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The wife (wallop) and I have decided that, as 40 is looming fast, we should spend a summer touring some of the best European riding spots. Next year, rather than this, to allow us to sort time off from work. Currently thinking 2 months.
The roughest of plans so far involves Saalbach, Finale, Les Arcs. Wallop, a self-confessed map geek, is looking to buy a giant map for the spare room to draw all over. This is where you come in: Where should we be visiting between (or before and after)? Ideally uplifted, with some pedalling up if warranted, although it should be gravity-oriented. No XC please! Bike park or natural. Will consider guides, but this is already likely to be an expensive trip. The benefit of a tour is we can move on easily, so a day here or there at smaller bike parks or a few days in one place are both doable. We've ridden Les Arcs, La Plagne, Pila, La Thuile, Tignes for the last 6 years. Heading to Verbier this year. We'll likely visit all as part of the trip.
If you could give an idea of how much time your suggestion(s) should be dedicated, whether it's uplifted, whether guides are needed and anything else of note, that would be great. Thanks!
Some nice stuff along the French/Italian border. Last year we bought a 6 day pass for Montgenevre which gave us a free day out each at Bardoneccia, Sauze d'Oulx, Serre Chevalier and Puy Saint Vincent.
We really enjoyed visiting these smaller bike parks. I think we were the only people using the lifts at Serre Chevalier the day we went. The 6 day pass was about €65. It might be worth checking if that will be an option next year.
Sounds good - it's going on the list! Also handily on the way to Finale, too.
Hopefully they will have re-opened the road between Alp d'Huez/Les Deux Alps and Montgenevre by then. There is some nice [s]XC[/s] Enduro stuff between Montgenèvre and Briançon which is accessed from the top of the Montgenèvre lifts.
Are you sticking with just the Alps or will you do other ranges ie Pyrenees?
We found this book really useful.
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Thanks TW! Plan to stick to the Alps to keep car/trail ratio at an acceptable level, although Wallop is angling for finishing in San Sebastián and getting the Santander ferry home...
Anyone out there ridden much in Austria, Germany, Switzerland? There must be bike parks worth a visit?!
No real help in terms of location, other than I would avoid the mecca areas of the Alps, just to get something a bit nicer.
ie Pyrenees, Croatia, Sardinia/Corsica, maybe even Greece
Anyone out there ridden much in Austria, Germany, Switzerland? There must be bike parks worth a visit?!
Friend of mine lives in Munich, and some of the riding to the south on the edge of the Alps looks stunning.
San Remo and Pila sicne you're there or thereabouts anyway
Spain, Croatia, Greece would all be awesome - I'm sure of that - but at the moment we are likely sticking to July and August and these months would be too hot for those areas. We've ridden in the Sierra Nevada before and loved it, but even in September it was ridiculously hot for those dry, hidden valley climbs. Even Finale is going to be a gamble.
Mind you, I've just remembered that we once bumped into the owner of Ride Mollina(?) or somewhere like that at La Thuile - that'll be hot but I'm going to investigate nonetheless!
Thanks for the book recommendation timidwheeler - have ordered it.
If at Finale anyway, I'd try to get a couple of days in Molini, and a day at the catchily titled Nava Freeride Enduro Paradise, which is a short drive inland...
You'll want guiding for both, but you won't resent it for the quality of the trails.
Chatel? Better get those Big features and gap jumps in before you are past it.
Molini! That's the one! Thanks.
Morzine and Chatel probably not on the cards tbh. They are easily accessible for a week's holiday any time.
Oh and I'm already well past it as far as big features are concerned 😆
Molini & Nava info in here...
http://unduro.co.uk/riding/that-riviera-touch-finale-ligure-and-molini/
As you've got 2 months to play with, as well as all the great "bigger" and well known places, I'd also be looking at a lot of the wee ski areas that are great fun for a day, but after that get a bit tricky to find good trails without too much effort. In a van you can just link together a few of them on your way to the better known spots where you can stop for a few days. The smaller places tend not to have quite as many amenities, but make up for it in being less fed up with cheap bikers/climbers/skiers turning up and trying to do as much as possible for a as little as possible. The Alps book should be good for getting a good idea of where is near where. The book's cover trail is one of the least good trails in Le Tour, but that doesn't mean it's not a good trail!
I can only really recommend the stuff near home, but here's a few places from my blog that would be worth stopping for a day:
La Clusaz (check most videos by Kilian Bron for a better idea about here): http://www.chamonixbikeblog.com/2016/gone-surfing-la-clusaz/
Megeve/Combloux: Possible changes to the lifts that are open this year, best check. http://www.chamonixbikeblog.com/tag/megeve/
Les Contamines: The end of a quiet valley, but a really scenic spot: http://www.chamonixbikeblog.com/2014/les-contamines-no-bad/
Les Sept Laux. Near Grenoble and another 12euro daypass resort: http://www.les7laux.com/fr/il4-info_i24-reprise-du-shape-vtt.aspx
Further from Haute Savoie I'd add Val d'Allos which is great sweeping singletrack with subtle features through the trees in the bike park and just great sweeping singletrack on the natural trails and Valberg/Guillems where the EWS stopped at last season. Both these spots could be easily used to make a scenic drive from Sestriere/Sauxe doux/Briancon area to Molini/Finale if you want to go through the mountains all the way.
I'd also say if the budget stretches to it, then a day with the Aosta Valley Freeride guys near Pila and La Thuile will be inspiration for many further rides.
Oh, and Chamonix is quite good too!
I'm in Austria a lot, based 15 mins from Leogang. You don't need a guide there but it's handy to have someone for Saalbach/Hinterglemm to show you where to park, where the lifts are etc. I'll happily guide you if I'm there.
You'd want at least 4 days split over the area to learn the tracks a bit and get the most out of it.
If you are doing Saalbach then you might as well do Leogang cuz it's only round the corner/over the hill*
*biggish corner/hill!
Good round there as I'm sure colp will confirm. Gotta do the Hacklberg Here's me on it last year
If you ride lift serviced trails you re missing out on an amazing range of trails. Above Grasse, Bourg D'Oisans, Sisteron, Nice, Provence there is an amazing range of trails.
Take a look at the VTOPO website, all the guidebooks have maps and range of routes.
Lift Assisted
Southern Alps: Les Orres, Vars, Montegenvre all good for a day each.
Pyrenees: Ax Les Thermes
If you do Saalbach, have a couple of runs at Kaprun using the cable car to access the main valley descent - it's a doozie!
Also recommend Solden in the Otztal / Cortina in the Dolomites , and then the obvious Garda which is justifiably excellent. All these places have uplift of some description...
Have a look at this... http://www.gravity-card.com/ might give you a plan to visit all these!
If you don't fancy this go, Saalbach is excellent and allows you to ride Leogang too. While there I'd also probably do a day in Wagrain and another day in Schladming, probably while you are on your way to Italy (or Slovenia if you decide to head that way).
Innsbruck has some good trails, Yesterday I came across a link on the Crankworx website to some local to Innsbruck bike parks. [url= https://www.innsbruck-shop.com/de/crankworx.html ]bike park links[/url]
A few days at Lake Garda would also be highly recommended, uplift on Monte Baldo. You would be missing the best stuff though if you don't do some peddling up. Also has the advantage of being a wine region.
Have a look at this... http://www.gravity-card.com/ might give you a plan to visit all these!If you don't fancy this go, Saalbach is excellent and allows you to ride Leogang too. While there I'd also probably do a day in Wagrain and another day in Schladming, probably while you are on your way to Italy (or Slovenia if you decide to head that way).
I spent a few hours looking at this a couple of weeks ago - there is so much choice! If we aren't careful we'll end up spending too much time in Austria, so it's good to know which are the ones not to be missed. Saalbach and Leogang are definitely on that list.
There's no such thing as "too much time in Austria,"!
Wagrain bike park is quite small, but still fun.
Saalbach has a great thing called the Joker card, if you stay in certain accommodation you get given the card at no extra cost. It allows unlimited use of the Saalbach/Hinterglemm lifts with or without your bike, free use of the local pool, mini golf, tennis courts and lots of other things. You can use it for 1 uplift of Leogang each day too.
Schladming has a similar thing with the Dachstein card, but I don't think you can use it in the bike park.
I think we're going to have 2 weeks in Austria this summer, 1 of them in Saalbach, the other in Schladders.
Agree with timidwheeler. Italian bikeparks are great. Chilled out good trails no queue's or loud downhiller scene.. Back for third visit this summer.
European mtb tour - where would you go?
Wow. Erm... OK. I spent three years living and working as a guide all over Europe, and did a similar trip in 2012. If we were doing this year here's what I'd do:
July/August you say? Riding bikes? OK, I wouldn't do southern Spain / Greece / coastal Croatia / southern Italy as it will be roasting. Certainly not without going somewhere else first to get used to the heat. It's also worth bearing in mind August is one long holiday in Italy (another reason to avoid Croatia and Greece - the Italians flock across the Adriatic).
Northern Italy is utterly amazeballs, but could be quite warm. However it's also on the coast, which will be a blessing (lots of nice, cool sea) and a curse (lots of annoying, cool holidaying Italians). Molini is possibly the best riding I've ever done.
Chamonix is a must for pure big mountain natural sphincter-twitching tech, but you will have to do some cheeky riding to get the best of it in July/August and it's very expensive to eat/drink there. Personally I'm not a fan of Brits-abroad Morzine / Les Gets, but horses for courses - you may love it. It's expensive (again) but lift access is excellent and the sheer spectrum of trails is not to be sniffed at.
Personally I want to explore Slovenia. Quite fancy taking a look at Montenegro too, although I suspect it'd be hot-hot-hot in July.
Otherwise have you considered some of the smaller mountain ranges, such as Vosges or Morvan in France? Good riding, very uncrowded trails, very untouristy locations and genuinely fascinating places. And there's always the Pyrenees...
Austria in my experience is good, but very expensive to stay, eat and drink. They also have a weird German accent and eat far too much meat, cream and cheese. However if you do go I can recommend a guide in Kitzbühel (a friend and former guiding workmate). Leogang is good and there is no shortage of good riding, but personally I would treat is as somewhere on the way to somewhere else rather than a destination in itself.
Verbier is meant to be utterly awesome, but I've got no experience of it.
Going the other way, I really want to go riding in the Nordics. Norway looks awesome, from what I've seen. Expensive, but something quite different.
Disagree on the cost to stay, eat and drink in Austria Pimp - although it does depend what you're used to. Our apartment smack bang in the middle of Saalbach cost €600 for the week last year, we got lift passes for the whole week included in that cost too (3 of us, but could have had 5 staying in it, sack bang in the middle of the school hols).
Eating on the mountain for a decent sized meal - €10-14, beer €4. Soft drinks can be expensive though. Supermarket shopping costs a similar amount to a normal shop here.
Agree that menus are fairly meat heavy though!
Getting to plan a trip like this would be a dream!
Personally I'd plot a route to Slovenia (having been on a non biking trip I can say its an amazing country that I'm desperate to plant two wheels on) and back. Conveniently the route would take you right through the majority of the Alps.
Swinley, on a hard tail.
Disagree on the cost to stay, eat and drink in Austria Pimp - although it does depend what you're used to.
I'm certainly happy to be corrected! I guided in Austria (Kitz) twice (2003 and 2009) and drove through in 2012. Admittedly we were based around Kitz when we drove through, and my aforementioned friend who's business is based there can't afford to live there - he's got a place an hour away where he could afford land to build on. So my experience is limited, but I did find short-term lift passes, camping and eating / drinking there (and in the French Alps, to be fair) very expensive. The lift passes were awkward too if memory serves, with different parts of the mountain being covered by different companies (OP - something to research before going). However, it makes sense that the further you get from the well known ski areas the cheaper it gets. Certainly we found camping and generally surviving in the smaller French mountain ranges a [i]lot[/i] cheaper.
€600 for flat and lift pass is very good. I'm going to bear that in mind!
Personally I'd plot a route to Slovenia (having been on a non biking trip I can say its an amazing country that I'm desperate to plant two wheels on) and back. Conveniently the route would take you right through the majority of the Alps.
We went through Slovenia on the way to Croatia, with that very much in mind! Unfortunately we ran out of time so had to pass on riding in Slovenia and cut out going back via Lake Garda. 😥
We went through Slovenia on the way to Croatia, with that very much in mind! Unfortunately we ran out of time so had to pass on riding in Slovenia and cut out going back via Lake Garda.
haha first world problems!
Pimp - Kitz is a bit of a bubble really, it's not known as Glitzy Kitz for nothing. It can be very expensive to stay and certainly to buy property. We found eating and drinking in the mountain huts not too disimilar to the rest of Austria certainly on €0.50 difference for a beer and a € or two difference in the cost of food. Eating and drinking in town can be expensive depending on where you go. No idea about supermarket shopping as we've stayed in hotels when in Kitz.
With regards to lift passes you'll probably find that the lift companies have sorted themselves out and they cover a wider area. Certainly in the ski season. Not sure so much for the summer season, but then only a handful of lifts are usually open in each area anyway so connecting to other areas is less likely. Leogang bike park operates off the one lift (two stations), Wagrain off one lift, Schladming I think is one lift, Saalbach is 4 iirc.
Not sure so much for the bike parks in the Tirol, not been to those.
haha first world problems!
I know. 🙁 Blessing in disguise though - we didn't have a red/white striped board on the bike rack to show we're 'towing', which apparently is law in Italy and something Italy's finest are keen on administering spot fines for.
Pimp - Kitz is a bit of a bubble really, it's not known as Glitzy Kitz for nothing. It can be very expensive to stay and certainly to buy property. We found eating and drinking in the mountain huts not too disimilar to the rest of Austria certainly on €0.50 difference for a beer and a € or two difference in the cost of food. Eating and drinking in town can be expensive depending on where you go.
Good to know. We were shocked by the cost of camping there - both of us have stayed in cheaper hotels. When I worked there board and lodging were included (same in Cham) and it was a bit of an eye-opener returning as a paying visitor (same in Cham). We were planning to stop at the aire du camping just outside Cham after Lake Garda, but ended up coming back via Dijon and Morvan. Inadvertently managed to avoid paying the toll on the motorway though, which was a bonus!