Where do guides from Beaufort ride on their day off?

In Beaufort of course, and they show off what they can to their visiting friends!

Two friends of mine made the one and a half hour drive from Chamonix Valley into the Beaufortain. I insisted that they came early so that we could get on the 9am bus (!) and make the most of the day. The bike buses are great over here, but if you don't plan it correctly you can easily loose large chunks of the day. Another reason a helping local hand is so useful.

From the top of Mont Bisane it was time for 18km of descending all the way to Albertville. When I say all the way, I'm forgetting the 300m of vert 3/4 of the way through. It's so worth it though, the trail features everything you can think of in a package that was related to "Servoz woods" by Tom H. We made it down with about 25 minutes to spare and 'boshed' down some cans of coke whilst resisting the temptation to eat kebabs and instead opting for Tarte Beaufort's. When in Rome you know!

Loam-fest!

Roller-coaster rollers

Tech climbing

little teapots

Down here!

After lots of deliberating about what to show my friends for the afternoon we settled on classic Col de Pre trails. A hot pedal followed by some creative bike packing saw us climbing the last section into the woods. At the trail head we, well Wim, chatted with some old locals about mountain biking in the area. We all dropped in and they loved seeing us disappear off down the rocky trail. Gloria was getting her flow on now! Super lekker! Whilst others over shot corners.

We were not done after the flow show as we all had a little bit of energy left. And also guides still have work to do on their days off. It was time for me to ride a new trail too! Pink Eye.
Top Tip- Never ask guides where trail names come from...

Always climbing to be done

After a short climb we ate some madeline's, talked about deep-frying chocolate bars, and we talked about trail names... This trail we were all about to be shown was not super long, but it was lots of fun. Grassy meadows, rocks and roots and even a waterfall. But best of all, it finished right into Beaufort town, near the bar!

Gloria ordered a huge Hoegaarden beer, cos Colorado girls aren't just good at mountain biking, but they are also good at beer drinking! Happy trails to you my dear!

Pink eye delight

Pink eye delight part 2

Comments

Aiguille de la Grande Sassiere 3751m

One of those pure adventure days *warning mega photo post* Ali-venturing as it's been known by over the summer. When Ali from trailAddiction gets grand idea's in his head it always leads to hike-a-bike. Read here on DIRT Mag about a previous mission, its the highest rideable peak in the alps! A special team was organised: A top ten finishing team from the Bivouac Enduro, Mael and Max, Ali, myself and Fred the mountain bike mechanic from Mavic. All keen, all stupid? And then my alarm went off at 04:30. Time to eat and drink as much as possible. I hadn't been up this early since ski touring in refuges last winter. In my tired state I did subconsciously know how to load the bikes onto the trailer, it's easy after doing it everyday all summer. We drove up towards Val d'Isere, then turned left up a singletrack road. It was around 6am, and it was still pitch black. Slowly the sun began to rise: Tignes...

What guides do between work in the peak of July

Summer is here, and after fantastic spring riding in Southern France and then all over Valais, Aosta and Haute Savoie with good friends it's been time to get back to summer guiding, taking hikers around the Tour du Mont Blanc circuit. There's much worse things to do, but with three weeks off the bike I was itching to get back on some trails. With a carefully planned week between tours I was excited and made some plans to hit up some classic lines, and some new stuff too. It's mid July now, so in Chamonix valley you have to think carefully about where to go to miss the crowds, and to avoid going on the bike ban trails (July & August). Luckily it's still easy to find quiet trails in nearby resorts, or to simply drop round the back of a hill away from the frontside lifts. It went a little like this: Day 1- La Thuile with Wayne of newly qualified French legal mountain bike guiding service Chamonixmtb.com . Enduro race venue at it's best, rough and raw. ...

Being shown around my classic stomping ground

Another chance to be shown around trails. Not as glamorous as Switzerland, but just as good! Mortimers Forest and Bringewood, Ludlow, Shropshire, England The woods of Mortimers Forest and Bringewood are where I grew up mountain biking so I always love going back. A few years ago I built a long section of singletrack trail to link in above a much loved piece of trail that had been a staple of rides for many years. It was my way of giving back to the forest riders and builders. Over the last few years whilst I've been away riding 1000m+ descents my Dad has still been out exploring every corner of these forests. Sometimes walking with my Mother, other times out on road rides with his Wednesday night Pub Ride group or usually with his main Sunday morning off road group. They are trail connoisseurs, though they might not look it. They are the type of group that make up every British Forestry carpark on a Sunday morning...

Search This Blog