During the Muddy@rse trip to Scotland last year it was suggested that the next holiday should be to the French Alps, to give riding in real mountains a try. With most of the usual suspects when it comes to organising such things either taking well desrved breaks, or organising more important things such as a wedding and a honeymoon trip to Whistler, it looks like it'll be up to the rest of us to get things planned... so here goes...

By show of hands, who would like to go?

The holiday will likely be the very end of June/early July, but that does depend on how many people want to go, where they want to ride, and how long they want to stay - all of which I thought it might be best to get into once there is a rough idea of interest

Yes well up for this one :D :D

Not into uplifts and BIG downhills (no cajones sorry) but any other riding is cool, especially all dayers.

Would like to take my road bike too but suspect this is going to lead to much taking of the mickey.

Timing wise the Tour de France starts 2nd July. Worth bearing in mind I guess.

I'll happily take my car I have driven in France many times. If we are not camping it'll fit 3 of us at a push 2 comfortably, or 2 if I take the road bike.

Can't wait well done Jake :D :lol: :P

Jake/Steve,

Hey good for you! Excellent news that you're planning a holiday :D

Do let us know how things go - not sure about our holiday plans for next year but I'll keep an eye on this thread ;)

Just need to make sure there's a creche where we're going :) :D

R

Jake

Unsure what next year has in store for us re holidays,finances etc (universitys,gap years and ,god ,the list goes on!)....so at the moment Ill express an outside interest only...but still a great idea!

I would be looking for a good mixture,bias towards XC /exploring and not just uplifts.....but go with what most people want, as above,I cant commit right now.

Ill look through some old mags( any excuse!) and see what I can come up with, are you thinking of a "package" with a specialist company or a DIY type of thing?

Ball rolling (tick!)

Cheers
Robin

According to the The Uxbridge English Dictionary, a 'creche' is when one resident of Chelsea runs their 4x4 into that of another resident - so you'd better make sure that you don't go riding with people with names like Tarquin or Cordelia.

(This definition hasn't made it onto the web version yet, but was reported on that rather fine Radio 4 entertainment programme I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue)

I was going to put it together as a bit of a DIY affair, then once we are out there people are free to ride whatever they want, whenever they want. There are also guided rides out there that it is possible to join in with even if you arent on a package, which can actually work out cheaper than commiting to a full week of guided rides before heading out

Other dates to consider are the Passportes du Soleil event on the weekend of the 24th/25th/26th June and the Megavalance on the 9th/10th/11th July - would anyone be interested in either of those two events?

The Passportes du Soleil is a more cross country orientated event, in the Morzine/Les Gets area, I've never entered but it looks quite good, and could be a good way to get to know the trails - http://www.passportesdusoleil.com/index.jsp

The Megavalance is a bit more full on downhill, and that is in the Alpe d'Huez area , again I've not entered this one, but I rode the qualifier course last year and it was pretty difficult to get down in one piece - http://www.bikes-oisans.com/alpes-mtb-cycling-events-52.html

Both places offered a wide variety of riding, although I would say that the Portes du Soleil region around Morzine had a lot more simply because it was a much bigger area, which I suppose means there will be more scope for longer all-day exploration rides

To return to the more serious side of the thread, I'm more or less committed next year, so will have to decline the offer.

I do think that it's a wonderful idea though, and would tend to agree with the stumpy one in preferring to opt for the 'long day out, exploring' option, rather than the 'throwing yourself downhill in a reckless manner' option (Especially as I have a bit more 'Gravity assist' than most people).

Might be an option for 2012, if the 2011 expedition turns out to be a success - in which case I have about 18 months to become less assisted.

Excellent! :)

Looking forward to seeing how this develops

R

Hmm think it's the first time I've been on the events & trips section and just stumbled across this. Sounds like a great idea, something that definately interests me. I've done a couple of trips, package style both times. Went with Crystal first time and Alpine Elements second. A DIY job could be better though, let me know what you find

Gravity calling, could be tempted,depends on buttering up Mrs Ming

Think I'm overbooked on holidays for the summer this year :(

Been to Morzine/Les Gets a few times and definatley recommended. While the DH tracks can be a bit insane there are a few that are all rollable and very much a nice flowy experience. The "Les Gets 1" DH track is certainly worth doing and if you love that try a few others. Massive amount of XC to be explored! It's just a case of lift up....follow trail down to next lift etc. etc.

If a repeat 2012 trip occurs I am so in!

In case it helps with the planning, Alpine elements seem to have some good deals.

To move things along a little with the trip planning I'm going to set some dates & locations


Dates - Saturday June 25th to Saturday July 2nd

Location - Morzine

Cost - £500-700 roughly


For now I don't need any definite commitment, but I will set a date of Saturday April 2nd for a final commitment, at which point I'll book a chalet for how ever many people are coming along and start taking payments

So, get booking the time off work - the riding in the Alps is amazing! B)

Since there doesnt seem to be much interest in a trip this year, perhaps postponing until next year would be better

For anyone who was unsure about going, there really is something for all levels of ability out there, so perhaps have a think about going next year because it really is an amazing place to ride

Plus, you know, you cant be a mountain biker without having ridden down an actual mountain! :P