Thinking of checking out Madeira
A full week of guided isn't going to suit as will be going with the other half and she doesn't ride. So it will be a holiday with some riding thrown in maybe every other day.
I know the tour operators show you all around the island but if you had to pick one favourite part of the island to stay in what would it be?
Looking for steep, mountainous terrain, gnarly trails, abundance of trails to explore and plenty of opportunity for hiking as well as riding.
cheers
Stay as close to or in Funchal as possible if your other half isnt riding.
Inlaws live out there, so go over at least once a year. Amazing riding and pretty hardcore in places. Best trails are on private land so you need to go guided. Not much free navigation and you'll see why when you get there. Freeride are a great bunch and will pick you up from wherever you are staying. Their bike fleet is pretty good. Spec Enduro's last time I popped in.
Really! All private land?? Who owns it all...and how do freeride get access?
+1 for Funchal
Spent two cracking days guided riding with Sergio @ LokoLoko and I don't think we saw a single waymarker in 50+ miles. The tours weren't expensive (especially as they included good bike hire) and, IMHO well, well worth it.
Oh, and aye, they'll pick you / drop you off at wherever you're staying.
Links for the lazy - http://www.lokolokomadeira.com/en/mountain-biking
Been a ple of times and like any holiday/biking destination unless you go guided you are likely to waste a lot of time and effort trying to find trails 💡
Freeridemadeira do daily bookings rather than full weeks/weekends etc, pick you up from wherever you are staying. Last years bike I hired was 27+ Spesh Enduro, mental bike!!!
There is a serious DH/Enduro scene if there was a way to contact locals but they do appear to do a lot of hiking up again!!
My guidevon both trips reckoned it is too hilly to try and do a self guided trip and I would tend to agree... getting up to the top of the West end to do "Rat Boys" trail is a fair auld trip from Funchal and not something you would wish to attempt to ride up to......
https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-GB/bronson-2-video
Split your stay...spend half in Funchal (where Freeride will pick-up) then half on the north coast. [url= https://www.madeirachoice.com/accommodation/aqua-natura/ ]Aqua Natura[/url] is great for chilling out and swimming, or [url= https://www.madeirachoice.com/accommodation/hotel-quinta-do-furao/ ]Quinta do Furao[/url] which is close to some great levada walks.
Thanks All - The Levada area looks like just what I'm after. May hire a car for a few days.
Another recommendation for Freeride - even if it’s just for a day
Great bunch of lads n the bike fleet was all spec enduro. Depending on where they’re going with any other groups you may be able to select an area. East side of the island in the Ecological Park was steep n loamy n flowy. West side was a mixture of all sorts - rocky n ridgey at the top then through the eucalyptus forests was fantastic
All depends on the weather too - if it’s windy (all the time!) they normally ride at the opposite end of the island to where the wind is coming off the sea
I might go with them for a day if my legs give out but I prefer to explore on my own. Ill take my own bike and I enjoy the route-planning-instead-of-working bit that leads up to the holiday.
You'll waste the majority of your day climbing. Fine if it's your thing but the way up to the riding from Funchal is over half an hour of going straight up in a van, there are no off road routes up.
If you're determined to do it yourself you could use strava and look for segments, or follow the EWS route. But the routes are not marked or on a map and it would be very easy to miss a section and get lost. But getting a lift out of funchal is essential IMO. If you can be dropped off (hire cars aren't expensive) around poiso north of funchal you could do some laps.
Guiding isn't expensive and you'll be guaranteed good riding which is pretty essential when you've gone that far!
Guiding isn't expensive
Not sure I agree - Freeride are €75 a day without lunch if you do odd days. Soon mounts up!
You can use the number 56 bus to get from Funchal to Poiso for less than 3 euros 🙂 The main Poiso trails are on Trailforks (Mushroom, Las Vegas, and the long flow trail from the road to Pico do Arieiro):
https://www.trailforks.com/region/poiso-18021/
Don't see long climbs as a waste particularly - I don't suppose the views are bad. But...
That is excellent information thanks! And also the trailforks link.You can use the number 56 bus to get from Funchal to Poiso for less than 3 euros
Yeah that is useful.
I had the intentions of doing two days guiding and the rest I'd ride up but the first drive up put me off the idea.
I don't generally mind riding uphill but I'd rather experience the downs there than the ups... The island isn't far off the size of the isle of Wight but it has 2000m peaks in the middle.
But anyway, funchal is a good place to stay with lots of places to eat. We did some whale watching too and actually saw some.
I had the same intentions on pedalling up. Also changed my mind quickly. Poiso's at 1400m and Funchal's at sea level... it's a long climb and steep, especially at the bottom. Rua das Dificuldades up to Monte is a 1st gear all the way job in the car!
If you bus it up to Poiso you're going to be doing some pedalling up anyway, especially if you drop down to the bottom of Cabouco. Las Vegas is a nice warm up lap.
I tried and failed to find a good descent back into Funchal from that area. Top bit of the Pico Alto was pretty good, but give those long blacks on Trailforks from Pico do Arieiro a miss (São Roque/Santo Antonio).
Freeride were also excellent for getting further afield, and I had a couple of good days with them. As a solo rider you don't get much sway over where the group goes, so I ended up doing laps of Poiso, Porto da Cruz and Machico both times. Have to go back one day and get out north and west 🙂