Mountain Biking – Over the Valencia Hills and Far Away

Today’s Mountain biking outing with my good friend David, of Mountain Biking Valencia. Starting in La Drova we set off at 10 am, via Barx and then a very steep climb up the Pinet Pass (ouch) then some high mountain riding and a very dramatic descent into the village of Pinet. Time for coffee and to discuss the rest of the route for the day. We set off again on an off-road track that leads down to the village of Llutxent,… some really nice riding,… sharp short accents followed by lovely sweeping descents, through pine forests, olive grooves and orchards. From Llutxent through to Castello de Rugat, we followed country lanes and bridal paths through the valley, to our next coffee stop, and route discussion. We decided to take the CV-705, mountain pass and avoid the steeper climb via Benicadell,… a good decision for the day, and we got to see the valley from a very different perspective. We lunched at the summit of the pass, with magnificent views back across the valley with our home mountains in the distance. Looking in the opposite direction was Beniares, and the next valley, and a descent that was just awesome!! A very…

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Casa Rural Guests from Singapore

This weekend we were pleased to welcome Joseph Goh and his family, who had come all the way from Singapore to spend their holidays in Spain. They were a family of five, with Joseph and his wife, their two teenage children and a grown-up nephew. Joseph is a pilot with Singapore Airlines and enjoys taking his family to different parts of the world – and Spain was a new destination for them all. They arrived at Gandia Casa Rural by car which they had collected in Valencia, although they had flown in to Barcelona and then subsequently taken the train to Valencia. The Spanish rail network was in fact to be their principal means of transport around the country for the remainder of their trip, as they had purchased a rail pass that allowed them unlimited use of the railway for the duration of their visit Their plan was to explore our part of the Costa Blanca for a couple of days, and one of the main attractions for them was the fact that this part of the country remains genuinely unspoilt by foreign tourism and is still largely undiscovered except by the Spanish holidaymaker. After settling in during the…

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