Morzine is one of them special places, with an instant sense of occasion. Even when approaching it as you climb the twisty mountain road it builds the anticipation inside you. Each town you pass gets more and more like a picture perfect snow type town. Morzine is the epicenter of this.
Even at 8am when 99% are still sleeping from a night drinking Mutzig there’s still a bustle.
Climbing on the Super Morzine lift up you begin to grasp the scale of things, higher higher, then onto the Zore lift up and you’re on the ridge between France and Switzerland.
In some ways the riding can be an anticlimactic aspect of it. They don’t really do the manicured Rowan Sorrel type sweepy swoopy trails and that immediately puts you outside of your comfort zone. Throw in the bike being something you’ve never ridden either and its a struggle to start with.
But what it does give you is rocky, rooty, fast descents, traversing ridges and insane reds. They’re so so so demanding.
We did the Swiss world cup downhill and the French world cup, they’re just hang on and try not to die type of hard trails. But the sort if you did them more you’d know what you can’t and can’t launch off, but as a novice to it, you’re just fighting your mind, your fear and trying to accept the bike is way better than you, if you can hang onto it, it will get you down.
Your legs are hurting, you hands are burning and your breathing is pounding in your head, but finally you reach the end and its over, well, for 10 mins until the lift takes you up and you hit the next trail.
You then end up at a beautiful little place on the side of a mountain where you sink a large beer flavoured glass of courage and do it again and again.
It was ace riding with a few lads who are head and shoulders above me in speed and ability, you try and pick up tips and lines, well, until they’re out of sight that is.
The one standout from the day is that mountain biking wipes the floor with motorbikes for me. The adrenaline, excitement and fear factor, I just can’t do that on a motorbike, sure, I enjoy riding my KTM, but not like I enjoy mountain bikes. I just can’t push boundaries, limits and drive myself in the same way.
Met up with 9 random people from the www and had an epic day!
Massive thanks to Stoner and Ambrose for showing us stuff.
Massive thanks to the superstars for talking me into stuff and making sure I ended up safe!