Cycling B&B in the foothills of the Pyrenees

[Bonus]

We've had lots of feedback and support since we posted that we had decided to stay here and push on with our project. Thanks for all the private messages and suggestions - some of the ideas people have put forward are things that had crossed our minds and some of the ideas are new to us. In any case it's always good for someone else to suggest an idea that had previously crossed your mind but that you weren't sure was a good one or not :-)

We're going over everything now and formulating a plan to move forward, at whatever speed we can manage under the circumstances.

These are exciting times for us and as frustrating as it has been not to be able to just "get on with it" up until now, we're slowly coming around to the idea that maybe things going slowly has been a good thing, and maybe we'll be better off for it in the long run . . .

Coming to terms with the fact that this is an "Adventure" to be enjoyed on the way - rather than just a relocation, business start up and then "noses back to the grindstone" asap to pay for it all!

We've certainly enjoyed it so far . . .. Let's see how this goes now . . . .

 

[woodbutcher]

We've had lots of feedback and support since we posted that we had decided to stay here and push on with our project. Thanks for all the private messages and suggestions - some of the ideas people have put forward are things that had crossed our minds and some of the ideas are new to us. In any case it's always good for someone else to suggest an idea that had previously crossed your mind but that you weren't sure was a good one or not :-)

We're going over everything now and formulating a plan to move forward, at whatever speed we can manage under the circumstances.

These are exciting times for us and as frustrating as it has been not to be able to just "get on with it" up until now, we're slowly coming around to the idea that maybe things going slowly has been a good thing, and maybe we'll be better off for it in the long run . . .

Coming to terms with the fact that this is an "Adventure" to be enjoyed on the way - rather than just a relocation, business start up and then "noses back to the grindstone" asap to pay for it all!

We've certainly enjoyed it so far . . .. Let's see how this goes now . . . .

Great attitude Bonus....l recon that will see you through the rough and the smooth.
Meilleurs vœux et bonne chance
Most of all enjoy the ride !!

 

[Bonus]

Tomorrow morning we're having a meeting at our property with the builder we'd like to use for our project. We have a number of issues to go over with him and it's important that he fully understands our changed position - for that reason I've asked a very good Spanish friend of ours who lives in Zaragoza to join us and translate. Mikel and I first met when he visited the company I worked for in Johannesburg to carry out some training for us and he's been helping us ever since. . . .

Our preferred builder is a local guy who survived the Spanish financial crisis of 2008 intact and who lives close enough for me to "go and get him if he doesn't turn up for work" :-)

We need to establish whether the prices on the quote he gave us when he originally quoted the job are still valid, and if not, by what percentage. Also we need to make sure he's ok with doing much less work than previously expected, because we will be doing more ourselves, and with spreading the reduced work over a longer period of time, as our finances dictate.

Probably not hugely appealing from the builder point of view but let's see what he says tomorrow . . . .

 

[Bonus]

We had a very good meeting with our builder yesterday and everyone is happy with the path we are taking :-)


The prices quoted last year are still relevant.

He is happy for us to do whatever work we can ourselves and for him to do the bits we can't.

He also understands that we will be stretching the project over an extended period of time and so it will be start/stop/start/stop for him but he's ok with that too. He will fit us in around other projects he's working on.


We had the meeting at Ramon & Rosa's farmhouse, with our good friend Mikel helping to translate for us and of course with the builder being local, it turns out that his parents and both Ramon & Rosa's parent were old friends. I like that.

I think this is going to work out just fine.

:-)

 

[Starchivore]

Que bueno- claro que vais a seguir adelante.

I'm a sporadic visitor to the forums but I always like to look up your progress in Spain.

 

[Bonus]

Que bueno- claro que vais a seguir adelante.

I'm a sporadic visitor to the forums but I always like to look up your progress in Spain.

Cheers Starchivore - Slowly but surely :-)

 

[Bonus]

Visited my friend Angel in the Intersport shop today and got my hands on the Sword of the Inframundo!

 

[Bonus]

Sometimes in the heat of summer here we have veld fires and because it is so hot and often a bit windy, they can take hold really quickly. So the Spanish Airforce have a fleet of Canadair CL-215 planes that they use to "water drop" when necessary.

Thankfully there are no fires anywhere near here at the moment (Portugal is currently suffering) but because we are next to the Embalse de Mediano (The Mediano Reservoir) we often see planes circling as they practice scooping and dropping water.

I would love to see them practicing close up but they don't do it at regular intervals so the chances of being in the right place at the right time are slim.

Maybe one day I'll get lucky . . .

 

[Bonus]

Mrs Bonus out on a training ride between Ainsa and Barbastro. Beautiful Clear Skies, Good Roads and Strong Legs!

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Hmm... summer! That was nice while I was in Italy and France in late June / early July. I still have part of the tan I got while over there. Here in Melbourne, it's still definitely winter.

 

[woodbutcher]

Hmm... summer! That was nice while I was in Italy and France in late June / early July. I still have part of the tan I got while over there. Here in Melbourne, it's still definitely winter.

This summer is lovely but there is a weather warning for temperatures in the upper 30's and probably high humidity next week so riding the bike is going to be a sweaty experience

 

[Shut Up Legs]

This summer is lovely but there is a weather warning for temperatures in the upper 30's and probably high humidity next week so riding the bike is going to be a sweaty experience

Saves you having to visit a sauna to lose weight, I guess.

 

[Bonus]

Here in Spain there are "high temp" and "risk of bush fire" warnings most days over summer.

I find it most comfortable to ride early or late. Midday is not an option for me, but Mrs Bonus loves it!

 

[Bonus]

Here in Spain when you commission an architect to prepare a complete "Project" for you, he supplies you with two things:

Firstly a complete set of drawings. Drawings of how the property looks now and how it will look like when it's finished. Detailed schematics of the heating, electrical and plumbing layouts and detailed drawings of how various parts of the project - the roof, walls, floors etc, should be constructed.

Secondly he gives you a "Project Book". This is a 100 plus page book that he puts together which details all the rules and regulations pertaining to how the building work should be carried out on your specific build, which standards of materials must be used, etc etc.

The Project Book also contains "The Budget". This is a step by step list of every single job that needs to be carried out in the process of turning our agricultural barn into a house & home (or in our case, a home and a B&B!). It starts with the removal of the existing barn roofing, finishes with the final coat of varnish on the staircase handrails and includes every single activity in between. Each item has a "cost" next to it - the price of which comes from the official "Big Book of Pricing for Builders". The Builders themselves see this "Budget" (and no doubt have a copy off the Big Book) and when they quote you for a job, they quote, "mas or minus", in line with the architects recommended prices.

This means that for every job that needs to be done throughout the project, we know how much the architect says it should cost to do and how much the Builder wants to do it.

We will use this comparison to work out exactly how much the builder is going to charge us for each separate job that we ask him to do and we will use it to work out how much we are saving by doing certain jobs ourselves.

 

[Bonus]

The "Intersport" sports shop in Ainsa has a bike workshop and Angel stocks a wide range of replacement Rear Mech Hangers there.

As with any MTB cycling holiday though, I'd advise you keep one of your own spare in your kit just in case . . . . I was in the shop chatting to Angel yesterday when a lad brought his bike in with a broken hanger and his own replacement part. He'd stacked on his first ride on the first day of a two week holiday!

Angel fitted it for him and fixed his bent brake lever and he was back on the trails by the afternoon :-)