Archive for July 3rd, 2010

Ride to Monthey

Published by Sara on July 3, 2010 in General. 0 Comments

A few of us made it out for a big ride on Wednesday down to Monthey and back. After heading out of the Super Chatel; bubble the ride starts with climbing up to the col before a long descent down to Monthey at just 405m of altitude. The descent is little ridden and offers some amazing technical trails, before coming out in the town of Monthey. While waiting for the train up to Champery we munched on a few sandwiches. There was no question of how to make it back to Morzine. The GR5 around Lac Vert (check out the picture to see how much snow there still is up there!), then the lift up to Avoriaz before heading down gravalanche and the sneaky descent through the woods. We were back in time for a few beers at Bar Robinsons. A perfect day.

All photos are courtesy of Sian Hughes from Endless Ride. Starring top models Sara and Jess from flowmtb!
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World Cup riders choose Morzine

Published by Sara on July 3, 2010 in General. 0 Comments

Fionn Griffiths pulled up to the flowmtb chalet a few days before Pass’Portes in the Norco World Cup team van, along with Emmeline Ragot and Fionn’s mechanic Dougie. They’re with us in Morzine (apart from a quick trio to Alpe d’Huez for the Megavalanche) through to the Champery World Cup in mid July. They’re always lots of fun to have around and this weeks guests have kept themselves busy chasing them round the mountain!

Lots of other World Cup riders seem to be in Morzine at the moment too. Chain Reaction’s vans are all over the place, along with a fair few other teams.

I guess you can’t really beat Morzine and the Portes du Soleil as a DH mountain bike rider’s training ground. Fantastic lift access, loads of trails and decent night life. Plus for those lucky enough to stay at flowmtb, plenty of cake and big dinners each night!

Pass’Portes du Soleil

Published by Sara on July 3, 2010 in General. 0 Comments

A few days before the Pass’Portes du Soleil event and suddenly Morzine is buzzing and full of mountain bikers.

The PassPortes du Soleil is an event which grew out of the old free raid mountain bike event. Going from strength to strength each year, there were 4500 participants this year. The event costs €40 to enter and for that you get your lift pass, a pass to use another day, plus access to all the refreshment stands around the route – lots of local food, as well as fruit, drinks and cake. This year participants also got a few other goodies, including a rucksack!

Each year the event is hosted by one of the 8 villages comprising the Portes du Soleil, this year it was Chatel’s turn although the event village was actually in the little hamlet of Villapeyron at the bottom of the Linga Secteur. There was the usual abundance of stalls from many of the major MTB manufacturers.

The route is 75 km long, taking in the 8 resorts that make up the Portes du Soleil. Most of the flowmtb guests were registered to do it, and most of the team headed out too on the Sunday. It’s a great fun event, well worth doing.

The weather stayed perfect for the weekend and throughout the following week. Bright blue skies, scorching sun, and amazing trails to ride. Can’t be beaten!