Hi Folks

I am trying to get a ride together for a few pals and I. I am trying to avoid the Alps of the Pyrenees as they are much further to drive to and the terrain is a bit extreme for me!

Looking for sweeping, fast flowing singletrack. I have driven through the Vosges mountains in Alsace last year and they looked perfect.

Does anybody have any experience of biking here?

Any info would be great so I can make the plan!

Thanks

Dave

This won’t help much, but Ash off of these here parts goes riding there a fiar bit I think, and may be able to help.

I live in Basel, only a stones throw away to the south from the Vosges, but it is not somewhere we have explored yet. we do local and southern (alps) stuff mostly.

I’ll ghave a dig and see if I can find anything.

Kev

We had a family holiday in Gerardmer, no biking but plenty of hiking, the trails looked good, only saw skinny locals on hardtails, plenty to do “off piste”, about 6hrs from calais, I’d go again…..gerardmer

Hi Kev, thanks for the info. What are the southen Alps like? Can you describe the riding type?

I would like to hear something about the Vosges before I book anything, its a fair drive from the North of Scotland! There is also a bike park/trail center at Strasbourg which might be worth a look…..its got an uplift too!

lazybike, thanks for the link, looks good!

Cheers

Dave

Try here the Alsace is fairly lumpy iwas down there last month didnt get to ride the bike tho
http://www.tourisme67.com/moteur/chercher.htm?query=vtt
You can look for tourisme68 too

Take a drive down through belgium and the ardenne there loads of routes around houfallize starting from the town centre
Then carry on through Luxembourg cheap fuel diesel is 1.05 euro per litre
Then its straight into the Alsace and no Peage

We’ve camped a few times at Les Reflets, St. Marie aux Mines; great campsite. The surrounding hills are covered with marked trails (I think you can get a map from the tourist office). Never got to ride anything though!
Lac Blanc is about half an hour to the south by car and has a bike park with uplift (at weekends?)

Dave, ah, sorry not clear, I meant south from here (as in North Switzerland), which is then the alps proper! Morzine, Les Gets, Zermatt and all that. I think you know what the riding is like there.

We do keep meaning to have a blast round Vosges, so I am also going to keep an eye on this thread!

Kev

Not sure its in the right area for you, but on a recent trip to the Alps I stopped off along the way in a place called Mouthe (about 50 km north east of Geneva, in the Jura) – seemed to be lots of interesting (and well marked) XC routes criss-crossing the area. A Google for Mouthe and VTT should yield a map of the area . . . .

Thanks for all the info folks! Still nothing conclusive!

Thekingofsweden, what do mean by Alsace is fairly lumpy? Do you have any more details on the trail surface in general?

Tonyplym: I will have a google of Mouthe and VTT. Has anybody actually ridden there?

I guess I could have a look on youtube and see if anybody has filmed anything.

Cheers

Dave

Have you considered the French & Belgian Ardenne region. We stayed near Vireux-Wallerand in France, but all the Belgian villages nearby (about a mile away over the border) had signs and maps showing all the local trails within a certain radius of them. It is all woodland and it isn’t flat either, think Leith Hill rather than Alpe d’Huez. Not too far to drive either. I’m trying to find something similar in the SW France Dordogne area.

I’ve camped in the Vosges a couple of times, but always had the cross bike with me as it’s been a family holiday with young kids. Taken it out on the trails but brely scratched the surface of what is there – It’s a superb place to go I think if you can get some guidance (fantastic part of France in general). I have asked on here before about it and that bloke Ash mentioned above knows the score.

It does strike me as the sort of terrain that demands a bit of fitness – big XC rides. It wouldn’t be arsing around on uplifts so much although I think there is a bike park there.

Superb! Thanks for the info! Fitness is not an issue we are all regular long XC riders. Have done a couple of XC races too, I must admit it near ended me though!

Ash, you seem to be the authority here!

Any comments?

Cheers

Dave

The IGN 1:25000 map for the Vosges region is a great starting point. I rode there for a weekend with Ash last year and it was some of the buffest flowiest single track I’ve ever ridden. I reckon it’s less technical than the Alps proper but can definitely put a smile on your face.

We went down with two cars and did two shuttle runs a day each run putting in about 500m uphill and about 1000m downhill.

As for the Alps, they are a pretty big place and you can’t tar them all with the same brush. I’ve ridden in most areas of Switzerland and each area has it’s own individual character and trails. The higher up trails are generally very rocky and can be very technical. You can generally find flowier stuff under about 2000-2200m altitude though. If you know where to look most places have something to put a smile on everyones face.

Fantastic! I will order up the map!