Hike + Bike the Sierras - About Us

Hike + Bike the Sierras is run by English couple Heather Cooper and Wayne Pickering.

"We first visited Ronda in 2012 and fell in love with the town and the surrounding countryside. We explored the area a little back then but found a distinct lack of accessible information, reliable maps or marked biking or hiking routes. We realised that there was untapped potential, so we returned to set up our business as guides and holiday hosts. Now we have the pleasure of introducing people to this wonderfully unspoilt landscape and the two protected Natural Parks which extend for many kilometres each side of the town."

Wayne is a fully qualified British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader. He loves being out on his bike, both guiding rides or exploring new routes. He has unbeatable knowledge of the unmarked trails around the Serrania de Ronda, Grazalema Natural Park, Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park and down to the Costa del Sol.

Heather has a background in marketing and hospitality. She is British Cycling trained for Mountain Bike rides, assists Wayne on larger group rides and leads our walks. She enjoys building relationships with hotel and accommodation owners and coordinates all the details of our day trips and tours.

Happy customers, glowing reviews - Join the Adventure

Why Hike or Bike with us?

We are the only company in the Serrania de Ronda to provide a complete range of mountain biking, road cycling, e-biking and hiking options.

We have spent many hours exploring the region's varied terrain to find the best hiking and biking routes. These can now be enjoyed by all on our guided day trips and holidays or on self-guided tours. We use our unparalleled local knowledge to create well-thought-out routes and provide our self-guided guests with bespoke topographical maps, showing unmarked pathways, trails and local information. All our maps are supported by downloadable GPX files for GPS devices.

We also have support vehicles on hand to optimise our guided routes and provide back-up on our holidays and tours.

Our Ethos

We love this region and it is a pleasure for us to create fantastic holiday experiences here. We believe that there is something for everyone to enjoy in terms of countryside, culture or history.

We also understand that visitors to the area have different levels of ability and experience or simply different goals in terms of the energy they wish to expend. Whatever the preference, we can tailor a tour or holiday to suit.

We can provide everything from easy, enjoyable family fun, to a leisurely-paced tour or a sporting challenge. We combine outdoor actvity with a taste of rural Andalucian life.

Award-Winning Standards

We are proud to have won multiple travel industry awards and receive excellent reviews across all our activities on Tripadvisor. See Testimonials and feedback from our previous clients. We have been featured on the Channel Four TV series 'A New Life in the Sun', which shows many happy clients undertaking various tours and activities with us.

Registered and Qualified

Your safety and enjoyment are key to us. We are a fully accredited company, registered in Andalucia with the Spanish tourist authorities: Active Tourism registration No. AT/MA/00221. Our guides are qualified and trained with British Cycling, IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) or MIAS *Mountain Bike Instructors' Award Scheme). All are certified Outdoor First Aiders.

Our Journey

March 2012 We come on a 5-week holiday to Andalucia, staying in Montejaque near Ronda. Spanish lessons in the mornings, hiking and cycling in the afternoons — the spark of an idea begins.
April 2012 Back in the UK, we train as qualified British Cycling Mountain Bike guides and complete First Aid training.
June 2012 We set up home in Montejaque. Wayne begins exploring the countryside — fun times!
September 2012 Our Hike + Bike website goes live, offering day trips and bike hire.
March 2013 We welcome our first holiday visitors from Germany, the UK, and Australia.
July 2013 Relocation to central Ronda for easier access and more accommodation choices.
June 2015 Our story is featured in UK magazines Adventure Travel and Woman’s Own.
September 2015 Release of our Mountain Biking Holidays video on YouTube.
December 2016 Holiday sales double, guests arrive from all over the world — and we get married!
March 2017 We win our first award: iGap Travel Award for Bike Tour Operator of the Year, Spain.
March 2017 Relocation to Hacienda los Pinos, with trails right behind the house.
June 2017 Launch of our Self-Guided White Village Cycling Tours video, boosting holiday sales by 121%.
Autumn 2017 Awards continue: Luxury Travel Guide Tour Operator of the Year (Andalucia) and Travel & Hospitality Hiking Tour Company of the Year (Spain).
April 2018 E-bikes join our fleet, opening mountain trails to more riders.
October 2019 New, brighter website launches with direct online booking.
2020/2021 The Covid years — enough said.
February 2022 Featured on UK national TV in Channel 4’s A New Life in the Sun, documenting our post-COVID rebuild.
If you’re wondering why our milestones end in 2022… so are we... Turns out time flies when you’re building great tours and holidays.