 Poster: A snowHead
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Barely had any walker-cyclist interaction in the Alps. Only one group of walkers that decided that it was more enjoyable to walk up a marked cycle trail that has a clear sign saying no walkers, rather than the marked walking trail that ran parallel about 20 metres away.
Most people just get along fine. Some people are just stupid.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You just get some crazies on both sides that spoil it for everyone. I've had hassle maybe 2 or 3 times in nearly 10 years of guiding bike trips in the Alps.
Rode in Tignes more often than usual last year and got much more grief as it's a lot busier. Started wearing my MCF (bike equivalent of ESF!) jersey and saw a huge change, from "You can't ride bikes here!" to "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you could ride bikes here."
(n.b. I'm a fully French-legit bike guide and I don't ride places I shouldn't! It doesn't help that Tignes sometimes directs walkers and bikers down the same trail, but doesn't indicate this on the maps, although there are sometimes signs).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There are quite a few shared paths in my area, though gradually there are more segregated paths for bikes. Trouble is, the "shared path" signs tend to be at the top - useful for cyclists descending, but not so helpful for pedestrians walking up!
It's good to see the MCF place in the village - the biking has been growing very noticeably year on year. I particularly like to see girls mountain biking, and family groups, as it does seem a bit macho. I was in Deux Alpes (skiing) when one of the big MTB jamborees was on and the testosterone was palpable.
My son and daughter in law, and 3 kids, are borrowing my apartment in early August and hope to do some mountain biking, on the easier trails. I suspect there's a high potential demand for easier rides which families can do together and it would be good to see provision expanding. Some of the red and black trails look desperately intimidating - as do the Ninja warriors in their armour, riding down them. Me, I content myself with hiring a bike and riding round Lake Annecy!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@pam w,
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| On narrow tracks winding round rocks and trees and on quite a steep gradient it is sometimes difficult walking down, let alone cycling, even with poles. |
I never ride with poles. That's the kind of thing that makes other bikers think you don't know diddly about biking.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Steilhang,  that'll teach me to get my subordinate clauses in a sub-optimal order....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have MTB'ed in Poland, but never with Poles.
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@pam w, I've done a little bit of riding around Les Saisies. In terms of marked trails, I've done the reds/blacks from Col de Pré down to Beaufort and from the top of Les Saisies all the way to Albertville (Dev'Albertville?). They're long trails with a lot of variation but there are some properly challenging sections - I wouldn't recommend any of those to anyone who "hopes to do some mountain biking" (not being disparaging here - anyone inexperienced riding those trails blindly is likely to either have a really bad time or get hurt - maybe both). It's a lot rootier/slippier around the Beaufortain than one valley over in the Tarentaise. Makes it "interesting" when it's damp.
I'm for the most part very anti "built" bike trails (in the Alps at least). There are so many trails out there that I don't really see the need and I fear it leads to ghetto-isation of mountain biking. To be honest, the French are really bad at trail-building for the most part too, which doesn't help - I'd love to take a bunch of them to see the man-made trails in Scotland or Wales. The issue for beginners is that there's very little in the way of progression between riding wide fire-road / landrover track type trails and riding technical singletrack. One is very easy, one is really quite hard even at the easy end and there's not much in between. That's where the better man-made trails can fill a gap. But please, please, please nobody out there start thinking all that crudely-bermed stuff is mountain biking. Would be like thinking fun but poorly-groomed blues were all there is to skiing...
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| andy wrote: |
| Have MTB'ed in Poland, but never with Poles. |
I've mountain biked with Poles, but never in Poland. In Thetford and Woburn.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
I never ride with poles.
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We've had a go at this with ski poles. We stopped before someone lost an eye.
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@stevomcd, interesting comments, thanks. I'm sure there's no way my son and family would embark on the trails you mention! Would it be useful, do you think, for them to get one of the MCF instructors to spend a couple of hours with them as a family, giving some tips? There is a long and very easy trail up (essentially a road, and driveable for the most part once the snow's gone, though forbidden to vehicles except farmers in summer) from Les Saisies (or using the Legette lift) to the Col de Very - and my friend tells me it's easy from there to Megeve - that's the kind of thing which might appeal. I've cross country skied and often walked along that track, which has stupendous views.
There's a walk I often do in summer, very easy, round the Legette, more or less on the contour, which crosses (steep) mountain bike paths descending. They have built wooden bridges to take the bikes over the walkers path, which seems a good idea to me.
Resorts are obviously trying to attract mountain bikers and I guess a certain amount of "grooming" the mountainsides is inevitable, just as ski pistes are shaped and de-forested. If resorts are going to take bikers up on lifts they have to think about how they are going to get down, I suppose. Fortunately much of the Beaufortain lies well beyond the range of any bikers or walkers not willing to get up the hills under their own steam!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just back from Morzine and had a brilliant holiday. Done loads of activities for the first time, canyoning, parapenting and the Fantasticable to name a few. The mountain biking was great fun if a little bit intimidating at first but the more we done the better it got. One of our best summer holidays and it was great to see the areas in Avoriaz that we had skied on a previous holiday
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| hammerite wrote: |
| andy wrote: |
| Have MTB'ed in Poland, but never with Poles. |
I've mountain biked with Poles, but never in Poland. In Thetford and Woburn. |
I've walked with poles. But never with Poles.
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So we have spent our first summer in the Alps. We based ourselves in between Thonon and Evian on Lake Geneva and spent some amazing days in the mountains but also had some great days on the beach on the lake and also a bit of culture when we went to the exhibition in Evian on the Route Des Alpes. Tons of ski posters from way back and photographs. Morzine was an amazing day, what a buzzing place! Spent some really tranquil days in Thollon Les Memises and Bernex too. 16 weeks tomorrow and we're heading back to Thollon for Christmas as we fell in love with the place.
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