Hello Everybody,
I was thinking this might be a bit of a long shot but knowing this forum I'm sure there will be some people who can give me some advice...
I'm going to be in Trondheim at the start of July for a while and thought it would be rude not to visit Åre bike park since I'm in the area.
Has anyone been there who could recommend the best trails to ride as I likely only have one day of riding? I'll be hiring a DH bike and am used to uplift weekends.
Alternatively, is there a Swedish equivalent of this forum where I can ask for advice - maybe even a tour guide?!
Cheers
My dad lives in Trondheim and tells me you can get a train to Are which takes about 1 1/2hrs.
Some norwegian guys i chatted with at Ae avalanche thingy last month said go to Hafjell instead.
Unfortunately its not near Trondheim.
try http://happymtb.org/ they are normally OK with answering English questions despite being a Swedish forum
Are is great fun but there's not exactly '000s of km of trails there. You can just about cover all the marked trails in a decent length day, although they were opening new sections when we were there last summer. the big gondola serves a long natural rocky descent taking in snow crossings even mid-summer, the right hand section of the hill has a selection of made trails with table tops, gaps etc and some green traverses to connect the dots. There is a train station right in town and the camp site nearby is rideable and has cabins for rent (aboiut 20 GBP/night iirc). can be rainy.
the other place we went to was Oppdal in Norway, a little closer to Trondheim iirc. smaller than Are but also fun and also has a WC DH course. very FR though, the red run has some big gaps on it
both are written up in the Footprint Moutainbike europe guide along with 10-15 other spots in the region, if you've a mind to go book shopping
Some great tips so far thanks. Have just bought that book so that should be good. Checked out train times too - just need to be able to find return flights from Trondheim that fit in with the trains :o)
Thanks for the other location tips as well but I want to stick with Åre as I've been there in winter so at least I'll know my way around which will save a bit of time thus maximising riding!
I don't know about Norway but Sweden is really bad for getting bikes on trains. SJ (like a Swedish British Rail) have some really funny ideas about how to make life complicated. Afaik, you must (MUST) book a bike ticket in advance and then have them load it into a goods carriage for you. If there're too many other passengers they reserve the right to actually refuse you travel and offer the bike space to people instead.
Happy mtb is great. The translator function works pretty well and they are a very friendly bunch.
Cheers
Sanny
Thanks for that warpcow but I'll be hiring a bike in Åre so not an issue for me.
Cheers Sanny. Also looking forward to seeing Follow me at Eden Court next week!