7 9月, 2022
Shepherds Of The Trashumancia
Santi Etxegarreta is a transhumant shepherd. He inherited the life of a nomad, moving the herd up to the mountains for summer pastures and back down to the valley for winter.
When your father’s job is so extreme, so unique, you practically have just two options: either you love it, or you absolutely hate it.
Ane and Mikel could be living in the center of a big city, rebelling against the life as they know it; Ane and Mikel could just pick the phone and have dinner or groceries at their door in no time. However, they chose to raise their eyes to a limitless landscape instead.
How does it feel when your field of vision is immense and infinite?
“Santi and his children were right: these mountains have to be caressed. That is why I chose Rise. I wanted to focus on enjoying the landscape on the climb and arriving fresh for the descents, and I knew that its EP8 motor pairs very well with pedal strokes so I never sacrificed the feeling of connection with the terrain.”
– Lierni Lekuona
Mikel makes our flesh crawl describing the cold in the bones as he crosses the so full of legends San Adrián’s tunnel; Ane makes us reflect as she speaks about studying and giving herself a world of opportunities, immense and infinite as her field of vision, to end up choosing what she really wants: to end up choosing the mountain life.
“Caressing the hills of Urbia mountains” as the popular song goes.
This magical land belongs to the animals, the paths belong to the shepherds and the farmers, they dwell and protect them.
Igor, Antonio and Lierni know well whom this land belongs to, they feel the cold with Mikel as they cross the tunnel with their bikes on their shoulders and, for a moment, they can even feel the harshness of the life chosen by Santi.
Lierni, Igor and Antonio caress the hills of Urbia mountains, they borrow the land, and they are happy.
Occam M10 LT
Igor — the man attached to a smile — chose to enjoy this landscape and its trails with Occam LT. “With this choice, I was looking to make the descents more fun and wilder. Those 10mm of extra travel fit like a glove for Urbia’s terrain.”
Antonio, Lierni and Igor will come and will go; Ane, Mikel y Santi will still be here, with their hazel crook, caressing the hills of Urbia mountains.
Occam LTD
Antonio opted for Occam LTD. “I wanted to enjoy the descent to the fullest, and I knew that Occam was a safe bet.”
Get to know the bikes from Trail Tales
Rise M-Team
Leirni knows what he’s doing, as Rise is ideal for this type of ride. It is perfect to enjoy without losing the feeling of connection with the bike and the terrain. Its EP8 RS motor is extremely quiet and reacts subtly to your pedal strokes with immediate and sensitive response to your effort that, at times, it makes you forget that it’s an e-bike.
Occam M10 LT
Igor looked for something more rugged. In its LT version, both the shock and fork travel extend from 140mm to 150mm, reinforcing its downhill performance.
Occam LTD
Occam LTD’s geometry makes it fast and efficient on a multitude of terrain. That is what Antonio was looking for with this bike.
TRAILHEADS
Lierni Lekuona
XC Racer and Orbea Ambassador
Antonio Ester
Trail Adventure Legend and Orbea Ambassador
Igor Eskudero
BMX Rider and Orbea Ambassador