I know this will be a broad topic ask, but we're Canadians who are planning on doing van life in Europe for a year (June 2020 onwards). We'll be bringing our mountain bikes and road bikes. We actually did a cycle tour on our own from Turkey to Norway 5 years ago so know exactly what to expect on roads and pathways but we're really hoping to explore lots of singletrack and some downhill options.
When I search online for mountain biking options I get a multitude of bike parks to visit, which is fantastic. But I'm wondering if any free or low fee x-country single track areas exist? We'll have our trail dog with us so if they allow dogs on the trails even better (we're also used to having him in the van and riding back to him every hour or two and letting him have a romp off trial before heading out again, but we're all happier when we're out together).
I think we'll be spending the first part of our trip around Chamonix-Zermatt with a good 3 hour window to travel in any direction, then moving north to avoid the summer heat (whether that's the UK or Norway we'll decide along the way).
We're solid blue trail riders, love berms and super flowy rollers, climbs are fine too if there's eventual flow! Just wondering if such areas exist and if we should just be asking at local bike shops as we go (we're interested in pretty much in any country as we'll have to move in and out of Eastern Europe and the UK as well with the Schengen rules).
We'll be hiking, mountain biking, and cycle pathing as much as we can in the year, so the more suggestions you have for great and affordable riding the better.
Thanks!
I'm afraid I can't comment on trails on the European mainland but in the UK riding with your trail dog shouldn't be a problem, as long as you clean up after his 'bathroom visits' and he's well behaved. If you're riding natural trails then make sure you take a lead with you and check the route as some farmers state that dogs need to be kept on leads when crossing through their field(s).
The trail grading can vary a lot between trail networks and unlike in Canada the manmade trails tend to be routes rather than individual sections that you link together yourself; if you use Trailforks to explore then bear in mind that it isn't heavily used in the UK so a lot of trails aren't marked.
As for natural routes I'm sure that plenty of STW members will be happy to show you round their local area if you're passing through, or share GPX files.
That is super helpful information all around thank you!
Scotland has different laws to England and you have "right to roam" which means you can ride pretty much wherever you like subject to the golden rule "don't be a dick"
Scottish trail centres are also free to use ( you pay to park your car)
With regards to your dog under scots law it must be "under control" at all times - effectively that is must return to you immediately when called. When around farm animals the dog must be "under close control" which effectively means at heel or on a lead. Farmers can and will shoot dogs that harass livestock
https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/practical-guide-all/cycling
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/activities/mountain-biking/7stanes
A freind of mine is from Alsace and he says that I should spend some time there as it has some great trails. Alsace
I'll take him up on it at some point.
Definitely ask at local bike shops, I think you will find thought that maybe 'natural' trails are far more abundant than trail centres. Could be wrong!
I can only talk to the areas I ride in (Swiss alps and NW Switzerland, Alsace, Black Forest) where there are tons of biking (alps does of course offer lift access to natural trails)
Also spent some of the summer in Belgium Ardennes area, and there was a lot of great single trail (that took a bit of effort to link together - yes, bike shops useful), but this website was very useful https://trails.bike/mountain-bike-trail/ardennes
As I always seem to, I'll also stick in a huge thumbs up for natural, flow, tech, sometimes a bit scary but ultimately miles and miles of stunning Singletrack in Davos/Klosters, Lenzerheide, St. Moritz area. Well worth a visit.
Can't help with the original question, but as a few pointers. Alpine lift season is quite short (shorter than North America).
European grading goes Green-Blue-Red-Black. These can only be really used in comparison with other trails in the immediate area.
The same colour grading is used for both XC and DH, but the difficulty is in no way comparable.
The mainland may well be different, but in the UK, asking for "XC" is likely (depending who you ask) to get you long distance marathon or "gravel" type riding; rather than singletrack or mountainous technical riding done under your own steam (which I think is what you are after).
I'm assuming all Canadians are expert skiers and immune to cold, there's quite a van life ski scene (in the French alps at least), although possibly not a dog friendly winter pursuit. Many absolute gems of smaller, lower resorts; which for a couple of days when the weather is right are superb - but not really worth it for the week-once-a-year-Brits.
Genuine thank you for all the info above! Much appreciated!
But I’m wondering if any free or low fee x-country single track areas exist?.....
We’re solid blue trail riders, love berms and super flowy rollers, climbs are fine too if there’s eventual flow!
Agree with this.
The mainland may well be different, but in the UK, asking for “XC” is likely (depending who you ask) to get you long distance marathon or “gravel” type riding; rather than singletrack or mountainous technical riding done under your own steam (which I think is what you are after)
UK - quite a few 'trail centres' in Wales, Scotland and a smaller number in England. Generally free (other than up to £5 to park) with marked trail loops and gradings are inconsistent and optimistic but even most UK blacks could be ridden on an XC bike. Most have one or two downhill runs, sometimes with van uplift (which you will have to pay for but doesn't sound like you'd be interested). There are a couple of more "euro bike park" style places that are paid for, with uplift, in Wales as well.
Then we have an extensive right of way network (plus right to roam in Scotland). That means trails like these - generally this is riding on old footpaths/bridleways/roads - where it's good you'll get fantastic scenery and some tricky rock features but not "built" trails. It won't be marked - you'll need to follow a map or gps log. In many areas there are also a lot of "cheeky" trails that have been built by local riders. They're usually tough to link together into a good loop without someone to guide you (but many shops do rides you could tag along with.
In Europe I've ridden on both the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees. A fair few places on the French side have marked "XC" loops as well as some lift assisted stuff. Nothing to pay if you're not using the lifts. Away from the bike parks generally you're using walking paths which vary greatly in degree of gnarr. There are a lot of marked 'mountain bike trails' through the rest of France as well but they're often just big dull fire road loops. As UK there may be locals trails around if you can find them.
On the Spanish side of the pyrenees look at Ainsa for the biggest network of marked, free to ride, 'enduro' trails and there are uplift services in town. It's a mix of 'built' trails and walking paths. Great riding.
More of the Spanish valleys are developing trial networks and uplift but not necessarily marked so need uplift and guid. (Doug at Basque MTB is the person to speak to for guiding). Great riding on the Basque coast as well.
The best way I've found to discover trails in France is the website of the resort or tourist office website. Use Google translate to find any references to VTT (they don't call it mountain biking) - generally they'll call the less DH focused non lift stuff VTT Enduro (Enduro generally doesn't mean EWS type trails in France). French trails are normally free to ride even those in a bike park - they only charge for the ski lift.
You might want to look into the UK rabies regulations about bringing your dog from the continent to the UK, I doubt you want him pounded, and get all the paperwork sorted up front.
In the UK, once away from the trail centres/bike parks there's no charge to use anything though you may have to pay to park your car.
I was going to note the rabies regulations, different to main land Europe.
Before adding anything, I would warn you that there may be some serious complications in the near future moving pets from mainland Europe into the UK, that's providing br**** actually happens!
But you probably knew that already.
I'm in France and because trailforks is not used across most of the continent, here's the French cycling federation's site for waymarked trails https://sitesvtt.ffc.fr/ Grading depends on distance, the climbing involved and technicality. Some areas are far better than others, but do more localised research just to be sure.
There, that's the tip of the iceberg. Many other trail networks can often be found on local tourist office websites; to give you a really good example with a quality network catering for all levels http://www.millau-sports-nature.fr/cyclo-vtt
Bookmarked
Regarding bringing the dog into the U.K., he’ll need to be up to date with his rabies booster injections and also will need to have had a blood test after the booster with the results logged in his passport. The process can take up to 4 months I think.
Just been through the process with ours as we regularly travel to Austria and back.
If you get to central Southern Germany, the Odenwald area has a massive network of trails that are free to ride. Not sure how your German is but check out this site for all the info you need.
https://www.mtb-geo-naturpark.de/rundstrecken