Family Mountain Bike Skills Training
We were contacted by Dave Warrington of Mountain Biking Valencia asking if we could accommodate a family from the United States who were going to be visiting Valencia as part of a tour of Spain. The group consisted of Bob and his wife Wendy, along with their 13 year old twin boys Mitchell and Griffen, their 15 year old daughter Claire and her friend Andi, and they wanted to spend a couple of days mountain biking in the Costa Blanca. We were happy to have them stay with us, and they arrived on the Tuesday morning from Valencia city, all ready for their 2 day mountain biking skills training course.
Wendy decided she wanted some rest and relaxation, however, so she was happy for the rest of the family to go for their skills course whilst she spent the day taking it easy around the pool. Dad & the teenagers had a great time learning mountain biking techniques in a shady wooded area across the valley from here – a lovely spot and an excellent place to be on a hot and sunny day. They returned during the late afternoon, just in time to join Mom around the pool for some cooling off after their exertions and before joining us for our evening meal service. They had decided this was a much easier option than trying to find a restaurant that would be open rather earlier than most Spanish restaurants – and of course they had not had time to familiarise themselves with the town of Gandia at all.
They much appreciated the opportunity to dine on the terrace, and then to relax in the garden before heading for bed and a well-deserved rest. The following morning they were up and ready to go for their next mountain biking trip – this time giving themselves the opportunity to put some of the skills they learned the previous day into practice. Wendy again took the chance to relax in the gardens, however, and had a light lunch with us during the day whilst the others set off to the start of their designated route for the day.
The trail begins on the outskirts of Villalonga and follows the route of the disused railway that used to run between Alcoi and Gandia, for much of the way also following along beside the river Serpis. It is a great route, and scenically very beautiful, and the group thoroughly enjoyed their day and were able to test themselves and their new-found techniques. There is a mixture of tracks and trails along the way, with different surfaces and levels of difficulty so by the end of the route they felt they had learned a lot – and had a huge amount of fun of course too.
They returned to us in the late afternoon, in time to spend a while in the pool before leaving for the next leg of their trip. As a complete contrast to their time they spent here with us on an adventure break in the northern Costa Blanca, they were heading south to Benidorm for a couple of days’ fun at the water and theme parks there. After that, the youngsters were intending to take part in a week’s football camp under the auspices of Valencia football team, whilst their parents spent the week relaxing in Majorca. They felt they would have liked to spend more time in this part of the country, however, so maybe we shall see them back with us at some point in the future. It had been a pleasure to have them visit us, so we shall look forward to the possibility.