been told they are fantastic.
anyone been with some non cyclists.

Sorta indirectly, my SO broke her arm on day 2 and ended up being a non-cyclist for the rest of the week.

What do you want to know?

Although when I was in Les Arcs with Trail Addiction – we came across the Bike Village crew and they appeared to prefer riding up the mountain to the trails when there are chair lifts !!!???

But if you like that….

richc
is there much to do. i have been to bourg st maurice, it seems pretty quiet.

steel4real
bikes are for riding…

In Landry, there is ****-all. It’s a very small place and somewhat off the beaten track. Plenty to do in Bourg, “pretty quiet” isn’t how I’d normally describe it*, unless you’re looking for banging nightclub action.

*my normal description might not be polite though…

Seriously, there’s loads to do in/around Bourg and the rest of the Tarentaise by way of “activities” (Parapente, white water stuff, climbing, walking, canyoning, etc.). Not much in terms of shops, nightlife, etc.

sorry for the delay, wasn’t on here last night. Same as what stevo said though Landry is very quiet (it has 1 shop, and 1 hotel/bar that sorta opens when they want to).

If you have a car, then there is a nice family swimming spot not far away with a bar etc, and Bourg is OK. So if the weather is good, and your family is happy swimming, sunbathing, reading it would be fine. If they are not however it might be a bit dull.

They can also go rafting, and walking as there is some decent very places to go.

If you didn’t have a car, and they aren’t happy to entertain themselves it might be a bit of a nightmare tho.

All depends on what your non-cyclists are into really? There are plenty of activities such as white water rafting, climbing, walking etc. It’s a lovely area, but if they are more after a holiday complex, lie by the pool by day and do out drinking by night then they’ll be very disappointed.

Yes, with bike village you also can cycle up hills but you use the lifts also. All time on the bike is good. I had one stay there and enjoyed it, it’s a nice area and they’re nice people

Lots of other activities nearby (horse riding, white water rafting/canoeing, parapente, walking, climbing etc). Landry is very quiet, Bourg isn’t bad, more bars cafes etc there.
I’ve had one holiday at BV, it was very nice. We used the chairlifts and the funicular railway quite a few times, other times we rode but it was all good riding.
Best bet is to contact BV direct, I’m sure they could sort out some extra activities. Or perhaps you could all stay in Bourg and leave the family there each day, ride over to Landry (about 3 miles) and do the riding with BV?

Drop them an email ton if you haven’t yet, as they are top people and will be straight with you.

fantastic holidays… i’ve had a day not riding there in the farmhouse before, really nice, perfect for chilling out in. the swimming lake down the valley would be good for a day or two, up to bourg there are loads of activitis which could be done – white water rafting is a good laugh there, know people wh’ve been paragliding etc too. walking would be fantastic there, GR 4 (or is it 5) is VVV close by.

cycling wise, go july or aug if ou want to use lifts now and again (in order to access even higher trails, longer DHs). they have a van/trailer too which is used now and again, i’d saythere is slightly more assisstance climbing wise now than 5 yrs ago (i’ve been 5 times now…)

sam and lyndsey are fatastic, sure nothing will be too mush hassle (i’d agree that a car would be useful in your case though)

gonna be booking another 2 weeks there in a month or so…

Ok, not trying to be controversial here but, I went and didn’t enjoy it. Expect to spend at least half the day’s riding climbing on tarmac. The descent’s were quite technical, tight almost trialsy and short compared to other places in Europe I’ve ridden. I didn’t think much of the accomadation, food and the place reeked of cats pee to be totally honest (pee was confined to litter trays to which there were numerous dotted about the place), and I like cats! I still found it overwhelming at times.

Landry is a tiny hamlet with a fairly substantial road running through it, right by the only bar, although there is a hotel which has a bar. Bourg St Maurice was pretty lifeless when we went.

Sorry, but that’s how I found it.

I’ve been a couple of times, I thought the riding was great. Woodsman’s point about the tarmac is true up to a point, but a couple of the rides are quite big days out (Italian Job and Frozen Heifer have about 1500m of height gain) and I’m grateful for some tarmac on the climbs. There’s no way you could say either of the descents you earn on those two rides are short. I’d think there’s no more tarmac at BV than on a week with AQR though, and the quality of riding out there can’t be faulted.

Landry’s quiet, Bourg’s got more going on in the evening if that’s your thing. There’s plenty for non-bikers to do in the day if they’re outdoorsy, otherwise they may struggle.

Dining arrangements and food were great, Sam, Lyndsey and guides are very competent, friendly and welcoming. One thing I wasn’t keen on at BV was the accomodation – the first time I went it was a quiet week, but the second time they were full. Too full – I was sharing a mid-sized room with 4 blokes I’d never seen before, not my kind of thing at all.

Hi Johnners, you’ll be glad to know the big guys room is no more – we just take less people now so it’s more comfy for everyone. Give us a shout if you ever want a discounted trip in the future – we feel pretty bad about having put people in there. The farmhouse has continued it’s ongoing swanking up too so it will have changed a fair bit since your trip and we’ve got tons of new trails to boot.
As for non-biking partners, the distractions are mostly outdoorsy ones. Think nice walks, the swimming lake and stuff like rafting rather than shopping and big nights out – the Alps are pretty rural. That’s why there are so many trails…