Shaun and Csilla....the video works! Good stuff.

Hope to see you soon.

It's worth downloading the long version even if it does take the time to make a coffee at 622 kb/s. A great place to be in April, May, September or October.

That's a nice vid. Clever the way they've combined different MTB rider "types".

pah, they wouldn't offer me a job :-P

just watched the video

totally worth the 35meg (windows media)!

i especially liked the street bit at the end, one o' them riders was definately more than an xc rider

is the video different now then?

turns out my girlfriend and I are going there next year around March, for her moms birthday.

And....she said we can take the bikes!, woohoo

is the video different now then?

No, we've just embedded the trailer into the article rather than linking it.

Looks very cool, and it is tempting... maybe next year.

Went out for a ride with Ride Sierra Nevada's Shaun when a guide mate took us to Monachil and we hooked up for a days riding with him.

Can honestly say was the single best day's riding I've done to date, beat France n other riding in Spain I've done - Shaun was a really nice guy and riding was genuinely epic. Lots of challenging technical singletrack, learnt real meaning of tight, steep switchbacks and natural mountain trails riding. Truly stunning scenery, like you're riding through Sergio Leone movie set.

Monachil was also best place we visited - refreshingly untouristy, friendly bohemian atmosphere and had best meal of the trip there with proper local Catalan food.

Reckon the video makers have done top job capturing the variety of riding, true open wilderness you feel like are in and quality of the singletrack there, plus the laid back 'apres ride' on offer.

No, I'm not being paid, just thought the vid really helps show that the place is a little known gem which deserves the big up!

(guess I should post short version of this in the Rides & Holidays section n all)

I went there on my last holiday, drove all the way up to the huge ski resort, just get out side it and a big sign saying, summer season starts in 2 days :( (day I was flying back ), no bike riding or renting for me :(

Nice video got to get back there again, maybe a week or 2 later next time :(

Dylan,
had you come to Monachil village which lies between Granada and the ski resort we would have been happy to provide you with bikes and guides as we are here and riding all year round. See you next time.

For the last few years our guests have been arriving here not only with bags full of bikes but also rucksacks full of toys. Digi cameras, I-pods, laptops, heart-rate monitors, GPS systems and the latest must have, the helmet mounted video camera. We’ve had great fun watching the results post ride with the thrills and spills of the day relived. When Duncan from Visual Euphoria arrived in May of 2005 with his gear I quickly realised the difference between the layman and the professional. The hours spent editing in the evening paid off and at the end of the week he produced a film that would have us whooping and laughing over and over again. A few months passed and he sent me a link to his latest mtb film which impressed me so much I asked him if he would come back and make a film showcasing the trails here in our back yard. I saw this as an opportunity to do something creative and fun with the excuse of promoting Ride Sierra Nevada in a way which I had not considered before. It seemed to me that internet video was in its infancy and if we could do something a little different who knows what effect it could have.
Filming bikes tearing down single-track is great but I felt our film needed a story to compliment the visual side. Looking back in time at how the trails came to be we drew upon the tales of the Icemen. These guys would climb the mountain with their mules from Granada to the snowline with the purpose of bringing ice back to the city cellars.
With a little modernisation it would be an ideal storyline for the film. We wanted the riding shown in the film to be accessible to the masses, it had to be exiting but something we could all imagine doing, scaring people off is not the idea and in reality we don’t all have what it takes to attempt huge gap jumps or North Shore micro skinnies three metres above the forest floor.
Planning was very important as everyone was on a tight schedule and the budget would not stretch to take after take. Riders were recruited and the Visual Euphoria crew duly arrived with their bags of tricks to make the idea a reality. On the mountain, trails were paired with shots and angles with Duncan’s frame mounted camera producing innovative ways of filming bike and rider such that we had never seen before. Fun was had and creative juices flowed. Duncan left with our efforts safely stored on his hard drive to complete the work at home while we waited in anticipation.
Meanwhile word went out via “Kat’s Katalog”, Edinburgh’s underground events forum that music was needed for the film. An avalanche of offers quickly followed from musicians in three countries and in total 16 tunes were received. It was a hard choice but the mood set by Yush2k was perfect for our purposes.
This has been a great experience for us and the reaction has been fantastic, already people are talking about it and we hope the biking community like what they see that has a knock-on effect on the business.
Currently plans are afoot and a mountain biking spaghetti western could be our next venture into film.

Shaun, by the time we'd gotten a guide book and found out there was a place there, it was getting too late so did a little climb to one of the summits instead :(

Be back there next year, will look you up and be better prepared, thanks :)

I want to be there now instead of at my desk, boo hoo hoo.

Video is great, the trails look to die for, scenery is amazing, musics well funky and some great angles.

It must be amazing to experience it for real.

Right wheres my passport?

Really enjoyed the film and found it useful - Definitely leaves you with a much better idea of the sort of riding on offer and therefore would help when choosing where to go. I'm UK based and haven't been riding abroad yet but this looks very, very tempting.

I'd love to see more video content on bikemagic incidentally.

Those switchbacks at the end of the first riders "stage" - What a stunning setting!

Wow! I work in London and I think it's an obviously great idea to have video like this to advertise riding destinations as it just makes it so much easier to imagine riding out there whilst sat at my desk. I've been spending some time reading about various biking destinations to go with a friend next spring but the fact that these guys are willing to put up a video like this shows just how good their trails must be and makes me want to be there NOW!!! I can see I'd love ridin it so there would be no risk of dissapointment on arrival and another bonus is that I can send the link to all my mates and show them exactly what they should be getting jealous about when I'm on holiday!!! :) Please can you get all the other destinations do do likewise tho as otherwise there is no way for me to compare like for like.. video preview of a destination verses written preview for someone so short of time as me.. the video's gonna win.

variety of natural trails unmatched by any other region in Spain

That's a hell of a statement Dave. Are you sure?

;-)