Archive for July, 2007

Mega Avalanche Mega Experience

Published by Sara on July 30, 2007 in Biking, Diary, Dirtgirls, General and Megavalanche. 5 Comments

I don’t really know quite how to sum up the experience of riding the Mega. It’s now Sunday evening and the race is over, I’ve showered, eaten, had a laze in the hot tub and am about to prepare dinner for our guests. I’m tired, bruised, headachy and kind of dazed, yet happy too. It’s been my first big race, I definitely didn’t do well in the rankings, but am fairly pleased with how I rode and certainly wasn’t the slowest down!

On Saturday lunchtime we lined up for the qualifier. This is what I was most scared of having ridden it on Friday with Petra and struggled a lot despite her support. We’d got down the crazy sprint Avalanche course pretty well and I’d started elated by how much of that I’d ridden, but I soon struggled on the steep rocky qualifier course. However, on Saturday something changed. I don’t know if it was excitement from being in a race or from riding with so many other girls but I found myself riding faster and better than ever and getting down most of the course. The top half had lots of steep rocky sections, that somehow flew by and I was feeling pretty pleased with what I got down and starting to realize the difference a bike like a Bullit makes on a course like this. My confidence rocketed as I got more used to the bike and its capabilities. The second half slowed me down quite a bit as I hadn’t pre-ridden it and went slower than necessary on loads of stuff, but was still great fun and I was happy enough at finishing in under an hour (54 minutes) and 33rd out of the women.

Emily Horridge totally blew away the course and won the women’s race, so a fantastic result for her, Ophelie David came in second and Hannah Hannah in third. Masters World Champion Petra Wiltshire suffered from a mechanical with her saddle, necessitating a few minutes of allen key fiddling, and then found herself stuck behind a few slower girls but still managed to finish 11th overall.

For the main event on Sunday we faced a much earlier start – we had to be on the lift at 7am in order to be up the top in time. The first 405 men set off at 9am and we’re next. We got to watch the fastest riders race down the glacier at an impressive speed and then we lined up. I stood next to Rachel Evans, a girl from Menorca who’s new to downhill racing, but is making a pretty impressive entry to the sport, having come third in the Sprint Avalanche this week. Our start was delayed by a very bad fall from one of the guys, which needed some emergency treatment and then a helicopter rescue. Not inspiring for the rest of us! The music cranked up and then we were off.

Now riding on snow is totally different from anything else, but I found myself enjoying it yet again. I was much faster than on Thursday as the snow was grippier and I felt more confident, although I slid out a few times from going too fast. I was doing pretty well and making great time around the middle of the group until I slipped on an icy corner and spiraled off across the ice. No real injuries, just annoyance at watching lots of girls go by as I made my way back onto the track. The rest of the snow passed with lots of giggles and squeals as we all fell and slid around. Yet again, lots of fun and a real laugh. The men definitely have it harder here though – 405 as opposed to 40 people setting off together.

The rocky section was tricky and I had a couple of tumbles which knocked my confidence a little. The magic of Saturday unfortunately didn’t continue, but I got down in all unharmed and enjoyed a lot of it. The great part about riding today was that as the other girls pass you after a fall they check you’re ok before riding on. I never felt alone or worried despite my mates being way ahead of me in the race. My main problem was the uphills, I only had a single chainring on my bike, plus it’s a much heavier bike than I’m used to and I found myself pushing up far more than I felt I should. I also had a very sore arse by this point as I’d neglected to change the saddle on the bike before leaving Morzine!

As we reached Alpe d’Huez the field was spread out and me and one other girl were playing cat and mouse with each other (swapping roles every so often) while the first of the men were starting to catch up. A few overtook on the traverse and the first forest sections. Practically all followed etiquette and shouted their approach and waited for us to pull over, or passed on a wider section of track. However as we reached the steep switchbacks there were more and more larger groups and I felt like I spent more time stood letting people pass than riding. This for me was the hardest part of the race. I knew I needed to let faster riders pass, but I lost so much time. Pulling over, waiting and then starting up again, I felt like I never had enough time to get into my flow. Luckily this was right at the end of the course, but for me it was a tough way to end.

A quick pedal along the tarmac, through the gates and it was all over. I was exhausted, mentally and physically and disappointed with the last section of track, wondering, did I pull over too much, should I be more determined and try to keep going and just let people overtake on wider sections. There’s no right or wrong answer it seems, everyone has a different opinion. I just know how it frustating feels to be stuck behind someone slower, and now how tough and disheartening it feels to stand out of the way so much.

Guy and Petra were waiting at the bottom, both had had a good run with Petra getting a podium place by coming second in the masters women. Guy had done a better time than last year, but disappointed by being held up a lot on the singletrack and wanting to come back next year to do better. Sadly Emily’s jockey wheel had fallen off halfway down and she’d decided to pull out. She was in fourth place at the time and right behind the leaders so was pretty gutted.

Local girl Pauline Dieffenthaler won the women’s race in am impressive 1 hour 10 minutes and was closely followed by Ophelie David and then Malika Malone and Hannah Hannah in fourth place. Petra Wiltshire was the first British girl in, crossing the line in 1 hour 23 minutes, and I followed on in 29th place taking 1 hour 46 minutes. Emily’s planning to come back next year to try again.

The question is do I want to come back? Yesterday the answer was definitely, and I felt the same early on today. Towards the end of the course I was demoralized, tired and fed up and said never again. And now, well a large part of me wants to come back and do better. I know that with a bike I can pedal better (hey, just putting a small chainring on the Bullit would do) I wouldn’t lose so much time and energy on the climbs. If I can go just a little faster then the men won’t catch up till the end of the course so I won’t face a final section with more standing than riding again. And if I can up my riding just a little then the rest of the course will be that much more fun. I’ve not yet decided, but I have a feeling I’ll be back. If more of us girls enter, especially non-racers like me, then the event will be more fun for us all. I could have done with more company on a lot of the route, both to spur me on to do better and comfort me for not doing so well. In the men’s category there are loads of non-racers just out for the experience, where are the girls? The atmosphere is great, everyone’s friendly, pros and mere mortals alike and I’ve met some great girls this weekend. The pros chatted with everyone else and encouraged us all on, showing the support there is in womens’ cycling. There were no egos on display, just smiley, chatty fellow riders. There’s no reason to be put off by it being a race, it’s more of an experience than a race and if you don’t beast yourself then it’s just an incredible thing to do. Despite the bruises and the emotional beating I’m so glad I did it. It’ll definitely be in the top 10, if not top 5 of my experiences so far, and I now know why it’s the race every mountainbiker has to ride. Ride it and understand.

Mega practice 2

Published by Sara on July 27, 2007 in Biking, Dirtgirls, General and Megavalanche. 0 Comments

Today was time to practice the qualifier. We started with the Sprint Avalanche track, great way to warm up :) But somehow I rode practically all of it and felt pretty good. The rock wall ride was something completely new to me and I couldn’t quite believe I got down so many tight rocky steep switchbacks! Thanks again to Petra for coaching me down it and waiting to check i was keeping up.
The qualifier course also threw in some new stuff including a large open expanse of rock - fun though. A lot was hard, really hard, but then I just had to remember there’s no shame in walking and to feel great about how much of the rocky stuff I rode. There’s also some fun swoopy singletrack and I had Petra to encourage me when I got a bit down about not being able to make myself ride all of it.

Tomorrow’s another day though and I know I’ll do better than today :)

Mega Practice day

Published by Sara on July 27, 2007 in Biking, Dirtgirls, General and Megavalanche. 0 Comments

The race every mountain biker has to race. Well that’s what it’s billed as but it always seemed a little terrifying to me. I’ve watched the videos, seen the photos and read the stories. It sounded cool, but also like it might be just a little beyond my reach, a step past what I’m able to ride. This year, however, I found myself signed up and registered for the event, a small problem caused by us running a couple of chalets here for the week. How was I going to get out of it? Something was bound to come up and keep me in Morzine.

Well, nothing did come up and I arrived in Alpe d’Huez at our very swanky chalet on Wednesday evening. We’re lucky enough to have the DH racers Petra Wiltshire and Emily Horridge staying with us and helping out, and they offered to take me out to ride the course the next day. Suddenly it dawned on me there really was no getting out of it. I think it’s here where I should mention that I’m not really a downhiller, but an XC rider, with about 4-5 years riding experience and a few goes on a DH bike. However, I have a Dainesse jacket and 661 leg pads, a brand new 661 full face helmet and am lucky enough to have a Santa Cruz Bullit to ride for the weekend.

So after padding up, we headed for the lifts, me on my bright green Bullit, Petra on her sparkly Trek Session 77 and Emily on a Mountain Cycles Sin. DH bikes are shunned in favour of shorter travel lighter bikes due to all the climbs on the race route. Well, shorter travel bikes to these girls, but a big hefty bike compared to what I’m used to! At the top of the lift a short rocky section leads you to the glacier and lots of snow. There Petra gave me some advice and we set off. I was terrified, wondering what I was doing on a bike on a glacier. But then I realized I was having more fun than I have had in ages. It was great. You see there’s a technique to everything, and we found it to be sitting on the saddle with legs sticking out in the snow. Might not look so cool but worked a treat! Then find a rut and just stay in it. Surprisingly easy! I had a few sideways tumbles and lots of slides, but nothing serious – snow’s nice and soft to fall in. Then we hit a steep section. Petra’s advice from having ridden it last year was to stand by the side of the bike and slide down on your heels. She looked pretty good so I gave it a go. Soon I was sliding on my arse, but overtaking Petra and all the other blokes trying to get down. Result! So that’s my race tactic sorted. Feet and bike can act as brakes and the only downside is chilly legs. Soon we were down the steep section (and it felt pretty good to be the one waiting at the bottom for a change!) and after a bit more snow we hit the rocky section.

So, lots of big rocks, some loose rocks, plus some singletrack across the mountain with an exposed steepish drop down to the left. All scary stuff to me. However, with a bit of help from Petra I was soon down most of it. Riding with Petra was great for me, partly as she’s such a skilled rider, and partly it was good just to have someone to work out lines with and that I knew would be waiting for me. I’m not ashamed to say that I walked some of the steep technical rocky sections, but it was no big deal. Plenty of blokes also pre-riding the course were walking sections and the worst bits were all short so over fast. I was pretty chuffed with a lot of the ground I got over and soon felt so much better than I had on leaving the chalet. We met back up with Emily and carried on on a mix of gravely singletrack and swoopy dirt sections. There were a few climbs thrown in and a short section of muddy singletrack before a nice fast grassy descent into Alpe d’Huez.

At this point we decided to ride the full route today and stop for lunch after. The section after Alpe d’Huez is a lovely gentle traverse across the mountain with some stunning views to take in, then a short steep push up the hill. Once up it’s singletrack once more, but nothing too technical, the only issue being a step drop to the left. The answer…look at the trail, not the drop, and before you know it you’re sailing along. Next up is a short tarmac section followed by a drop into the woods for a rollercoaster ride. This was great fun, not too tricky but fun and fast, except for the climbs!

Next up were some tight rooty switchbacks. Petra and Emily flew down them while I followed at a more steady pace. As I got more used to the Bullit and what it could take I gradually got faster and better over the rougher ground. We also saw multiple winner Rene Wildhaber who really showed us all up. Getting out of the way for faster riders wasn’t an issue as there was plenty of space to pull over out of the way. A flat undulating bit was followed by a road crossing and then more tight rooty switchbacks. All done beautifully, except for a momentary lapse of concentration that had me tumbling through the undergrowth.

So, this morning I was terrified, thinking I shouldn’t be here riding something a big as the Mega. Now I’ve ridden the route I’m looking forward to Sunday. I know the mass start and having lots of people around will add a new dimension, but I also know it’ll be fun, and I don’t need to worry about it. My advice if you’re going for it…definitely pre-ride the course and take a mate with you, preferably someone that’s a better rider than you, but who will wait for you and ride with you. Petra made the perfect companion for me and riding with her helped me get down lots of terrain I might not always ride. But I realize not everyone’s lucky enough to have her expertise, so just find another girl and set out ready to have fun and not take it too seriously and you’ll have a laugh. On the glacier I forgot how much better she is than me as we laughed and slid around together. Now that beats macho competitiveness every time! And just go for it, there’s no shame in walking sections and you won’t be the only one doing it.

This year out of over 1400 entries there are only 59 women entered. Better than last year, but there should be more of us. We have our own start so instead of 300 men lining up at once there’s just two rows of women heading off. I’ll report back on how the qualifier and race itself go over the weekend, and next year I want there to be a proper mass start for the women. Let’s hit 100.

Mega tastic!

Published by Guy on July 27, 2007 in Biking, General and Megavalanche. 0 Comments

The sun is shining, the track is awesome and everyone seems to be having a great time.

Congratulations to Emily who won the sprint race on Wednesday. With Petra in second place, we had a flow one two (Petra is helping us out this week!).  Hopefully they’ll get a similar result come Sunday.
My 4X is all knarred up with big rotors, some Fox 36’s up front and some big hefty tires.  It’s more than capable of riding the track and should quicken my time on the climbs. The aim for tomorrow is to make the first 406 to go off in the Mega Avalanche proper at 9am on Sunday morning. Hopefully without punctures or mechanicals.

Qualifying tomorrow - 11.20am - can’t wait!

Guy

Made it to Alpe d’Huez

Published by Guy on July 23, 2007 in Biking, General and Megavalanche. 0 Comments

Only just got up the 21 hairpins though - We had the trailer laden down with bikes, bits, and food (and tyres, lots of tyres). We also had a last minute change of plan and had to ask Emily to drive up in her car towing it all - I think we reached the heady heights of 20mph on the way up - with the oil temperature gage heading skywards we thought it best not to try and go any faster (not that we could).

The wind is blowing a gale - 80kph up top! The lifts have closed for the afternoon, but the weather looks to be on the up for the rest of the week.

Still, we’re here now, and guests are arriving, the chalet is looking pretty sweet and we’re all set for a top week.

Can’t wait to get riding.

Accompanied Riding is back.

Published by Guy on July 19, 2007 in Biking and General. 0 Comments

Ah, what a fickle world we live in… We have just heard that accompanied riding is back on in a kind of grey not entirely legal, but police approved way.

Here’s what Gareth from Endless ride had to say after his meeting with the Tourist Office:

Following discussions between ourselves and the head of tourism, the mayor, the gendarmerie and other influential local people in Morzine an interim solution has been reached which allows non French qualified mountain bikers to continue working with their guests on the mountain this summer. This is good news for all concerned, for all of us and our guests but also for the local guides and the people of Morzine.

The town has recognised the contribution that mountain biking makes to their local economy in the summer (thank you to everyone who submitted figures). They have also recognised that there are insufficient French qualified guides to deal with the numbers of mountain bikers (British, French and others) who visit the area each week.

It is remains the case that according to the French authority governing sporting qualifications (DDJS), ‘guides’ who do not hold the French qualification are acting illegally by working in France. Controls will still take place on the mountain, staff accompanying guests could be asked to produce copies of their UK qualifications, their first aid certificate and their employment contract, but on a local level the Morzine gendarmerie have agreed that they will advise rather than arrest for the remainder of this summer.

It should be noted that the action taken by the DDJS is not confined to Morzine and has not been confined to the sport of mountain biking, due to a serious incident that took place on Mt Blanc recently the DDJS has decided to run a “control” of various activities in the region.

Eric Monné head of the tourist office has suggested that the term ‘guiding’ should not be used on publicity, web sites, vehicles etc or when talking with guests. Staff are simply riding with guests. Also we have been re-advised that no specific charge should be made for accompanied riding services – it should be integral to the cost of the holiday.

Points were also raised regarding the ‘education’ of our staff and guests to local issues such as respect for walkers and other trail users and complying with no cycling signs where they exist on the trails. Unauthorised trail building on private land has apparently caused a number of complaints to the commune from the affected local land owners. The minor points such as riding over the suspension bridge, riding against the flow of traffic and leaning of bikes against shop windows seem less important but they all add to ill feeling in the local population which helps no one.

Contrary to popular belief the Morzine tourist office has stressed its positive commitment to the continued development of mountain biking in the area. They recently secured a deal with Lapierre Cycles (a major manufacturer in the French market for both mountain and road bikes) to develop the XC trails and repair and maintain the existing ones in Morzine area. They are also working with the lift company to persuade them to extend the limited summer season.

Many positives have resulted from the discussions held over the past week. The most important is that communication has now been established and a consultation process will begin in the autumn with the DDJS (Direction Departmental de Jeunesse et des Sports), the mayor, the tourist office, local guides and local companies to resolve the issues surrounding non French qualified guides working in France.

The legal case against Gareth remains and Scottish Cycling, the CTC and the European community amongst others are now involved to reach a definitive result.

Thanks to everyone who has offered words of support and practical help over the last few days. It is great to be part of a thriving and concerned biking community.

No more accompanied rides..

Published by Guy on July 16, 2007 in Biking and General. 3 Comments

EDIT: This is no longer the case - please check out the later post “Accompanied Riding is Back“!

You may or may not know that a guide was arrested last week for guiding without the proper French qualifications. Gareth from Endless ride was charged for this offence and has since been forced to withdraw their accompanied riding services. Gareth is a highly qualified guide, more so than anyone here at Flow or any other company here in Morzine (that I am aware of - we hold the SMBLA Mountain Bike Leader award). Since he was arrested, we also feel that we have no choice but to suspend our accompanied riding services. We will, however, be employing the services of a fully French qualified guide for our guests to use for up to two days of their stay with us. It’s obviously not ideal for us or our guests, but neither is the threat of arrest and possible imprisonment.

I posted the following onto the Singletrack World forum earlier which explains the situation, and endless ride have updated their website with news of the arrest and their take on it - take a look at the “Accompanied Riding Service” section here: http://www.endlessride.com/php/service.php

Here’s my post on STW from this thread.

Thought I’d add something here - being as I run Flowmtb…

The guiding qualifications they need you to have to guide out here are basically hiking qualifications with a bit of VTT tacked on. Basically a higher qualification than the SMBLA in terms of mountain awareness etc, but far less MTB specific. It’s similar to the UK’s Mountain Leader award, but more so.

At flow we hold the SMBLA awards but have always been aware that we can’t legally guide out here according to the French authorities, but perhaps legally according to the EU.

The unfortunate thing is that the SMBLA qualification is not a professional qualification. You don’t need any qualifications in the UK to take people (not kids) out in the hills, you might not get insurance, but you can do what you like. This might be the trump card that the French use to get round the EU law - we’ll have to wait and see.

Since Gareth was arrested we also feel that we can no longer ride with our guests for fear of the same fate. We (along with Endless Ride) have stated on our websites that the accompanied riding services that we offer may be withdrawn if the French force us to do so. This has happened now unfortunately.

However, we are now (and I believe Endless ride are also - but don’t quote me on that..) going to have 1 or 2 days of guiding supplied by a fully French qualified guide for our guests during the early part of their holidays, so that they can get a feel for the place. We will then be doing as much as we can to direct guests to the good stuff or meeting up over the border in Switzerland for some rides over there. Its obviously not ideal and is going to cost us a fair bit of cash to supply the local guides, but there we go. What this arrest has basically done is actually reduced our guests safety on the mountain, and could potentially damage the economy of Morzine as you people decide to ride elsewhere where the guides are accepted.

Hopefully this arrest and subsequent court case will be a catalyst for change and SMBLA qualifications to be recognised, but it’s not going to happen overnight, or even this season.

As far as us Brits setting up in France and delivering holidays to the UK market pissing the French off, I can only say that we are not taking money away from the locals, we are not stealing business, we are adding to the local economy. We pay our taxes here, and our guests spend their money here. There’s no French owned companies (that I know of) that deliver what the likes of us or Endless ride do. The French don’t do these sorts of holidays either as clients or businesses. It’s a British thing. If the Brits weren’t here, there would be far less money in this resort in both summer and winter.

As far as the guiding ‘ban’ goes - it is France wide and has always been, it just depends on the local department for sport to enforce it - unfortunately for us and you lot who visit Morzine, it’s being enforced here.

I’m now in the stupid situation of having to take out old photos of me and my mates when they come and visit, just to prove that I’m not acting as a paid guide!

dirtgirls 2007

Published by Sara on July 15, 2007 in Biking, Dirtgirls and General. 0 Comments

Well the first of the 2007 dirtgirls arrived on Saturday. we had our first day riding today and what a great day it was. French guide Jo took us round lots of great trails in Les Gets, with a few stops on the way for Emily to show us all how to tackle steep sections, drops and corners. It’s so much fun riding with a big group of girls and enjoying some post ride chat. Bex from sheCycles is out taking lots of great photos which we’ll post up later on this week.

Sunshine!

Published by Sara on July 15, 2007 in Biking and General. 0 Comments

Well it’s been sunny since thursday and i’m loving it. It’s great to find dry dusty trails again, enjoy a beer outside Bar Robinsons and not have to spend hours washing my bike. Let’s hope it stays :)

Megavalanche recon’ mission

Published by Guy on July 12, 2007 in Biking, General and Megavalanche. 0 Comments

Just got back from a two day trip to Alpe d’Huez with Emily to check out the trails there before our Megavalanche special… What can I say - they are just as good as always - awesome stuff. There’s more snow up the top than last year, so we’re definately on for a pisted start. I put a big rip in my rear tyre, so a proper DH 2 ply tyre is going on before the week.

We also popped over the valley to Les 2 Alps - some real roller coaster riding over there - they’ve got 26 DH runs! We rode as many as we could fit into an afternoon and they’re all great. A real difference to the rocks and roots of Alpe d’huez as they’re pretty much all dirt - and all super fast with minimal breaking bumps. And… dust - there was dust! no mud (worth speaking about at least) - so nice to be able to put the bikes in the van and drive off without washing.

Can’t wait to get back there in a couple of weeks.