So I took the bike out for the first time this year yesterday.  Sara was off to Annecy to sell some Mulebars, the sun was shining, it was reasonably warm (well, 8 or 9 degrees) so I decided to join her and take the (shhh) road bike out.It was the ideal first ride out - fairly flat, quiet, sunshine and so on. A lap of the lake is just under 40k. Perfect.So I set off from Annecy and rode around the lake. Got back to town in time to meet Sara for a Coffee & galette for lunch in the sun. Next to the canal. No hoards of tourists like the summer. Hard life eh!?Then came the not so great ride - I decided to ride to Bonneville to meet up with Sara after her afternoon meetings. On paper it’s a fairly straight forward ride. Adding 34k on to the morning ride, only a small col to climb over (Col d’Eviris 811m) - so barely 400m of climbing.  However, somewhat naievely, I did not expect it to be such a busy road: Trucks and cars forcing me over to the rough side of the road; cars travelling at 60-80mph, overtaking etc etc. Not much fun. To make it even less good was the fact that under the fast retreating snow there was just dank brown fields surrounding run down villages. Not a road I’d recommend to anyone.I can now see why the roadies go for the harder option of climbing over the Colombiere. Sadly not an option until June :(And even better - if I’d have looked at a map a bit closer - the Petit Bornand pass isn’t much higher than the Eviris and would have been a whole lot nicer.Next time…
Archive for February, 2009
You can now enter the Pass’portes du Soleil MTB 2009 on line. This is a great mountain bike event with lift access, refreshment points and a fantastci atmosphere. the main exhibition is in Morzine this year, so definitely something to build into your mountain bike holiday this summer.
This years event looks set to be better than ever with even more people taking part. Enrol here.
Check out the page on SingletrackWorld about the Reader Holiday 2009 with flowmtb. This year’s reader holiday will be in the mountain bike mecca of Morzine staying with flowmtb and testing lots of top bits of kit.
Get in touch with us to reserve your place on this truly unique mountain bike holiday.
A couple of summers ago writer Jess Eveleigh came over for a couple of nights during one of our dirtgirls weeks. She was just starting to write The Girl’s Guide to Action Sports and wanted to speak to female bikers and find out more about dirtgirls and girlie biking things. She was great fun to have around and a really inspiring person to meet. Her book’s hitting stores at the beginning of March. Pre-order on amazon.co.uk or get to your local book store asap to get hold of it. I have no doubt it’ll be a great read, but if you want to find out more blurb is below…..
The Girl’s Guide to Action Sports
Everything you need to get started in style!
By Jessica Eveleigh
The Girl’s Guide to Action Sports introduces women to five leading action sports: adventure racing, mountain biking, climbing, snowboard and surfing. Not only does it show you how to enjoy these sports, it also highlights the fitness, body shape and confidence benefits.
The women’s action sports market is rapidly growing, and this is the first title aimed exclusively at women, particularly those new to the world of action sports.
The book has a magazine feel featuring a beautiful design, decorative colour illustrations and lots of boxed text and features. It covers specific areas including:
• Everything you need to know to get started
• Mind, body and soul benefits
• Step-by-step guides to gear, training and techniques
• Where to travel to take your sport further
• How to survive your first competition
A&C Balc * £14.99 * Paperback * ISBN 9780713689426
www.acblack.com
During the winters here we often get a bit down ‘cos we miss riding our bikes. this winter we’re doing something about it. We rode in Scotland in January (and more trips planned soon) and I decided to try lots more snow sports.
On sunday morning I headed to Praz de Lys with two friends to try cross country skiing. We managed to pick the first cloudy/snowy day after a straight week of sunshine, but still had lots of fun.
Check out page 83 of issue 47 of Singletrack to see details of the Singletrack Reader Holiday 2009 with flowmtb. This is THE Morzine mountain bike holiday to go on in 2009.
Test bikes and kit, go on guided rides, take part in a photoshoot, and eat and drink to your hearts content every evening.
