After a bit of advice.

I’ve recently signed up for the passporte du soleil staying in Morzine. Am really looking forward to it but have a couple of concerns.

One is fitness, Two young children mean I don’t get out as much as I should, no problems at trail centres but 80km is far further than I’ve been before. Will get out as much as I can before hand but wanted to know what to expect, is it going to be a real struggle or do the lifts make it manageable?

Second is my bike. I’ve got a Whyte 46, long in the tooth but after trying some more modern bikes and having jibes from my mates I still love it and haven’t tried anything I’d swap it for yet. Just worried it may let me down half way around, how hard is it on bikes? Any spare components I should definitely consider taking?

Everyone has a different take on it but any advice or personal experience would be appreciated. Also anything else worth considering about the event as a whole.

Cheers

You haven’t got anything to worry about. There’s always plenty of fat people out there riding it on totally crap bikes. Your bike will be fine as long as it’s serviced and running fine before you go it’ll be fine. It’s not actually that strenuous a route.

This thread pops-up every year. My 2p:

It’s awesome – you’ll love it.

The riding is no more technical than you’ll find at a trail-centre, and probably less physically demanding, as there are actually very few flat/uphill sections to ride. So don’t worry about fitness.

What you will find is that doing a whole day of riding downhill puts a significant strain on your bike. If it’s generally not well looked after, things will probably start breaking/falling-off…. wheels and brakes in particular. If it’s well maintained you’ll probably get through just needing some new brake pads and a few replacement spokes.

My mate’s main pivot bolt worked itself loose by early afternoon – good job it started making a funny noise before it came out completely 😯 but his idea of maintenance is a quick blast of GT85 on the cassette (he’s an engineer, obvs).

If you are thinking about upgrading anything on your bike for the sake of this event – seriously consider renting one for a day or two whist you are there. It might be cheaper, and you will have the right tool for the job.

My advice .. the optional “red downhill route” near Champerey is a tad steep in places. 😀

Start early and don’t miss the last lift but mostly enjoy it, if the sun shines its a great day out on your bike, if the rain falls well that’s character building and unforgettable in equal measues.

Oh and have a beer at some point.

I’ve done it three times, a great day out in the mountains. There was another thread recently. As its in June you’ve tons of time to get a bit fitter. The main thing is to able to spend 6-8 hours in the saddle rather than the pedalling, there isn’t that much climbing. I assume you’re going in a group, certainly mkre fun that way ? Enjoy the day and ride some other trails too before/after, depending upon your skill level take all the “dh options”

I love this event, my favorite.

Your bike will be fine provided that it has been properly serviced beforehand- as mentioned above, brakes are paramount. I’d take spare pads on the ride too to be honest.

There is more uphill riding than you might expect- bear that in mind. The last time I did it it was stupidly hot, 34 degrees in town and we were melting on the uphills. And then in the snow up at Lac Vert 🙂

There will be BIG queues at the lift stations. Be patient, get the gentle banter going…

….it’s a blast.

PS- Ignore all gradings. If it says it is a Green or Blue trail it may well not be what you were expecting. Hit it with confidence and all will be well.

Ideal, thanks all. We are going in a group so will be a good laugh. Sounds like fitness will be ok. May have to have a good think about the bike, I service it myself and it has been well used and abused to be honest. The alps may well finish it off.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the bike – you see people riding the event on all sorts of clunkers. All that descending is definitely hard on a bike, but putting a load of expensive new kit onto your bike, which you make break anyway doesn’t make much sense to me. As long as everything works fine and you have new break pads etc with you, I’d have thought you should be ok.

A mech hanger is probably one of the only things you may not be able to find easily at a local bike shop, so that might be worth taking with you.