Carlos Avellana, co-owner with Silvia Benedé of the complex Rural Tourism Os Ormos, riding a spurring them (Huesca), tells us in this interview why he decided to be part of the Bikefriendly accommodation network and tells us about the evolution and trends of the cycling in his area, the Aragonese Pyrenees.
Bikefriendly services in Os Ormos
Besides a Bikefriendly space complete to store your guests' bicycles with a washing area and tools, your accommodation in the Aragonese Pyrenees offers other services specialized in cycle tourism as rental of bicycles, GPS devices, hiring of guides, preparation of a take-away picnic or catering service at the end of the route.
Rise of active tourism
Rural Tourism Os Ormos was one of the first Bike-friendly accommodations in Spain and, in these years of experience, the hotelier has been able to see how the conditions changed. tourism trends and how the demand for a type of active and sports tourism.
"We notice a significant increase in people who combine their vacations with sports activity. Increasingly. An effect that has also been greatly increased by the pandemic.”
In this regard, Carlos Avellana comments: "Before, people came and spent more hours in the facilities of the house, in the garden, sunbathing... But for some years we have had an increase in people who simply spend the night in the rural house." and little else because He goes out first thing in the morning to ski, do hiking, cycling activities... or tourist visits. They end up barely spending dinner or sleeping time at home,” says the hotelier. And he continues: “The majority They are out all day doing something, breathing nature, doing activities (…) they come with that need for air and nature.”
The cycling guests of Os Ormos
Regarding the value that Bikefriendly services represent for its guests, Carlos Avellana comments that the cycling guests seeking the Bikefriendly Quality Seal They look for “special treatment” that differentiates the accommodations on the Internet.
"We can advise you in everything related to cycling: about a route, about points where you can stop to enjoy, the best times or areas to go out... and facilitate logistical issues like bike rental… Being Bikefriendly is a collection of knowing how to properly advise the cyclist so that the experience is complete and personalized.”
Cycle tourism offer in the Aragonese Pyrenees
The Os Ormos Rural Tourism complex is located in Espuéndolas, a small town in the Aragonese Pyrenees, located between Jaca and Sabiñánigo. For this reason, Avellana comments that his area is “the total range” in terms of cycling tourism offer.
“We are hyper-known for the Bearded Vulture, whose departure area is 5 minutes from our rural house. But in addition, we have the Alto Gállego Pyrenees Mountain Bike Center, we are half an hour away Zero Pyrenees Zone, another one is going to be made mountain bike center in Jaca 10 minutes… All this means a lot of marked and prepared routes for mountain biking”.
As for road cycling, the co-owner of Os Ormos emphasizes that his accommodation is surrounded by Lots of mountain roads with hardly any traffic. “The new stretches of highway have freed up all the small roads in the surrounding area, leaving some brutal conditions for riding a road bike. And just a few kilometers away, in addition, we are in the heart of the Pyrenees and we have mythical ports as the Aubisque or the Marie Blanque, which can be done on the day from our rural accommodation. In short, he concludes that his area is “a true paradise for cycling, both road and mountain".
