Tenerife
2 to 9 December 2017

We were looking for an active winter break and Tenerife ticked every box: mountains, sun, cycling and walking routes, and a direct flight from Edinburgh. The choice was easy and we were not disappointed!

GR11 – 200km walk in the Spanish Pyrenees
19 to 11 August 2017

In summary:

Walking days: 10

Tot km: 187

Average km/day: 18.7

Tot elevation: 9700m

Tot passes: 11

Getting started

The GR11 has been in my bucket list for a long time. I originally wanted to run it, but my Achilles kicked away the running shoes and brought me boots instead, possibly a good thing since the terrain was way more difficult than what I expected.

Cuba 2016 – ¡Aquí no se rinde nadie carajo!

(nobody will surrender here by Camilo Cienfuegos)

Cuba was the utopia, an idea that builds new worlds possible, the impossible triumph of justice over foreign despotism, the land of strong ideals and principles. Deaf to the critics we would occasionally hear, we felt that the Revolution had to be supported, because they deserve it, because against all the odds they managed to beat Goliath.

With this mindset we bought our tickets to Cuba and planned to cycle most of the island to discover first hand its beauty and rebellious essence. Truth is, after spending 6 weeks cycling

Tour du Mont Blanc 2016
170km and 10,000m of ascent in 8 days

This was the natural continuation of the Matterhorn Ultraks. Zermatt is not that far away from Chamonix, and the TMB has been in my bucket list for a while. Now it felt the right moment to go for it.

Thinking the route would have been packed with people (as it was indeed) we booked the sleeping places in advance, so that we had no alternative but to reach the destination every day. At first we thought we were too optimistic doing it in 8 days, but we had great weather and felt good all the time, so that it can probably be done in 7 or even 6 days (the UTMB runners would do it in within 21 to 44 hours...)

MATTERHORN ULTRAKS K30

Even though the Achilles tendon never really healed I decided it was time to go back running and signed up for another challenge. The K46 felt too heavy so that I compromised on the K30 (32Km and 1950m elevation gained)

http://www.ultraks.com/en/pages/parcours/trail/-30k-race-137

The West Coast of Scotland Part 2 – The Revenge

When	7 to 15 May 2016
Distance	780km/487m
Elevation gained	8940 m
Bikes	Dharma and Hayduke (cross monsters)
Equipment	2 panniers and handlebar bag (sleeping in hostels)

Scotland never fails to surprise. We had been up the West Coast 2 years before and knew that the weather up there is harsh and changeable, so that we were ready for rain and storms but we were blessed with days of blazing sunshine, and a lot of headwind. The landscapes were superb as expected but the traffic was quite a spoiler, especially in the one lane roads. Still, very happy with the trip and with the memories we took with us.


Day 1 – Inverness to Alltbeithe – 80km, 640m elevation gained

1 week in Madeira
23-30 January 2016

Getting back to normal life, and work, in winter, after months spent cycling in the wild is hard. You look at work as a waste of life and you can only find solace in planning future trips. One rainy and dark winter day we looked for some winter break destinations and the cheapest option was Madeira. I had to check where it was and when I saw it's an island in the Atlantic I expected it to be as dry as the Canary Islands so that I was not convinced, but after seeing a few pictures it appeared the perfect trekking destination.

We found a great deal in EasyJet Holidays: flight and the hotel for 1 week for £170 each and we booked it straight away. We planned to do some trekking and cycling there but the truth is, Madeira is a different world from anything we have even been before!