Anyone stayed with them?
What did you think?

‘kin ace, Stu.

The “hotel” is lovely tidy with great grub.

Trails are on the back of hearty climbs. Lots of switch backs, cheeky links, and some varied descents. I wish I was as fit as I am now when I went though. I felt a bit shitty being at the back of 4 on the climbs, at least until I found out the two guys in front were ranked racers mind….

A genuine care about the group they’re guiding – they listen to what you want and Luchon has got loads of different stuff so can tailor it.

We will def go again, if we can find a place to stash the kids when we’re there.

Only caveat is I wouldnt expect them to suffer fools or **** well.

I’ve met Ian a few times & done bits of work for him & seems a really sound bloke.
Really seems to know his stuff & been doing it long enough now.

Did a skills course with them at Sherwood pines and thought they were great people. Ridden at Luchon with my son and it’s ‘kin ace. Do it you’ll have a great time.

I’ve ridden around the Luchon area before.Though it was about 7 or 8 years ago.
I’m more interested in what they’re like as guides/ what the food’s like. 🙂

food? I still curse not getting the recipe for pot roast rabbit before I left!

Guiding is top. Stuff that you couldnt work out from an IGN. Nicely linked, v little road work.

Been on guided riding holidays with Ian several times from when he worked in Greece and then out to Luchon once. Did a skills day with them at Sherwood Pines too.

Ian and Kate are fantastic guides and both unbelievably strong riders but everything is tailored for the group. They have hire bikes from Cotic as well, Cy has been out there loads and he’ll no doubt pop onto this thread at some point to add his comments – the place is basically a testing ground for his bikes. 🙂

Not sure if it’s the same hotel now as when I was last out there but great food too. Russ is a top chef as well as being really rather handy on a bike.

crazy-legs.

You’ve been away with bike verbier haven’t you?

How do they compare?

Well I didn’t require airlifting off any hills in Luchon if that’s what you mean?!
😉

They’re both very good. Different scenery obviously. You’ll have a great time whichever one you go to.

I did hear you had a lift off the mountain. 😉

We’ve been with BV for the past “few” years but can’t make it this year so looking for something else.

Been there 4 or 5 times

Food – brilliant. I’d happily go back there just for that. Russ goes down to the market, sees what’s good and knocks stuff up from that. Fresh, simply, but perfectly cooked and in biker sized quantities. The bread is amazing too.

The guiding is a little different to most other companies IME. Everywhere else I’ve been, its been far more like being shown a new trail by a mate – they ride, you follow. Ian & Kate *guide* you -it feels far more professional. They generally work from the back, instructions are clear and concise. They carry all the tools and backup gear so you don’t have to and they know the trails like the backs of their hands. Both are stupidly fit and highly skilled – its unlikely you’ll outride them, but neither of them get frustrated by novices, and indeed their strongest point is the skills coaching you’ll pick up along the way. They can deal with mixed ability groups very nicely too. The nutters can get the mental shortcuts whilst the less confident get an easier, flowier run.

Only caveat is I wouldnt expect them to suffer fools or **** well

…umm, yup…

Other stuff – Luchon is lovely. You need to be prepard to climb to get to the best stuff. The workshop is excellent as is the hire fleet.

(my caveat – I’ve known I&K since they worked for Mountain Beach and class them as mates, I also do backup work for them when necessary, so if you want to call me biased then feel free, however the reason I know them well is because they’ve made the holiday experiences I’ve had with them good enough that I’ve wanted to repeat it on an annual basis)

I’ve ridden the uplift stuff at Luchon and it’s superb, it’s like all your favourite natural descents in one go.

Last year a mate and his missus (him, fit and skilled, her not as fit or as confident), went out that way. They stayed elsewhere but did a day or two with AQR. They were v impressed.
Great trails, great company and an awful lot of free tuition thrown in too.

Managed to please them both and he was blown away by there strength and fitness 🙂

Some good replys there cheers.
Anyone else want to chip in?

I only did a days guiding with them last summer – would have liked to do more but we were only passing through. Really nice people, and my GF got some great skills training from Kate en route.

They seemed to be more XC oriented than a lot of the companies elsewhere – didn’t sound like they used uplifts much (probably on account of being stupidly fit I guess). The riding was really nice but I wasn’t blown away by the ride we did TBH – I reckon there’s loads of great stuff you’d get to do if you were there for a week though.

We absolutely loved Luchon as a town though and will probably go back for a longer trip at some point soon. Did some really nice walking there too and it looked like there was a lot of other stuff going on. Not dead and soulless like some of the French alps resorts are in summer.

I’ve booked a week with AQR in September. Great to hear the good reviews! Really looking forward to it.

I’ve a free week after the course has ended before flying home. Is it worth sticking around the Luchon area – is there lots to do there – or should I explore a bit further afield? Any suggestions would be great.

(Apologies Stu, hope this isn’t a thread hijack – presumably you’ll want to know too!)

I’ve got nothing to add re. the actual guiding or location but Russ was a good biking buddy BITD and I know Ian from college days living in Nottingham (this just gave me a bit of a ahem….flashback…) and they are definitely good peeps and passionate about what they do. I wouldn’t hesitate to head out there.

I stayed with AQR for two weeks in Luchon, three years ago, and it was one of my best MTB holidays. The riding is challenging; plenty of steep stuff and a good variety of trails. You do need to be prepared for a fair bit of climbing, but the rewards are surely worth it.
Ian and Kate are very professional guides – they know the area extremely well and were able to adjust the routes for the abilities of the group (and in a couple of cases, to get off the mountains in a hurry due to incoming weather). Their attitude inspired confidence.
Food was ace – a big, delicious cake was waiting each day at the end of the ride. Breakfast and supper made with local fresh ingredients. Even the lunch baguettes were a treat.
Luchon is a pretty little town as well.

Which is best, the rabbit or the duck? Tough call…

Don’t try and follow the chef’s line down the mountain…