Riding with mates old and new On the afternoon I returned to Chamonix from my final trip guiding the Tour du Mont Blanc I met with an old friend from my Cardiff Uni days.  He's visited me a few times over the years in various styles.  And this trip for Dave was no different.  As I crossed the Col de Balme on foot in wet conditions with clients, he crossed the Cormet de Roseland and Col des Saisses on his road bike with kit strapped to every free tube on the bike possible. My mate was planning to cycle from Geneva to Nice, via 2 days in Les Arcs mountain biking, and a day in la Thuile with me and a Chamonix friend, bivi-ing along the way. The lure of Aosta of course played high on our minds and we made plans to ride an Enduro World Series trail in La Thuile on mountain bikes, before leaving Dave to continue on his road bike towards the Mediterranean via some bloody horrendous Col's. Road climb with Monte Bianco poking through We were c...

Did we stumble across the best view in the Alps? Introducing Stella Helvetica: Several people had been talking about a funicular train above the jazz town of Montreux on the shore's of Lac Leman, that despite being expensive, had some good trails back in to town. The lure of swimming in the lake had us, and with Bex and other Valais trails nearby there would easily be a good few days worth of riding before the next storm came through the alps. Me and the lone Dutchy headed to Lac Leman, padded up and rode to the central Montreux station next to men in suits, blacked out Mercs and Asian tourists. After being quoted 60CHF for a day pass we said no. Our intel of a cheaper pass was wrong. So instead we climbed 1000 metres up 20% stretches of road past English speaking all boys, and all girls boarding schools over looking the huge lake.  The views made up for the unexpected climb.  We'd brought all our food from France to save money so that at least made us f...

Dry trails, and even dryer bread. 1600metre+ descent days back to back Up to the last week in July I had only ridden my bike about 4 times.  My International Mountain Leader work had taken me around the Massif du Mont Blanc and along the edge of the Fiz.  I hadn't missed my bike at all and I knew I was going to have an overload at the end of the month. The Beaufort guides from last year were re-grouping for reconnaissance, and general banter missions. And where were we going? Italy of course and the wonderful Aosta Valley to escape the hoards of Chamonix. *Day -1- Dorenaz adventuring with the Dutchies *Day 0- Le Tour laps into Switzerland with the Dutchies before bottles of Duvel with the crew. Day 1- La Thuile Hardcore! The venue for the recent Enduro World Series race was unbelievable.  The tracks were destroyed and tiring.  The odd time I managed to stick out a fast line it felt great, but with li...

Slop fest in one of the quietest corners of the Rhone Alps With no guiding work in Beaufort this summer a plan was made for the some of the previous years guides to meet up for an early season blast on some of favourite trails. For the Beaufortain Enduro the lift in Areches was open for the whole weekend and there were two bus uplift options to help gain some height to the downhill stages (not timed). June had been a pretty poor month for weather with storms rolling in and out and only a few dry days.  I decided to put a bigger tyre on the front of my bike to try and gain some more grip in the impending mud of the Beaufortain forests. It did help a little, but really it was a slip and slide approach to riding for the whole weekend.   For those of us that knew the lines it made life a little easier, but sometimes due to wet roots you couldn't get to where you wanted to and you had hope you could slow down and make the next corner. Everyone was still grinning, and ...

Everything a good day should have: Thanks to Mael for most of the photo's Not too early a start Bread (French) Coffee (Italian) Road climb to gain some height efficiently Trail riding in a super scenic valley Hike a bike Lunch stop with a view Snow crossing River crossing A high altitude hamlet Alpine flowers bursting with colour Near death, non riding related A Virgin Mary statue A puncture with jizzing tyre sealant (not a good day for 27.5 PLUS tyres) Incredibly tight switchbacks Pine needle smooth singletrack (One of the best sections I've ever ridden this year!) A snake on the trail Sitting in a beautiful old town square by an old church Gelato More coffee More tasty snacks Cold beer Supermarket shop for local goodies A German lady expressing her desire for queuing efficiency at the Mont Blanc Tunnel Can you spot team green?

Boarder shred fest in the steeps A bit close for comforts, the story of the day for not just Shane, all of us! Normaly my posts mention International boarders and the trails that take me between these lines.  Today was slightly different.  Everyone knows that the Swiss Canton of Valais is full of great trails, and until today I thought that it's neighbouring Canton of Vaud was full of bad drivers, Freddie Mercury statues (Montreux), vineyards and a whole heap of money! However right on the boarder of Valais/Vaud is Bex.  That's pronounced 'bay' in French, not Becks like Posh n Becks for you vrai Anglais. It doesn't matter what Canton your in, in Switzerland public transport is top notch, and seeing as this place is near a ski town, the all-day travel card for mountain bikers is not actually too expensive at 28chf (€25).  A little research revealed a whole host of trails, but luckily Timmy was on hand to guide us today which was really ...

Exploring Aosta for the first time in 2016 Thats kind of a lie, we had a few experimental, yeah, experimental is a good word to describe the ski tour's that took place in Aosta Valley this winter. It was about time to get back there on two wheels and try out some new trails. Me and Wayne, my boss, didn't have any work so we journey'd over to search for more Aosta goodness.  The first objective of the day was achieved quite easily, cappuccino, at which time we also found our gelato stop for post ride refreshment. So it began as most Aosta rides seem to with a big climb on a quiet road that slowly makes it's way upwards through tiny hamlets, usually a mix of beautiful alpine houses and run down old sheds. Wayne was telling me how it was a burden to sit in an Aosta Valley Freeride minibus for 45 minutes-a-time when doing shuttle days. Didn't sound too bad to me... Lunch stop one was followed by snack stop 2, 3, 4 and 5 and then after a good few hours ...