4 great dates for your diaries: off-road fun in Spain 2017!

Simon_100

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For 2017 we're doing three HISS off-road riding events; v1 in the Catalan Pyrenees (June 12 – 16th), Challenge (June 19 – 23rd) and Big Tread (September 11 – 15th), both of which are located in Teruel Province in southern Aragon. And following the success of last year’s event we are once again Event Partners with Horizons Unlimited’s HUMM Sierras de España navigation event, which has three formal riding days over the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October as well as registration on the 2nd.

HISS v1: the term ‘v1’ derives from the original HISS (Highly Informal Sojourns in Spain) in 2012 and its format is the blueprint for all HISS events. This draws heavily on the ‘Adventure Bike’ concept, being based at camp sites and in which participants are responsible for their own resources, i.e. their bikes, licences, insurance cover, etc. The HISS itself provides all the background; maps, guides, satnav files, etc. for up to five days’ off-road riding experience in locations that are specially selected for their stunning and varied scenery – the best in Spain!

During the HISS riders form groups to take to the trails. These often change over the course of the week as there are no fixed teams and no competition, so that although some groups of friends stick together there is no ‘pack drill’ about changing groups as riders gain skills or conversely more experienced riders join groups of novices and share their knowledge. Likewise, there is no such thing as a ‘Billy-no-mates’ at a HISS – a few beers in the camp site bar usually oils the wheels …

HISS trails are arranged into ‘sets’ according to their various locations, either parishes or landscape features, sierras, etc. These interconnect, often at ‘nodes’ where several trails meet, say at a mountain passes or summits, or are linked by short, usually spectacular road sections that are also used to ride off the sierras for fuel, food etc. so that groups of riders can make up itineraries for their day’s riding – often changing their minds along the way! – sometimes exploring one particular area in details or devising long routes crossing the region.

The satnav files are mailed to participants a few weeks before the HISS so that they can be uploaded in advance whist at the HISS itself the trails are presented on a Monster Map which works in conjunction with detailed reference guides and shorter field guides that list the ‘vital’ statistics; start and finish points, proximity to the other trails, fuel, etc. The trails aren’t rated for difficulty as such but are described in detail in the reference guides with notes about specific hazards of riding conditions. Terms such as ‘technical’ and ‘difficult’ are used as adjectives rather than objective definitions.

The v1 HISS has trails to suit all tastes and abilities and has evolved and expanded over the years to include the entire length of the Noguera Pallaresa river, one of the fastest and most powerful in the Pyrenees and famous for slalom canoeing, white-water rafting, etc. from its source on the Pla de Beret ski station – a stone’s throw away from some of the numerous sources of the Garonne river to its confluence with the Segre river near the village of Camarasa, where the Pyrenees stop abruptly with dramatic cliffs that rise vertiginously above the plains of the great Ebro Depression – a distance of some 90 kms as the crow flies – and span the surrounding sierras as far as the Noguera Ribagorzana and Segre rivers which run parallel to the Noguera Pallaresa about thirty kilometres respectively to the west and east.

In contrast to the HISS v1 both the Challenge and Big Tread events, which are new for 2017, are devised to be more specific, the Challenge consisting almost exclusively of difficult ‘technical’ trails whilst the Big Tread combines more accessible trails with some of the best road sections in Spain.

HISS Challenge: the Challenge trails are located in and around the comarca, or county, of Gúdar-Javalambre, to the southeast of Teruel city. With one person per 3.3 square km2 this is one of the least populous areas in Europe so that the ‘challenge’ also includes logistics such as finding fuel and fodder as well as riding the trails themselves. Although the Challenge is a response to the popularity of the HISS events for riders bringing smaller ‘enduro’ bikes the trails are also accessible to large machines, albeit increasing the difficulty level considerably.

HISS Big Tread: in contrast the Big Tread, which has trails and road sections in the a circular territory that radiates for about 100 kms around Teruel city (NB: some road sections extend much further), is geared specifically towards ‘easy’ trails that are accessible both to large bikes and ‘novice’ riders – although that does not mean that there is no challenge involved, no trails are completely straightforward and there are natural hazards, such as collisions with big game such a red deer, wild boar, etc. that are ubiquitous to all riding in Spain. NB serious incidents, accidents, etc. must be referred to the excellent local emergency services which have a dedicated tracking system called Alpify, which is available free to download onto mobile phones.

For 2017 we have new camp site locations for the Challenge and Big Tread events that have accommodation options available. As well as bungalows the Challenge site[/URL] has ‘apartment’ rooms and both have rooms for our exclusive use as a HQ. The v1 site is basic but accommodation is readily available in the village about a kilometre away. All of the sites have offered discount prices for HISS attendees – including spouses and sweethearts - but apart from the courtesy of providing lists of participant’s names The Spanish Biker does not have any direct ‘relationship’ with the owners of the accommodation.

Horizons Unlimited HUMM: the ‘HUMM Sierras de España’ navigation challenge (Horizons Unlimited Mountain Madness) is almost the exact opposite of the HISS in every respect; it is a ‘gold plated’ event hosted in Four Star hotel accommodation and includes dedicated all terrain rescue service, use of ‘Spot’ location devices, etc. and is a formal competitive event with fixed teams and strict rules, points, prizes that are presented to the winning teams at a sumptuous gala supper evening. The Spanish Biker’s role in the HUMM is to scout the location, place waypoints, etc. and source and manage the support services as well as being present during the event itself. The actual management of the HUMM, registration, fees, etc. remains in the remit of Grant and Susan Johnson at Horizons Unlimited.

For more details of HISS events; fess, booking conditions, payments, etc., please check out our web site. For any queries and registration and use the Contact Form or mail to Simon Rice and Polly Campbell on info.tsbg@gmail.com.

Regs

Simon
 


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