I'm really looking forward to going for some rides these days: four days off! I like this pic, looks like I'm about to take off! It helps that the camera is really low, in fact it's on the ground. From another angle it wouldn't look like much. (Hoyo de Manzanares)
Wow, this post have a great succed¡¡ If anyone from english or other countries come to Aragon ask me and go to a ride for the best routes of the zone.
Hi rolandopadel. I'll let you know if I'm ever in Aragón, though to be honest I hardly ever go up that way. I'm in Madrid for eleven months and one month in Ferrol. There's good biking in both places! Let me know if you're ever in Madrid, maybe we can work out a time to go for a ride. From all these picture you'd think I was out riding every day. Unfortunately that's not the case, tho I did manage to go from Thursday to Sunday this week. Yesterday Interaptor and I took the commuter train to Cercedilla and rode back to Madrid. It's a nice ride, tho NEVER do it in the summer - it's just too hot. So this picture of me was taken yesterday (Saturday May 3) in the foothills of the Sierra (near the town of Navacerrada).
And this is me around the same place at the Sierras. Tho I picked out the wrong bike. Should have been riding this e-bike (the one I rode in Germany) to better (and effortless) catch up with Chainring! Cheers!
It was really great ride with Interaptor, a first class biking buddy, and a good photographer as well! I remember he was saying that us Madrileños are really lucky to have the Sierras just a stone's throw away. Just a short distance from Madrid is some really marvellous landscape! And trails! So today I went with some friends to Cercedilla and we rode up the Calvario trail, and we stopped off at this bridge for this picture. Then we rode up to the Navacerrada mountain pass where it was unexpectedly cold, 8º! And we were basically wearing summer clothes, brrrrrr. And then we rode down the Schmid trail, one of my favorites, and then down the Vereda Alta and back into Cercedilla. A really good ride, and it felt a bit like a return to winter, which contrasts with Madrid where lately I've been sweating like a pig.
On behalf of my bike and me I wanna thank Chain for his kind words, whether deserved or not, of cycling encouragement. He´s a very dear friend, and as far as cycling is concerned I really appreciate everything he´s done for me. Good to have him around! Yeah, we´re fortunate enough to have such a paradise so close to Madrid, although I don´t take advantage of it as much as he does, and those pics are evidence to this fact!. Beautiful landscapes and sceneries from around the Sierras. Anyway I can take advantage of this nice weather to put my roadbike on the road along with Chain´s. So I guess he´s up for our Friday´s Roadbike day!!!. Tomorrow, Same place, same hour...
Yeah, lots of cycling encouragement all around. Let's ride! It's so much fun! So many benefits! Today was a local holiday in Madrid and I went for ride close to home, so close that you can take the subway there, so close you can see the Almudena Cathedral in this pic. Yes, the Casa de Campo! Took my XC bike. Got together with some old friends. Had fun. Anyway Inter, looking forward to our ride tomorrow on road bikes. Where shall we go?
Well, you know we have weird motivations to go anywhere, so it could well depend on whether we run across a biker girl to follow or not. No girls to follow, I propose that we go to Cerceda. But our plans could be changed on the fly... See U tomorrow!!! ;-)
Girls! Girls! Seems we're seeing more and more on bikes lately. And of course, they can be pretty sexy, especially the one we saw a few months ago as illustrated by Inter's second map. I'm beginning to think we should've abandoned all plans and followed her to wherever she was going (actually I think it was to her home in El Escorial). Alas, looks like that one got away (from Inter as he's single). Well, not to worry, there are plenty more fish in the sea, and we saw some nice ones today. In fact, we saw two girls riding together on road bikes. That kind of thing is still surprising. In any case, Inter, another friend, and I had a good ride today on our road bikes. Went to a favorite place, La Pedriza, then to Cerceda and back home. So this is me in La Pedriza.
Yeah, riding to La Pedriza and back home is an excellent exercise in which our body gets a complete cycling workout. Flat sections, uphills, downhills, tailwind, lack of wind and headwind all in one ride, we just get a piece of the action. It´s not by chance that many people like riding there so much. Thank you for the pics, we had a fantastic day of cycling and fun!. That´s why we´re so lucky. La Pedriza is located conveniently not too far not too close to Madrid and that´s exactly what we need for our road bike rides... Other people need some more incentives to pedal longer distances: http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/05/20/champions/1400548316_046032.html Cheers!
I really have to admire those guys for cycling all the way to Lisbon, just hope they're prepared for some bad weather. Though I'm not sure, don't see any mud guards on their bikes, no suspension either, but at least they have fat tires to help absorb the bumps on the way. I wish them all the luck in the world, but better them that me, ha ha. I say that because I hate riding in the rain.
No, no, no... you see too many problems involved with the poor little guys and their idea to go to Lisbon by bike. You´re making yourself comfortable in your seat while saying it´s too far of a ride 4 you... Bad weather?. Mud guards?. Suspension?. Rain?!!!. All those are cheap paltry excuses for non cyclist people but unacceptable for you unless you like the idea of owning an effortless solar-powered bike with an umbrella, suspension and mud guards in it... Cheers!
Now that's my kind of bike! (trike really) Just love that lightweight wooden frame. The only problem is that I'm not sure it'll reach Lisbon in the rain, you'll have to do some hard pedaling if the batteries go dead and you're going uphill, but at least you won't get too wet!
Indeed, it is likely to be raining cats and dogs over them all the time... Besides, the way back home´s gonna be hard 4 one of them... Cheers!
Today I went with some friends to La Pinilla Bike Park, and had a good time. Better than last year when I fell and was off my bike for six weeks.
Sure! And great to hear from you! Actually this time we spent more time riding and less taking pictures, so not as many pics as usual. But, more pics? Well, if you insist, ha ha. We did 14 runs. Here's a pic of me on the way up. Let me tell you, it's tiring, much more than you might think, even with the rest on the way up. By the end of the day my hands and arms were hurting. My legs too but not from pedaling, but from maintaining an 'attack position' for long periods of time. If you love berms, you'll love La Pinilla!
I went to La Pinilla last year with a colleague and one of his friends. One with a hardtail enduro, the other with a rented DH (they swapped the bikes several times). I went with my trail bike. We tried only greens and one blue but we had a lot of fun. We finished the day with about 10 downhills and "only" 2 crashes, and fully depleted. Looking forward going back this year, but I don't have much time and good fit so... Enjoying your pictures with a "bit" of envy.
Hey Captain! Long time no see. When will I have the honour of pedaling along with you again? You know, I did put enduro in the back burner, La Pinilla is out of my league... but what about a road bike ride anywhere anytime? Very nice pics Chain... that sounds like an off the chain bike park day for you, but keeping in mind your last fall I guess you didn´t put the pedal to the metal this time, did u? Anyways, this is the Focus Thron I rode in the 2014 Test The Best event... Double boinger to face downhills and jumps, combined with electric assistance to sustain constant uphill motion. No need of mechanical lift to access La Pinilla tracks... ;-) Cheers!
