"Enduro was made for you"

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 climbing and talking shit between the 3 of us like we'd all been hanging out throughout the summer. The road climb was rewarded with finding a bar open for cappuccino's at the Col.

Fueled up Italian style we hit a lovely long gentle off road climb up to the start of the descent. We paused for a bite of baguette over looking both the Cervinio (Matterhorn in Aostan) and Monte Bianco. A site rarely enjoyable in the Alps, but of course for an old mate, the views came out!

The worst part about the descent was not the EWS, but the recent 4 day rain storm that had hit the northern Alps. Too much front brake on the open descent and the front wheel would drift as much as the back. Luckily loose rock turned down into larch forest and classical Aosta flow through the forest back to the carpark.

"Enduro was made for you" Dave said to me. He's right, even in the old days of South Wales riding, we'd slog up big hills for big descents and big smiles.

And like every descent, time with an old friend was over all too quickly. We all headed off to different parts of France with big smiles and more tales to tell in years to come...

And introducing the savoyard stem saucisson:

Comments

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...

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. ...

Changing times

Being show around Valais trails for a change People I've been riding with recently have been talking about the Emosson to Martigny trail and how good it is. Me and Tom had been up there in June to ride the first half of the trail and loved it. blogged here . So I was keen to get back. I wasn't keen to get up after a late night in Amnesia, but knew that the road climb from Finahut would sort me and Jarno out. 1 1/2 hours spinning wasn't too bad. Luckily the trail is great form the beginning, even if it undulates and you often have to get off your bike for a quick push up. It still kind of flows, in a 'flow-tech' kind of way. The views looking down towards Martigny and Sion were still great. The trail really gets going after about 3 kilometres. Basically from the Emosson the trail traverses North-Eastwards constantly hugging the mountainside to your left, and always with a big drop down to your right. It's another one ...

Search This Blog