mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Yuck - they let cars drive among the restaurant tables in the main square?
Cycling B&B in the foothills of the Pyrenees
- Thread starter Bonus
- Start date
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OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
It's been a little while since I updated our "Cycling B&B" thread properly . . . . . . things did not go as planned for us at the beginning of the month and we've consequently found ourselves being kept busy with all sorts of things we didn't expect!
It's sometimes been difficult to stay positive but we're still alive and kicking and not ready to give up just yet
Over the next couple of days I will post about all the "tricky stuff" that's being going on over the last few weeks . . . .
Bonus.
It's sometimes been difficult to stay positive but we're still alive and kicking and not ready to give up just yet
Over the next couple of days I will post about all the "tricky stuff" that's being going on over the last few weeks . . . .
Bonus.
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OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
Here's a piece Mrs Bonus wrote for our FB page as a follow up to my post last week . . .
"Well getting through the red tape in Spain is certainly a little slower than we expected . . . and as one door opens it seems only to reveal another closed door on the other side.
During 2016 we opened many doors - and that helped us to maintain our positive mind-sets. At least we haven’t come across a closed door that has remained shut. For that we are grateful. But each closed door has meant a delay.
Delays started with our architect losing his business associate to cancer in November 2015 - just as he was supposed to be starting our drawings. His increased workload and the fact that we weren't actually here to chase him, meant that the drawings we expected in January where not ready until the end of March.
On the day we received our house plans we took them straight to the local council offices so that we could get our building license (planning permission). We expected this to take between 6 weeks and 2 months - but it turns out that the council architect, a young lady called Eva, only works Tuesdays & Thursdays . . .
Eventually, after about 4 months we had a call from our architect to say that there was a problem with the drawings. The problem was that the law had recently changed in Spain regarding the amount of renovation work you can do on an existing property - and now our house was suddenly too big. We had to employ a solicitor to help us and the architect convince the council that because our planning application was submitted BEFORE the change in law, we should be exempt. We got there in the end but it had been another delay.
The next closed door was put in our way by some of our neighbours and the "100 year old family feud" they were having between them. They didn't even have the decency to both lodge their complaints at the same time! More expense and more time. We got there in the end but the months were stacking up . . .
We finally got out license in early December. 6 months later than we expected. The cost of the planning permission building license includes a portion of tax - and the rate of tax depends on the type of building. It looks like our building has been incorrectly classified . . . the council are currently checking this for us and we don't have to pay the bill until the investigation is finished . . . so they can take as long as they like in this case!
The latest closed door is the door to our bank, who had originally agreed to lend us the "top up" amount we needed to pay for the building work. In the time it took us to obtain our planning permission the EU Court ruled that Spanish Banks had acted unlawfully when granting mortgages with "minimum interest rates" attached. Long story short - Spanish Banks are going to have to pay back around 5 Billion Euros between them to customers with illegal mortgages.
This has changed the landscape in terms of who banks will lend money to and how much they have available to lend. We are currently waiting to hear from our bank as to where we stand, but in the meantime, we can't sign contracts with our builder . . . who was expecting to start in the second week of January . . . .
In two weeks time Bonus will have been in Spain for a year. I joined him a few weeks later. As much as we have manged to keep our heads up during this very long year, it has taken its toll on our finances and our senses of humour.
This thread started out as a “what to do/not to do” or rather “how to do it successfully” thread but later became our daily encouragement and motivation thread.
Thank you all for your relentless patience and participation in our “adventure” and keep watching this space . . . the orchestra have taken their seats but the fat lady has not yet sung...."
"Well getting through the red tape in Spain is certainly a little slower than we expected . . . and as one door opens it seems only to reveal another closed door on the other side.
During 2016 we opened many doors - and that helped us to maintain our positive mind-sets. At least we haven’t come across a closed door that has remained shut. For that we are grateful. But each closed door has meant a delay.
Delays started with our architect losing his business associate to cancer in November 2015 - just as he was supposed to be starting our drawings. His increased workload and the fact that we weren't actually here to chase him, meant that the drawings we expected in January where not ready until the end of March.
On the day we received our house plans we took them straight to the local council offices so that we could get our building license (planning permission). We expected this to take between 6 weeks and 2 months - but it turns out that the council architect, a young lady called Eva, only works Tuesdays & Thursdays . . .
Eventually, after about 4 months we had a call from our architect to say that there was a problem with the drawings. The problem was that the law had recently changed in Spain regarding the amount of renovation work you can do on an existing property - and now our house was suddenly too big. We had to employ a solicitor to help us and the architect convince the council that because our planning application was submitted BEFORE the change in law, we should be exempt. We got there in the end but it had been another delay.
The next closed door was put in our way by some of our neighbours and the "100 year old family feud" they were having between them. They didn't even have the decency to both lodge their complaints at the same time! More expense and more time. We got there in the end but the months were stacking up . . .
We finally got out license in early December. 6 months later than we expected. The cost of the planning permission building license includes a portion of tax - and the rate of tax depends on the type of building. It looks like our building has been incorrectly classified . . . the council are currently checking this for us and we don't have to pay the bill until the investigation is finished . . . so they can take as long as they like in this case!
The latest closed door is the door to our bank, who had originally agreed to lend us the "top up" amount we needed to pay for the building work. In the time it took us to obtain our planning permission the EU Court ruled that Spanish Banks had acted unlawfully when granting mortgages with "minimum interest rates" attached. Long story short - Spanish Banks are going to have to pay back around 5 Billion Euros between them to customers with illegal mortgages.
This has changed the landscape in terms of who banks will lend money to and how much they have available to lend. We are currently waiting to hear from our bank as to where we stand, but in the meantime, we can't sign contracts with our builder . . . who was expecting to start in the second week of January . . . .
In two weeks time Bonus will have been in Spain for a year. I joined him a few weeks later. As much as we have manged to keep our heads up during this very long year, it has taken its toll on our finances and our senses of humour.
This thread started out as a “what to do/not to do” or rather “how to do it successfully” thread but later became our daily encouragement and motivation thread.
Thank you all for your relentless patience and participation in our “adventure” and keep watching this space . . . the orchestra have taken their seats but the fat lady has not yet sung...."
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
It's nice, when things are crawling along at a snails pace and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be on a dimmer switch, to be given some professional reassurance
When our first choice of bank seemed to be dragging it's heels with regards to our top-up loan, we started talking in tandem to a second bank. One that specialises in loans for properties in rural areas. The manager there loved our ideas and our business plan but before he could consider our application his risk department needed us to have a "Viability Study" carried out by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services, who are based in the nearby town of Huesca. It's a free service that takes about 10 days to complete. We sent them everything we could - business plan, the architects project, a dozen emails with lots of "extra" ideas we've had . . .
We met with Susana, the lady from the Dept of Commerce, this week and she gave us her report. We're thrilled to learn that according to her, based on everything we gave her (and we gave her a lot!) and everything she knows about the expanding tourism and investment in the local area etc etc, we will be successful with our venture
Of course there will be hard work and long hours, but we can manage that - the view out of the window will remind us why we're doing it.
We've passed the report on to the bank manager and I think he's as happy as we are.
Now we just have to wait . . . for a change.
When our first choice of bank seemed to be dragging it's heels with regards to our top-up loan, we started talking in tandem to a second bank. One that specialises in loans for properties in rural areas. The manager there loved our ideas and our business plan but before he could consider our application his risk department needed us to have a "Viability Study" carried out by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services, who are based in the nearby town of Huesca. It's a free service that takes about 10 days to complete. We sent them everything we could - business plan, the architects project, a dozen emails with lots of "extra" ideas we've had . . .
We met with Susana, the lady from the Dept of Commerce, this week and she gave us her report. We're thrilled to learn that according to her, based on everything we gave her (and we gave her a lot!) and everything she knows about the expanding tourism and investment in the local area etc etc, we will be successful with our venture
Of course there will be hard work and long hours, but we can manage that - the view out of the window will remind us why we're doing it.
We've passed the report on to the bank manager and I think he's as happy as we are.
Now we just have to wait . . . for a change.
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
I've been working here on a side project for a little while now that we thought we'd keep to ourselves until we were sure I'd understood our neighbour, "Ramon the Friendly Farmer", correctly. As it turns out, Ramon and I both understood each other fine and it's "all systems go", so here's the story . . .
As most of you will already know, when we were looking for a place to set up and run a B&B we concentrated on looking at places that we thought would appeal to cyclists. We want to cater for everyone but we would also like to have a reputation for being somewhere that can meet the specific needs of cyclists.
We started looking along the Pilgrimage route "El Camino de Santiago de Compostela" but finally settled on the village of Guaso just outside Ainsa, Aragon, in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.
With its network of well kept local roads threading their way between the mountains and with the hundreds of kilometers of amazing world class Enduro and Mountain Bike Trails of "Zona-Zero", this place is almost perfect. The only thing we really found lacking in the area, and this was bought to our attention by several families that we got chatting to last summer, was mountain bike rides suitable for mums and children. . . .
During our first year here we've got to know Ramon & Rosa, our old "semi-retired" farmer neighbours very well and it became apparent that they own quite a bit of the local countryside. The full extent of which I didn't appreciate until one day I offered to help Ramon cut some trees down for next years firewood and he took me on a tractor-tour of the farm to get to the woods where the trees were.
Standing there in the middle of what felt like nowhere, but was actually not too far from our houses through the trees, I was stunned at how big and how beautiful the area was. Amazing views, private woods, streams, fire roads, sheep paths, abandoned houses - you name it, he's got it. More importantly, I was impressed with how much of the area was relatively flat. I complemented Ramon on his land and told him that it would be amazing for cross-country mountain bike cycling - and perfect for the families of guys who came to stay with us to ride the fairly tough "Zona-Zero" routes. Ramon smiled and said "You are welcome to use this land anyway you want".
So (and THIS was the bit I needed to make sure I'd understood correctly!) Ramon was allowing me to build what would essentially be our own private mountain bike park, suitable for the families of our guests (and for Mrs Bonus) on his land - right outside our own back door!
I've now been trail-building for three weeks. I've shown Ramon the trails I've cut so far and he's very happy with it all. He's used his tractor to help me clear the main dirt road that goes from the top where our houses are down into the center of the flatter area - the rest I've done by hand myself. It's hard work but it's very rewarding.
I tested out the first 3km of twisty-trails on Saturday and I'm happy with what I've done so far . . .
We're amazingly lucky to have been given permission to do this and I'm loving every day of building it.
This picture outlines the rough boundaries of the land we will be using. . . . .
As most of you will already know, when we were looking for a place to set up and run a B&B we concentrated on looking at places that we thought would appeal to cyclists. We want to cater for everyone but we would also like to have a reputation for being somewhere that can meet the specific needs of cyclists.
We started looking along the Pilgrimage route "El Camino de Santiago de Compostela" but finally settled on the village of Guaso just outside Ainsa, Aragon, in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.
With its network of well kept local roads threading their way between the mountains and with the hundreds of kilometers of amazing world class Enduro and Mountain Bike Trails of "Zona-Zero", this place is almost perfect. The only thing we really found lacking in the area, and this was bought to our attention by several families that we got chatting to last summer, was mountain bike rides suitable for mums and children. . . .
During our first year here we've got to know Ramon & Rosa, our old "semi-retired" farmer neighbours very well and it became apparent that they own quite a bit of the local countryside. The full extent of which I didn't appreciate until one day I offered to help Ramon cut some trees down for next years firewood and he took me on a tractor-tour of the farm to get to the woods where the trees were.
Standing there in the middle of what felt like nowhere, but was actually not too far from our houses through the trees, I was stunned at how big and how beautiful the area was. Amazing views, private woods, streams, fire roads, sheep paths, abandoned houses - you name it, he's got it. More importantly, I was impressed with how much of the area was relatively flat. I complemented Ramon on his land and told him that it would be amazing for cross-country mountain bike cycling - and perfect for the families of guys who came to stay with us to ride the fairly tough "Zona-Zero" routes. Ramon smiled and said "You are welcome to use this land anyway you want".
So (and THIS was the bit I needed to make sure I'd understood correctly!) Ramon was allowing me to build what would essentially be our own private mountain bike park, suitable for the families of our guests (and for Mrs Bonus) on his land - right outside our own back door!
I've now been trail-building for three weeks. I've shown Ramon the trails I've cut so far and he's very happy with it all. He's used his tractor to help me clear the main dirt road that goes from the top where our houses are down into the center of the flatter area - the rest I've done by hand myself. It's hard work but it's very rewarding.
I tested out the first 3km of twisty-trails on Saturday and I'm happy with what I've done so far . . .
We're amazingly lucky to have been given permission to do this and I'm loving every day of building it.
This picture outlines the rough boundaries of the land we will be using. . . . .
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
Some pictures of work on our "Bike Park".
Ramon the Friendly Farmer helped me with the main dirt road from our houses down to the flat area in the middle of the farm.
Ramon the Friendly Farmer helped me with the main dirt road from our houses down to the flat area in the middle of the farm.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I hope all of this hard work pays off in the end ... It seems a massive investment of time, energy and money. Good luck with it!
(I have probably already posted that earlier in the thread, but I hadn't anticipated how many difficulties you would encounter on the way.)
(I have probably already posted that earlier in the thread, but I hadn't anticipated how many difficulties you would encounter on the way.)
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
We are sure we will get there in the end! :-)
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
The other day I skipped doing any work on our "Bike Park" and took Ms Bonus for a look around. We walked some of the trail I've done so far and then we went a bit further down the farm to see an area that I haven't really explored yet.
As you can see, there's a lot to do yet!
Looking forward to doing more work soon - I want to get at least one basic circuit finished asap.
As you can see, there's a lot to do yet!
Looking forward to doing more work soon - I want to get at least one basic circuit finished asap.
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
A bit more work on the bike park . . .
The "Bike Park" and the Farm above it are all on a hillside so whenever it rains, even if it's only a light rain, you end up with quite a bit of water coming down and funneling into a few specific places. No problem for the tractor but not so good for cars or bikes.
I diverted the water away from this access road further up the hill and now Ramon the Farmer is using the tractor to level off what was previously was a "part-time river" . . .
Really pleased with my old car. For a quite heavy front wheel drive estate car - it can get almost anywhere!
The "Bike Park" and the Farm above it are all on a hillside so whenever it rains, even if it's only a light rain, you end up with quite a bit of water coming down and funneling into a few specific places. No problem for the tractor but not so good for cars or bikes.
I diverted the water away from this access road further up the hill and now Ramon the Farmer is using the tractor to level off what was previously was a "part-time river" . . .
Really pleased with my old car. For a quite heavy front wheel drive estate car - it can get almost anywhere!
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
Today I walked the entire length of the Mountain Bike Trail that I've cut/cleared/built so far. From our house in Guaso, through the farm yard and down onto the farm land.
I took tools with me because I knew I had to widen a couple of corners that I had thought were ok but turned out to be a bit too tight on a bike (I'm on a 29er) when I tested the trail the other day.
Aside from that it was just a case of trimming a few bushes and kicking a few stones out the way as I walked - most of the trail was good. I'm pleased. It's only about 3km long so far but it's a good start. More trail building tomorrow :-)
I took tools with me because I knew I had to widen a couple of corners that I had thought were ok but turned out to be a bit too tight on a bike (I'm on a 29er) when I tested the trail the other day.
Aside from that it was just a case of trimming a few bushes and kicking a few stones out the way as I walked - most of the trail was good. I'm pleased. It's only about 3km long so far but it's a good start. More trail building tomorrow :-)
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
From 6 posts up . . .
"So (and THIS was the bit I needed to make sure I'd understood correctly!) Ramon was allowing me to build what would essentially be our own private mountain bike park, suitable for the families of our guests (and for Mrs Bonus) on his land - right outside our own back door!
I've now been trail-building for three weeks. I've shown Ramon the trails I've cut so far and he's very happy with it all. He's used his tractor to help me clear the main dirt road that goes from the top where our houses are down into the center of the flatter area - the rest I've done by hand myself. It's hard work but it's very rewarding."
OP
OP
Bonus
Veteran
- Location
- Ainsa, Spain
For the last week or so I’ve been splitting my time between working on the first section of Bike Park MTB Trail - which is now complete :-) and working on the main dirt road that goes down onto the farm.
I’ll test the newly completed first section of MTB Trail on my bike tomorrow to see how it feels.
The dirt road, which needs some serious re-modelling to try and prevent it from flooding and becoming waterlogged for a week whenever it rains, is more of an ongoing project. It’s about 1000m long and has several sections that turn into quite a muddy-stream when it rains, so I’m trying to slope it into waterways I’m cutting beside the road. The first dodgy section is done and we will see next time it rains whether I got it right or not. The other problem areas will be dealt with one by one … .
Mud-fest part one - before and after pics …
I’ll test the newly completed first section of MTB Trail on my bike tomorrow to see how it feels.
The dirt road, which needs some serious re-modelling to try and prevent it from flooding and becoming waterlogged for a week whenever it rains, is more of an ongoing project. It’s about 1000m long and has several sections that turn into quite a muddy-stream when it rains, so I’m trying to slope it into waterways I’m cutting beside the road. The first dodgy section is done and we will see next time it rains whether I got it right or not. The other problem areas will be dealt with one by one … .
Mud-fest part one - before and after pics …
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