Mountain Biking Archives - Villa Florencia Casa Rural Gandia

Autumn Sunshine Activity Holidays

Autumn Sunshine Activity Holidays! The heat of summer may be over, but the weather continues to be beautiful, with lots of sunshine and very mild temperatures. It is at this time of year – and also of course in the spring – when there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy all the other delights of this part of the Costa Blanca than just the summer seaside attractions. Lucy and Ashley recently returned to us for their third visit, and they take great pleasure in participating in outdoor pastimes and sports – something which this area of the Costa Blanca offers the fringe season visitor in abundance. They stayed with us for just over a week in our self-catering apartment and made the most of their time getting out and about doing lots of different activities as well as some conventional sightseeing in Valencia city itself. Because temperatures have remained so mild, it is still very pleasant to swim in the sea so Lucy & Ashley decided one day to combine two of their interests into one all-day experience. They had made arrangements to go horse riding at stables near the beach, and so went for an escorted ride along the…

Autumn Sunshine Holidays in 2013 We have been delighted to welcome a steady succession of guests this year who have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we have been experiencing here on the Costa Blanca. The summer this year has been a very long-lasting one with daytime temperatures in October in the high twenties or occasionally even the low thirties. Night temperatures are of course lower now, which means that the swimming pool is only usable by the more hardy of our guests, but there is still a great opportunity for getting a late tan and storing up some sunshine before having to endure the winter months ahead in northern Europe. There is still plenty to do here during such lovely warm days, and of course the sea temperature is still holding up well for those guests who are beach enthusiasts. And once the novelty of sitting and enjoying the sunshine at this time of year has worn off a bit, the slightly cooler temperatures mean that our guests can take part in outdoor activities which might be uncomfortable during the really hot months of the summer. Sue and Gareth for example came for a few days relaxation in…

Family Mountain Biking Holidays

Family Mountain Biking Holidays A short while ago we received a reservation from Louise and Adam for an August weekend in our self-catering apartment. They were going to be visiting Louise’s father who lives in Alicante, but wanted a few days away in a different environment – away from the city – and where they could enjoy a more rural setting. They were bringing their children Harry (8) and Issy (6) with them, and they hoped that Adam and Harry would also be able to have a day’s mountain biking over the course of the weekend. Louise and Issy intended to make the most of the sunshine and the pool! They arrived on the Saturday morning, with the day’s biking planned for the Sunday, so soon settled in to the apartment and enjoyed some time around the pool and in the gardens. However, Adam and Harry thought it would be a good plan if they could possibly spend a short time biking on the Saturday afternoon too, and although Dave from Mountain Biking Valencia was only going to be guiding and tutoring them on Sunday, he had already delivered their bikes here in readiness. Mark therefore volunteered to take them…

Mountain Biking the GR-236 Monastery Route Part 2

Mountain Biking the GR-236 Monastery Route Part 2 This Sunday, the opportunity presented itself for another mountain bike ride in the beautiful countryside of our region, so our intention was to follow the second part of the Monastery Route (GR-236), starting from the monastery at Simat and following the route to the Convent d’Aigües Vives and on to the Monastir de la Murta near Alzira. We loaded the bikes in the car and set off around 11.30, driving to Simat. We left the car there and followed a mixture of road and tracks through beautiful orange groves surrounded by stunning mountains. There were plenty of photo opportunities along the way, with backdrops of mountains, orchards and green valleys. The route was well marked through all the off-road sections and after slightly more than an hour we arrived at Aigües Vives, where the former convent is now in use as a country hotel. At the edge of the village we saw signs to a nearby golf course – renowned for its spectacular mountain setting – so we decided to make a detour to see for ourselves. The approach to the course is uphill along a very steep road, but well worth…

Mountain Biking the GR-236 Monastery Route Part 1

Mountain Biking the GR-236 Monastery Route Part 1 For today’s mountain biking trip, we decided to take in the first 2 of the 5 monasteries, the Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba, in Alfauir & the Monastery of the Corpus Christi, in Llutxent, and returning home via Pinet, a route of 45km. We set off at 11am and cycled down to the first monastery, Sant Jeroni, only 5km from the villa, a nice gentle way to start the day. Cycling through orchards and a mixture of tracks and semi-surfaced paths. A quick photo opportunity and then time to set off in the direction of Benicolet. Following a well sign-posted route we meandered through the Spanish countryside on undulating tracks and paths, for another 10km and finally reached the village of Bencolet, from here we followed the main road for another 5km and reached the second of the Monastery, Corpus Christi, in Llutxent. We stopped at a local bar for refreshments and a well earned break. Next it was on to Pinet, again following well marked tracks and bridal paths, for the next 6km. We stopped again for a break and to rehydrate in the village and to gather ourselves for…

Cross Country – XC Mountain Biking in Spain

Cross Country XC Mountain Biking in Spain Today’s cross country XC mountain biking route,…We started the route in a high valley in the mountains behind my home,.. a 10 minute drive by car. The first couple of kilometres were a gentle pedal and this was followed by the first major ascent of the day, a 4km gruelling climb up to the next plateau. The past couple of month this specific climb has become a bit of a personal demon for me,… a number of factors (new bike, trail running, lack of training, early mornings) have contributed to my struggle against the mountain, but not today! For the first time in months I conquered the climb in one go, and still felt good once I got to the top. A very good omen for the remainder of the day, given that there was some 70km, still to go. The next 6km of the route was a beautiful high mountain riding, undulating tracks through pine forests and orchards, and this brought us to the first village & coffee stop for the day. Refreshed and re-hydrated, we set off to cross the Valle de Albaida, 20km of good pedalling on off-road tracks, interspersed with…