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Three years ago Geoff Norris and Maggi Jones flew into Madrid from Guatemala, got on their bikes, and cycled to Alhama de Granada, a historical town set in the rolling plains between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de Tejeda y Almijara. At 470km, this was the cycling equivalent of a short stroll compared to their usual trips: Mexico to Guatemala, London to Turkey, and Cairns to Sydney, Australia. This time, though, Geoff (from London) and Maggi (from Toronto) were not on extended holiday. This time they had come to stay. Two years earlier they had bought a tumbledown cortijo in Alhama. Now, they unpacked their tiny two-man tent and set up camp on the grounds. Their plan, to start their own cycling tour company in accordance with the philosophy of sustainable tourism – tourism that is educational and that benefits the communities visited, while having a low impact on the environment and local resources. Cycling Country is now in its third season, the business is expanding, they are running tours in Portugal as well as all over Andalucía, and they are on their way to becoming a private limited company. Things are going better than they ever imagined. But it hasn’t been easy. “We have never worked so hard,” says Geoff, “and we both ran our own businesses in the UK.” This is not a complaint, “We are doing exactly what we want to do,” stresses Maggi, “We love the outdoor life and the cycling culture in Spain. We came here to set up a business and to make an income. You can’t sit back. You just get on with it.”
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.jpg "Living Spain Issue 46")
