Our philosophy
Who we are
We are the union of 5 cycling destinations in the province of Huesca that together we add more than 280 trails with more than 10,000 km to cycle. We have been a consolidated destination for more than 5 years and we have more than 350 companies specialized in welcoming cyclists.
We share the same philosophyand vision of how a cycling destination should be, focusing on sustainability, the creation and maintenance of traditional paths, the economic development of our areas and the promotion of cycling among young people.
We join together to be better, stronger and to offer all cycling lovers the best cycling trails in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees of the province of Huesca in Spain.
Trail philosophy
We love traditional paths. We have recovered more than3,300 km of trails. We like research, its valorization and its maintenance. We recover the legacy of our ancestors to give back its use for tourism. We believe that all paths should be shared by hikers, horse riders and cyclists. We also like to create downhill and cross-country trails as well as pump tracks, as we consider them necessary for all cycling disciplines and to promote this sport among the youngest with suitable facilities. But traditional paths are our distinguishing feature. Historical and unique paths that we want to recover, preserve and give value to.
We stand up for cycling
We work to improve the coexistencebetween users in the countryside because we believe that it is possible to share the same area respectfully, but as long as the bicycle is respected among these uses. We meet with town councils and local groups of hunters, livestock breeders and farmers to solve conflicts and even create applications such as Ztrails that help users to know where there are people hunting or even incidents affecting wildlife.
We have organised conferences to think about cycling tourism and sustainability and we try to maintain a constant communication with local and regional governments to defend the promotion of cycling and the compatibility of our activity with the natural conservation of our mountains.
In addition, cycling schools have been set up in all our destinations to promote this sport among the youngestcyclists. We organise cycling trips, guiding them and setting up teams for competitions as we are aware that without generational shifts, there is no future.
Good practices
Our experience in managing destinations and sharing problems with users and groups has taught us that we must ride respectfully on our routes in order to be respected as a group.
Here are some of our good practices that we recommend and ask cyclers who come to visit us to comply with:
- Remember that we share our trails with other users, they are not race tracks. Respect the right of way for hikers and horse riders. When hikers are approaching on a trail, stop your bike, give way and greet politely.
- On our trails, avoid using competitive apps such as Strava. If you like competition and speed, we encourage you to come to the races we organise. During those days you will have the trails at your disposal and you can ride as fast as you want.
- When passing through villages on your route, slow down and respect the local population. Remember that there may be elderly people, children or loose animals.
- Respect the cultural and natural heritage that you find on your route: hermitages, dolmens, abandoned villages, monumental trees, etc. hey have been there for hundreds of years, do not damage them.
- Respect private property: close gates and cattle fences that you find on your way. Do not enter private property and avoid getting out of the path if possible.
- Avoid disturbing wildlife and pulling out flowers. Try to make your cycling through nature as unnoticed as possible for the inhabitants.
- Do not disturb any livestock you may encounter on your trail. If it is moving, move to one side. Avoid touching them and getting too close, especially when you see young ones.
- Check ZTrails app for route conditions. Find out information before starting your route.
- If you see a sign on a road warning that there is a hunt, turn around and do not go in. You are putting your life at stake and you are not favouring the coexistencebetween cyclists and hunters, which is so hard for us to balance. You have many other routes to choose from.
- Do not open new paths or trails without environmental and local government authorization in your area. You can put an entire cycling destination at risk.
- Respect the environmental regulations of the Natural Areas you ride through. Each of them may have its own restrictions on paths or areas where cycling is not allowed. Finding out information about these areas of high ecological value will help you avoid problems with forest rangers.
- Our projects are supported by local businesses that contribute to the development of this project. When you visit us, find out which companies are members of our cycling destinations and prioritise your accommodation, food and repairs in these associated companies. This way you help to make our destinations stronger and more sustainable.
- If you find any fallen signposts or trees on your trail, please inform your cycling destination so as to solve the problem as soon as possible.
- Contribute to the improvement of the trails. A saw in your backpack and the pruning of an annoying branch is a great help for the maintenance of our paths. And if you can, once a year, cooperate with the recovery of some of the paths of our destinations or of your area.
