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Right, basically im off the the alps for a riding trip, i ride places like afan, cwm carn, brechfa, coed y brenin.....
All i really have planned is to jump in the deepend and ride the course of the mega at alpe d'huez. But im not really all about the downhill.... Love trail centres as listed above and dont want to rely on uplifts all week.
So basically is there any tips for places with waymarked trails like we have here in the uk?
Or is it a case of just get out and ride and hope to find the good stuff.
I know you can book holidays but would rather do it myself, as im pretty skint , will have a van and tent type set up!
Thinking of molini but finding trail info hard to come by....
Chamonix - quick to get to, get there before July and the trail restrictions...
Camp [url= http://www.chamonix-camping.com/ ]here[/url]
Simples...
Any more?!
Lots of places have marked VTT routes and maps available from tourist info. Quality of the waymarking and trails is very variable though.
few days at les deux alpes would probably fit the bill. head out of bourg and go to venosc, this campsite is 300m from the cable car, buy a lift pass and spend a couple of days riding the trails there it's only 20mins further up the valley
http://www.champ-du-moulin.com/en/welcome.html
Any idea where you might head in the alps. Even just which country(/ies)?
Though I think it could be better* the Mountain bike Europe book is probably a useful start to getting an idea what is where:
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*a few resorts are marked wrong in the wrong places on country overviews (eg pila)
Pictures can be a bit useless and generally it doesn't inspire, though more of a go to resource for a few bits and bobs
Also IIRC doesn't mention or detail enough resorts that are linked with others and/or tickets that cover other resorts, apart from port d'soleil. Detail on BikeParkAustria or BikeParkAlpi (NW italy) could be better
If you have a van you should try a few places. How about 2 days in Morzine, drive an hour, 2 days in Chamonix, drive an hour, 2 days in Verbier? There are loads of marked routes and if you chat to people on the lifts you'll find more
I love Meribel for a mix of stuff.
"lift assisted cross country" is a good description
Can cover lots of ground, up and down, but the killer stuff is covered by lifts.
The whole of the three valleys is a massive area. You can link together big circuits so, your not just going up and down the same thing all day long like some places.
Portes Du Soleil is obviously a similar place, if you get away from the usual downhill stuff on the Pleney etc.
I just spent a week around Allos in the alpes de haute Provence. It is my new favourite place in France for riding. Beautiful scenery, great bike park (more lift assisted enduro than full on downhill) friendly locals, good weather and amazing riding away from the bike park (3 descents from the col d'allos that drop about 1000m totally on mountain singletrack for a start). I have ridden all over the alps/pyranees and this area around Allos and valley d'ubaye pretty much beats everywhere IMO.
Buy the vtopo guide, all the routes are pretty good if not excellent.
Cheers people! This gives me a fair bit to investigate!