegians had all hired bikes from Pure Mountains, Canyon 29er and Giant 26 full suspension mountain bikes. After the team brief by Tim, the nine of us set off to ride the Alpujarras. We climbed out of the farmhouse and soon started gasping for breath as the altitude kicked in. It soon became apparent that the strongest Norwegian rider would be Hans Krüger who loved the climbs. Hans and I would climb together for the next three days. The morning was spent climbing the mountains to get us altitude ready, as lunchtime approached we headed back to the farmhouse to ‘stuff’ our faces with pasta, rice etc. After lunch Tim took us down some technical trails to see how good we were. Without wanting to sound too competitive, the score count of falling off was definitely more Norway than England. The trail would head down towards the river riding through tight singletrack where our arms and legs would be scratched and covered with nettle stings. The technical descents were difficult in places, and several of the Norwegians ended up crashing.
Gary, Hans and Vidar were very good technical riders and attempted all of the downhill routes. At one point, I saw Hans go straight over the handlebars and bounce back up only to have another go. This time he cleaned the descent, very impressive.
Day 1 of riding came to a close and all nine of us were hungry for more.
Day 2
The morning came and as I was sharing a room with the snorer ‘Big Bad Badura’ he shouted out that it was raining. It looked as if it had been all through the night and showed very little sign of stopping. We ate breakfast very slowly and changed into our waterproofs at an even slower pace. Well who would have thought that it would be raining in Spain in early September, not me, so I had only packed my shorts. Once again, Tim came to the rescue and lent me a waterproof jacket. We delayed our ride until 11am and then headed down to the village. Riding in the rain still felt great as “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” ~John F. Kennedy, Former U.S. President
The coffee stop at the café was a bit pointless as we were wet anyway and should have continued riding. We then rode through the Spanish streets and picked up the trails with tight switchbacks and singletrack and headed to the burnt out tree where we would re-group. We then pushed the bikes up some tricky paths only to then ride downhill. We followed a path to the concrete bridge, where Hans and I rode together to reach our final destination. Breakers would come in 3rd and Gary just behind while the others followed. As we all re-grouped we caught our breath and headed back to Tim and Pete. Hans and I raced to the trailer laughing like two kids on a BMX.
Day 2 of riding was a little short.
13miles 3,300 feet
Day 3
Yorkshire v Oslo
After a night at the hotel of drinking, eating and laughing and having fun with our new friends we were ready for some more MTB action.
10am and we were climbing up the hill which did involve some pushing. Jenny would ride again for the morning and we would climb to the top of the mountain where Hans and I would ride/race together. As we climbed the double track, I lost my grip and Hans gained some distance only for me to push on and chase the Norwegian strong man. I raced passed Hans and reached the top to KOM. The view was amazing. Hans came in second and Rob had found his climbing legs to come in 3rd. The Norwegian, Pete, had come in 4th and Breakers a very impressive 5th. We re-grouped and sat at the top taking pictures and staring at the beautiful Alpujarras mountains. We started our descent through single track where Gard had found the left turns OK, but the right turns problematic. This would then join the double-track to meet Tim, who would then show us the way on the amazing GR7. Tim, the head of Pure Mountains, is an amazing and very talented mountain biker and very patient with us all. There would be a few ‘offs’ here as Vidar went over the handlebars. The descent to the village for lunch would be the last for our Norwegian friends and we had to say an emotional goodbye. The Norwegians were the best group of guys you could meet. I hope someday soon that we meet the guys again as the time spent with them was fun,we laughed, we rode, we fell off but most of all we loved mountain biking.
The rest of the afternoon was spent cycling through singletrack and then a two mile climb up the Quarry of Death. The quarry of death is like Cragg Vale but twice as hard. It consists of a dirt track and a steady climb to the top. I dug in and climbed to the top where Jenny and the dogs would be waiting for me. KOM on that climb for me J Rob would follow only to see Breakers racing to the line for silver medal but Rob pushed hard at the end and reached the top before him. Both were broken and the only way home was for us all to climb in the Land-Rover and head back to HQ.
23 mlies 4,500 feet
Day 4
10 am and out again on our last day of riding and it was going to be a big one with plenty of climbing for us. We headed down into the village that had some tricky descents which Rob cleared. A road descent followed and that went on forever until it started to climb. We paused and turned right onto some doubletrack that turned out to be a massive climb to the top. The views were breathtaking, the scenery inspiring. There was plenty more climbing before lunch and my best mates were riding out of their skins in a place where they hadn’t been before both mentally and physically. We had lunch and shared stories about our time here and the fun we had had with Gary, Hans, Peter, Vidar , Gard and Petter. After lunch we had our final ride back to Berchules, but first we had some really tasty singletrack that had everything flowy and technical. We rode along cliff edges, wet slates and to add to this adventure, it started to thunder and rain. We cleared the tracks and headed through the streets of Berchules with big smiles, sore legs but happy hearts.
22 miles, 3,300 feet
Pics below of the Alpujarras (additional pics on www.mtbhut.com)
