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I reckon I'll head for the Alps once I've ridden all of the trails in Scotland.......I'm 52 now, so I might make it by the time I reach triple figures.
>lol@Scotland being better than the Alps<
and lol @ you for being so incredibly naive 😉
naive is my middle name............. 😆
If you think ski lifts means lazy biking you're not putting enough effort into the downs.
Scotland better than the alps? Ha ha.
For example, this trail is better than anything in the UK.
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4143930781_32b7dee382_b.jp g" target="_blank">
And as for 'not earning it' well, as others have pointed out, I've nothing to prove - I've been 'earning it' the previous 51 weeks of the year. Besides i'm more tired at the end of a day of alpine downhilling than at the end of a 50 mile UK ride - if you're not then you're not going hard enough.
I'm not that much of a fan of Morzine tho it must be said. However, it's still better than the UK.
[i]>lol@Scotland being better than the Alps<
and lol @ you for being so incredibly naive[/i]
Tried both so how can I be naive? Scotland I can drive to in 2 hrs, Alps is a fanny on involving an airport or a 15 hour drive & more expensive. Alps is higher, steeper, more majestic? Didn't say Scotland was better, I just like it a bit more.
Proof I've been at least..
[img] 
[/img]
& after the climb up the Col De Cou,
[img] 
[/img]
Worked out a trip to Scotland last year and it turned out cheaper to go to the Alps. From home to Morzine was done in about 5 hours, Scotland is at least a 10 hour drive.
it's way cheaper to go biking in the Alps for 2 weeks than Scotland for me too (and I live in Scotland)
Get out off the main DH trails in Morzine/Les Gets and it can be pretty sparse of riders and if you're willing to explore and inquire a lot of superb hidden trails can be found.
any hints on who to ask/where to begin looking for the good stuff in Morzine/Les Gets? Will it come up on an IGN map? Some specific ideas would be wicked...as I'm only there for 2 days :s Don't intend on riding a single [man-made] berm or tabletop while I'm there either! I've got the orange book (bikefax?) but all the stuff in there seems pretty motorway
apols for hijack
That trail looks awfully smooth and straight Ewan. Are you sure it's better than trails over here?
😛
WTF is an IGN map?
solamanda - Member "If you think ski lifts means lazy biking you're not putting enough effort into the downs."
I wouldn't usually do this, but big +1. Days of riding with ski lift uplift leave me more thoroughly destroyed than days riding up mountains then back down.
That trail looks awfully smooth and straight Ewan. Are you sure it's better than trails over here?
It's got another 2000m (vertical), 20k to go, and ends in the Italian med. So yes. It's better.
More of said trail...
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2640/4037448409_47b579fe2c_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4249446434_4bf8f56a10_b.jp g" target="_blank">
And if you want rocky... the next days trail:
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2776/4248687241_5a6926d590_b.jp g" target="_blank">
I'm just back from Morzine (2nd time) this time with a full DH bike and it was great fun to be doing something different from my normal riding technical hilly stuff around Stainburn. It certainly challenges you to go faster / bigger and the ability to do 3 / 4 runs on the same track in a morning lets you hone the cornering skills and bottle. A day spent down hilling as fast as you dare go and your just as whacked as any XC ride @ home or over there and I've climbed alpine passes on a bike
JHW- email me, I'll send you some GPX routes.
esselgruntfuttock - Member
Man after my own heart mate. been on 3 Alps trips (Chamonix, Les Gets & Chatel) Not really that arsed about going back but might. Would rather do long Scottish epics.
Disagree. I think as a rider and as you get older your tastes and what you want out of riding do change. For instance, whose to say you wont move away from mountain biking within the next 10yrs and start Audux or solely road riding? No one will want technical adrenaline-riding ALL their lives will they?
TON in controversial troll schoker.
I suggest you get onto a geography course. Once you're on here ask the teacher to give you a topographic map of continental europe. Then look at how big the mountain chain called "the Alps" is.
Then you could always take a plane down to here, there will be no chair lift involved. But after i don't want to hear you crying that it's too hot or too hard...
Have been biking in the alps since 1997. Started off in Morzine and Les Gets when it was very quiet and it used to be very very good but with the popularity comes the destruction of the trails and I think its now had its day.
There are however far more/better resorts out there which offer magnificent, quiet trails which I now head to.
I'd advise anyone who doesn't 'get' the Alps to try the Passportes du Soleil, the 2010 edition of which was run last weekend. It demonstrates the range of trails you get, some of which are the DH runs, but the vast majority of which are not.
Unlike Scotland, the Alps offer warmth, decent food, chairlifts to get the first 500m of dull fireroad climb over with, very welcoming locals, and a ready availability of guides who will show you all the good stuff.
Plus it's fun to bomb down DH runs if you want to; the braking bumps are pretty pronounced, agreed, but [b][i]you don't have to brake in the braking bumps[/b][/i] if you have the right bike and let it run.
Costs have been creeping up in the Alps as well. I guess its what happens when you utilise a seasonal resort then they realise there is money to be made from summer as well.
I'd still go back though. Far better than a non-biking holiday 🙂
GW - Member
WTF is an IGN map?
Are you serious?
[i]I'd advise anyone who doesn't 'get' the Alps to try the Passportes du Soleil[/i]
Funny, I heard that is the epitome of what Ton is talking about... (only heard, mind)
I've been to the Alps three times (MTBing) and never been near a chairlift.
I've been to the Alps three times (MTBing) and never been near a chairlift.
Road riding though? I love swoopy singletrack. Crackers to go to the alps though and climb the long boring steep bits for hours if you are there for offroad.
Hora: You should try one of the 'Backcountry' weeks offered by Trail Addiction or The White Room in the Tarentaise valley. Our week is £350 each (includes everything except 1 evening meal!). For just two of us i can't imagine how it could be done cheaper TBH. Plus we don't ride a single 'man-made' trail all week and only use a van for uplifts so no lift tickets either. It's superb.
just done the passportes,
worth doing, but only the once. Too many motorways, too many braking bumps, not enough trippy singletrack (none that we were signposted to - although a little knowledge of the area helped).
like i said, it's worth doing, but it's more about having a big day out in the mountains (which are stunning) with your mates than the quality of riding.
mind you, the organisers could hardly be expected to direct 5000 bikers down the footpaths to lac montriond...
Troll 😆
i like it too. there is peace!
just done the passportes,worth doing, but only the once. Too many motorways, too many braking bumps, not enough trippy singletrack (none that we were signposted to - although a little knowledge of the area helped).
like i said, it's worth doing, but it's more about having a big day out in the mountains (which are stunning) with your mates than the quality of riding.
mind you, the organisers could hardly be expected to direct 5000 bikers down the footpaths to lac montriond...
Completely agree - I love the DH trails, my wife loves the more singletracky ones, and many of the Passportes ones were a bit too fire-road. That said, it definitely shows you the scenery, and points you to where you might choose to ride some more. As a taster for the region, you really can't beat it.
nickegg - noted and will look up.
You could happily ride around 'motorways' in the Surrey hills and miss some amazing linked and criss-crossed trails for miles and miles.
For me- the Alps is the same.
Ever heard of goat tracks etc etc etc etc?
On a wider note- yes Scotland is visually very nice however you can not even get close to the beauty of Mont Blanc etc etc etc. The list just goes on.
It almost feels surreal sat in a chair drinking a beer and looking at the beauty of the alps. As though it isn't real.
hora - Member
Road riding though? I love swoopy singletrack. Crackers to go to the alps though and climb the long boring steep bits for hours if you are there for offroad.
Road riding?? FFS have you ever read any of my posts? Of course [b]not[/b] road riding!!
[edit] Maybe some bits of road to link the upward tracks 🙂
I see them as the Glentress of the Alps, keeps them away from the better stuff. 😛
The red on Glentress is sublime IMO.
What have STW'ers turned into? You can keep Scotland and its soddin' midges!
anyway ton, I thought you were a Lakes-whore?
I don't get all the "lazy" riding comments. It's supposed to be a riding holiday. Holidays and riding are meant to be fun, not hard work. Traversing Alpine descents is fun. Climbing for 2 hours to get to the top of the mountains might be satisfying/rewarding/a good way to lose weight, but never fun.
If I wanted my holiday to consist of hard labour, I'd get a summer job down't pit or something.
I've never been there mountain biking, doubt I ever will.
Kev
I've been to Morzine 5 times, 6th time coming up in a month. I agree with all you prefer Scotland types though, it would be better if you stayed there and didn't come to the Alps, it will be crap and you won't like it.
Yeah, cos there's not enough space for anyone else 😕
If I wanted my holiday to consist of hard labour, I'd get a summer job down't pit or something.
A proper northern or Scottish pit I hope, not one of these fancy European ones with coal uplift.
DezB - MemberYeah, cos there's not enough space for anyone else
No no, they would be welcome, but seeing as they don't get it and prefer Scotland surely it makes sense for them not to come?
Been to the Alps and North America dozens of times so I'm certainly not knocking them. It's rather obvious that Scotland doesnt compare on scale but I just dont get the assertion that bigger = better. Depends on what you are looking for from your holiday - the major downside most people in this country seem to cite is the weather. Talk to folk coming the other way though and they often see that as a plus - the unpredictability, changing light conditions, wild and rugged nature of the terrain etc
As for Morzine it's now to mtb what Sauze d'Oulx is to skiing - completely overrun with Brits...
😆 😆
you people do realise you can ride up an alp?
In truth, I look at all the alpine posts with a degree of envy because I'm unlikely to ever get a pass-out to experience riding such long descents.
But I do wonder if UK "biking resorts", with lift-assisted riding (and I don't mean just DH riding) is the next step for us over here.
But I do wonder if UK "biking resorts", with lift-assisted riding (and I don't mean just DH riding) is the next step for us over here.
I've often thought about this. And they would get used all year round.
I'm not really for or against the Alps for riding. I've not been there, and would love to go, but I'd be looking for back-country stuff, not the Mctrails centres - that stuff doesn't really float my boat, irrespective of it being in this country or any other.
I see/hear of a fair amount of duff weather on these trips and I'd rather the Sierra's to get around that I think.