www.uppervalleycircuit.com

photo © 2008 Tony Harrison | more info (via: Wylio)Maybe I can first introduce you to some of the circuits in the Pyrenees. One of my favorite routes is in the Mountain biking area “Aude en Pyrénées” which is the largest in the Pyrénées with roughly 870km of marked routes for all levels. There are five green circuits, 15 blue, 18 red and two black ones. Just in case you didn’t know: Blue and Green stands for rural cycling paths and forest routes suitable for beginners or families. For the red and black circuits you need to be an experienced mountain biker because they do have rapid descents and pretty exhausting climbs.

Once a year they even have an annual competition called “Carach Bike”. This MTB XC-competition is held in May and brings together the best riders of the region. It is a difficult race with a challenging course, but remains open to all licensed or not. The course is a 13km-loop which starts from Quillan and proceeds through the forests of Carach. The climb is very demanding and the downhill portion is very fast and technical, as many circuits in the Aude Pyrenees area are. The best among the best have to master the course 3 times (nearly 40 km) and manage it in less than 2 hours!

But back to the routes since you probably don’t want to race – rather than giving you my favorite one which is hard to describe anyways, I will just post a link to a superb map that was posted on the page bikeinaude. Just pick a route you like and explore for yourself. Just remember: black and red are HARD

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