Chasing Bandits: riding legendary trails in La Sierra de Madrid...

Views of the Unesco World Heritage site Royal Monastery of El Escorial.

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Being a Sierra Grown rider means to hear a lot of stories about these trails. Being used for centuries by armies, traders, shepherds, to cross Spain, they have seen tons of legends and stories. Probably one of the most popular are those related to the "bandoleros" , bandits that used to attack the Napoleon troops that invaded Spain 200 years ago.. Fierce Sierra men that created a dark legend around them... 

Rough and fun trails close to Cueva Valiente, one of the most iconic "bandolero" spots in La Sierra

When I told this story to Dan Milner, he immediately showed a lot of interest to ride those trails and cross La Sierra following their paths. That´s what we did, with our great friend Holger Meyer and guides Rafa, Sepu and Emilio. Now you can check it in these two great articles published on German´s Bike Magazin and Uk´s MBUK. Do not miss them!

Night at Cueva Valiente´s hut.

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Text by Félix Torija
All photos by Dan Milner
Special thanks to Holger Meyert.