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All content © Bob MuIIins |
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If you are looking for a great way to shake off the Monday morning blues then there are few things in this World that can compare with trail riding in sunny Spain on a shiny new orange bike. With the 2nd round of the 2015 Enduro World Championship at Jerez in the can and a day to spare before our flight home Digger and I could not resist an offer from Mark Jackson of Offroad Orange to join him on one of his superb KTM guided Adventures in the hills around Alhaurin El Grande near Malaga. Two of Alhaurin's best known celebrity residents are Jill Brown and Jean-Claude Van Damme so while Dot Cotton and the Muscles from Brussels were hoofing around the local clubs on Sunday night we relaxed in the Finca La Mota about a mile outside the old town. The Finca is a traditional Haciendo full of Old World charm - with a swimming pool, mini golf course and restaurant - built for comfort. At 10.00am on Monday morning we rolled up to the Offroad Orange unit low on coffee but high on anticipation. The bikes were already lined up on the pavement and the delightful Sonya soon kitted us out with helmets, gloves, goggles, armour, shirts, jeans, socks, knee pads and camelbak before we signed the all important insurance cover form and watched a short instructional DVD. Mark Jackson was leading our group. His credentials include top ten finishes in the Red Bull Romaniacs, Erzberg and Legares. He is also MD of the Eurotek KTM dealership and a handy man with a spanner. In a moment we had lowered the seat on my new KTM250 4T from normal through low to find the Welsh pit pony setting and we were ready to go. Close to Alhaurin is an abandoned golf resort development which serves as an excellent practice area to check out the bike settings before Mark disappeared up a drainpipe like a rabbit and we followed him into the mountains. Gibraltar is not the only awkward rock in Spain so the bikes run on 4mm tubes at 14psi. There were two other features with which I was unfamiliar: a fold away mirror (which is a legal requirement in Spain on the road) and compression (which my old KDX dispensed with years ago). The tours are a two man operation with Mark taking the lead and Neil Stuart as the back marker. The two riders are in radio contact and their constant feedback keeps the group traveling forward smoothly. Mark is very adept at gauging a rider's ability and he selects the going that best suits them. He has recently hosted days out for Ade Smith and David Knight as well as a 4 day tour for his own 75 year old father Mr Jackson Senior.
As we progressed the temperature rose to 35 degrees but after a week without rain there was surprisingly little dust. We followed a rocky stream bed up a gorge and the spray was very refreshing. I was tempted to take a dive but the camera was rolling and I resisted. The climb at the end was challenging but Neil was on the spot with a helping hand and some CPR. A disastrous fire devastated the area 3 years ago and nearly all of the pine forest was lost but on the plus side the views that open up around every corner are increasingly breathtaking. From the German lookout we surveyed a magnificent view that stretched for 50 miles along the Mediterranean to Gibraltar with the coast of Africa beyond. The toughest part of the day was navigating the dunes of talcum powder that surround Julio Iglesias' mountain retreat. We began to descend and soon popped out into a bustling town on the coast between Fuengirola and Marabella. We parked up in the main square outside an Italian restaurant which was clearly a regular stop and ate a delicious pasta bake under the olive trees. The post pasta ride home was at a leisurely pace with the reward of a shower at the end. The whole experience was unforgettable thanks mostly to the kindness and good humour of Mark. Neil and Sonya. For more details check out the Offroad Orange website: http://www.offroadorange.com/
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