EURO OFF-ROADING CAN BE DIRT CHEAP
Ride5000miles members go Spanish trail riding on a budget
‘Under £350 for a week on the world’s best trails’ #RIDE5000MILES MEMBER BERNIE WRIGHT
If you fancy a European trail riding extravaganza in the fabulous Picos de Europa or southern Pyrenees you’d be forgiven for assuming it’ll cost you a pretty Peso, but it doesn’t have to be like that.
MCN #ride5000miles member Bernie Wright, brother Sam and friend Will Scott, have got back from seven days doing exactly that in Catalonia having spent just £1000 between them. That’s right: under £350 each for a week on some of the world’s very best trails!
“The trip was inspired by the eccentric adventurer Austin Vince,” Bernie told MCN. “We wanted to do one of his Pyrenees trips but couldn’t make the dates due to work commitments. So we started planning our own trip.” Three budget trailies were bought: a ’93 Kawasaki KLX250 (£850), 1999 BMW F650 (£900) and a 2000 Yamaha WR400 (£1350). A friend who’d done a previous Vince trip pinpointed some trails in the El Ripolies region of Catalonia. Then the serious planning got underway.
“With nine days available and wanting to maximise time on the trails, we decided to trailer the bikes down rather than ride,” Bernie said. This they did in a non-stop, 1000-mile journey in Will’s Peugeot 406. To save more money the trio chose to camp and cook all their own meals.
And while the experience has been fantastic the Suffolk threesome have endured a few problems along the way.
“We covered 620 miles in the seven days of riding, with about 75% of that being off-road,” Bernie explained. “The trails are a mix, from wide open fire roads to sump-bashing rock gulleys but the scenery has been fantastic throughout.”
The bikes generally coped well, although required some minor fixes along the way. Navigation, even with a Garmin GPS, proved tricky but as MCN went to press the trio were on their way back to Blighty largely unscathed. Who said European adventure had to be expensive?