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Just daydreaming while quiet at work. I'd like to plan a European trip to a mountain that has a road to the top or nearly to the top and then cycle down. Ideally not down the road but on singletrack or at least off road. The idea being we'd hire a taxi to take us to the top and then have the time of our lives cycling downhill for several hours.
There's this list on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest_paved_roads_in_Europe
but it doesn't give any indication of bike routes down.
Am I just looking at Pic Blanc, from Alpe d'Huez? was hoping for somewhere a bit warmer. Anywhere in Spain? for eg.
Any real world experiences from anyone welcome.
I've ridden a fairly nice trail down from just above Chalet Reynard on Mont Ventoux.
Is this a wind-up?
No, taxi up?
Double post: edit fail.
Hardly even worth it in the first place. Wasn't funny in either version. Now look at me.
Nope, not a wind up. Is there something glareingly obvious I'm missing? I tend to do that sometimes. I'm a complete novice when it comes to mainland european mtbing. I was thinking of something a bit more sedate then the bike parks of tignes or Les Deux Alps and like I say, considering spain.
Pico Veletta, Sierra Nevada. You can get a long way on road and then dusty double track I *think* all the way to the observation station at the top. Options from there on down are pretty expansive. I'd recommend a guide to get the most of it. I went with [url= http://ridesierranevada.com ]Ride Sierra Nevada[/url] a few years back but there are loads of recommended options if you browse some old threads.
[url=http://] http://www.cyclefiesta.com/multimedia/articles/pico-veleta.htm [/url]
Climbing the Pico de Veleta is one of the great cycling challenges in Europe. The mountain is the third highest peak in Spain, and also the highest paved road in Europe. It perhaps lacks the fame of Tourmalet, Ventoux or Alpe d'Huez; but Veleta is longer and tougher than all of them.
Super Bagnere has a nice tarmac road to it and some cracking singletrack down to Bagnere de Luchon and around 1200m or continuous down. Can't see the point in the taxi, though, as there is a very nice lift.
errrr Rule #55?
Is there something glareingly obvious I'm missing?
Most of your list of highest tarmac roads are in/around ski resorts and there are therefore much better options for getting up/down. Tarmac roads, in general, do not go anywhere near the "top" of the "mountain". Even something like the Col de l'Iseran is over-topped by as much as 1000m by the surrounding peaks.
Many of the Cols have possibilities for bike shuttling (good trails off the Iseran, Petit Saint Bernard, Grand Saint Bernard, etc., etc., etc.). Some of the trails are even marked. Where such options exist though, you will generally find that there is already bike shuttling / guiding going on. You would be much better off therefore looking at a bike shuttle or guiding service. Taking a taxi is unlikely to even be possible as they would almost certainly not be equipped to carry your bikes and would equally almost certainly refuse to take your muddy selves / kit, as well as being an obscenely expensive way to do bike shuttles.
Many, many resorts in the Alps have great singletrack riding off the lifts.
Mt Teide is in Europe (you didn't say mainland) and the road goes pretty far up and the descent goes all the way down to sea level. You can get a public bus to the top.
Edit: The summit is 3700m but google says that the road goes to 2300m but still pretty high if you go all the way down to sea level (as I did a few years ago).
Pico do Arieiro in Madeira? Rode from pretty much the top down to the sea just a month ago. The road goes up to about 1750 metres or so.
Surely the problem with that list is that it doesn't include drop. Some of those Alps roads in particular will be from valleys that are already at significant altitude.
Why limit yourself to paved roads and a taxi. There is a train to the top of the Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Germany - only 1142m though
So you basically want uplifted riding, but want to make it as expensive and awkward for yourself as possible?
My copy and paste skills weren't so good earlier. Let me try again.
Jekkyl, Pico de Veleta could be what you're after
[url= http://www.cyclefiesta.com/multimedia/articles/pico-veleta.htm ]http://www.cyclefiesta.com/multimedia/articles/pico-veleta.htm[/url]