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 the 'Biking' Category
I hope the only reason you’re reading this blog on Christmas day is because either you got a new computer for Christmas, or you’re not a fan. Either way… we hope you have a good day!
Have a good new year as well - we’ll be riding bikes in the Peaks next week, and then up to sample some Scottish border biking in early January. If you see us out say Hi!
Guy+Sara.
Post a review of flowmtb using our new facebook connect tool
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Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and fun filled New Year,
Sara and Guy
Showing just how popular mountain biking is becoming, 2008 womens World Mountain Bike champion Rachel Atherton overcame some strong opposition to be named BBC Midlands Sportswoman of the Year.
Rachel said: “I was really surprised at winning as it was such tough competition, but delighted and honoured!â€
Rachel who was also nominated for ‘Personality of the year’ alongside brother Gee claimed the award in front of a star studded audience.
She collected her award looking fantastic in a strapless dress - showing you can ride bikes and still be feminine and look amazing!
Thanks to all of you who took part in our survey. We really appreciate all the comments. Your answers on what’s good and what needs improving are now helping to direct the Tourist Office and Lift Company in what they need to concentrate on for next summer.
With over 700 respondents this survey is a reliable source of information on what British bikers think of the riding experience in Morzine and the Portes du Soleil. Almost everyone responding had been to Morzine and we were pleased to see that 90% intend to come back. The lift passes were voted to be very good value by 90% of respondents and the lift service got a great score.
By far the biggest issue to address is trail maintenance, with 350 respondents saying more is needed. Plus just over 100 respondents wanted to see better signage and maps. The Morzine Tourist Office have already employed a bike company to do a study into how to improve signage, management of trails and to commission a new track on the Pleney. This study is being presented to them in December so by the New Year some more decisions should be made. There is also a working group being formed to look at issues to improve mountain biking. We hope to know more in the New Year about the results of this study and what we can expect to see next summer.
Morzine are also working to engage the other Portes du Soleil resorts to work with them to improve signage of the area as a whole. As any one that’s been here before will know, the Portes du Soleil is a huge network of resorts and trails, meaning visitors to one resort can ride and use the lifts in all.
We’ll keep you posted on developments as we hear about them.
Bex Hopkins, who all dirtgirls will know from SheCycles has two films up for an award here
Check out Blackout and Till Jihad Do Us Part and vote for her films.
She seems to be as good at producing films as she is on a bike!
OK, admittedly a bit late, but here it is. This article appeared in Health & Fitness magazine and What Mountain Bike in November 2007
Just back from the bike show and we’ve got plenty to chew over. Met some great people there (hello if you were one of them!). Just a shame we had to be stuck inside over such a lovely weekend.
Oh well - we’ll be making up for it in the coming weeks - take a look at the map below to see where we’re planing on going! It’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks!
We’re just back from a weekend of riding down in sunny Eyne in the Pyrenees. A fantastic time was had by all.
Arriving on friday evening to the sounds of oohs and aahs as we saw the beautiful house, it only got better when food arrived. Once again Francoise looked after us very well! Four courses of home cooked dishes made with local ingredients, plus plenty of wine and we were all off for an early night.
We possibly ate a little too much at breakfast as we all wanted to try (the roughly 20 different varietes) of homemade jam (favourites included elderflower, blackberry and fig), the eggs, cheese, and homemade breakfast cake!
The riding didn’t let us down, fantastic singletrack, vartying between nice and flowy and steep technical descents. Plus of course an enormous picnic lunch shared on the hillside. We ended at some thermal baths to relax our muscles before the train ride home (and second lunch), and short, but fun off-road ride back from the train station to beers in the sun at the local bar!
Two further days of riding and eating and we’re back home tired and wishing we could have stayed a little longer 
Photos and video will be up shortly.
Ryanair are flying to Perpignan airport for free on the weekends that our Perfect Pyrenees trips run this Autumn. The flight back is only 15 quid as well (or just £1 and no tax for the last weekend!).
How bloody good is that!
There’s obviously taxes to deal with and extra fees for bringing your bike etc. But you can’t complain about the initial price.
