www.uppervalleycircuit.com

Biking the Pyrenees with Pyractif

Christophe — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:56:16 +0000

If your next MTB adventure will be in the Pyrenees, one company to go with is Pyractif, a small, friendly company with English language personnel that offers mountain bike tours throughout France. Of course, they can help you with the usual stuff, accommodation, airport transfers or pick up and drop off from the railway station, hiring of bicycles, meals or kitchen facilities to cook for yourself and everything else necessary for a good vacation.

On top of that, however, they also have bike-specific specials like sports nutrition to keep you fit and healthy, picnic lunches and a bike workshop that is fully equipped with the tools you need and countless spare parts like tubes, chains, brake blocks, etc.

And if you are interested, they also provide maps and route planning for daily or weekly tours, guided tours, team cars as support, and minibus transfers to the more distant mountains. They are experienced with eveything related to the logistics of mountainbiking. And they can also take care of the free time with sports massages, free wireless access, laundry and all that stuff.

So do make sure to check them out before making plans for your next trip. They have been recommend by Procycling Magazine and Cycle Sports Magazine, I would say you probably cant go wrong with them.

The Turner 5 Spot

Christophe — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:21:52 +0000

Time to talk about my bike, the The Turner 5 Spot. When I returned from my last trip to the US with this baby in my carry-on (okay, not true), I knew I had made a steal (thank you, Euro). The 5 Spot has been the go to trail bike in the Turner Bikes lineup for those of us who are doing it all. It is a classic all-mountain fully, uphill as easy as a touring bike, downhill almost as potent as an enduro, on the trail as nimble as a Cross Country Fully. Whether for a quick tour around the block, an alpine cross or a technical trail ride – with the Turner I always get the sense that I am on the right bike. And that, I can tell you, is a good feeling. So yes, you have guessed it, I love my bike.

Turner is a name that has been standing for great quality and geometry for quite some time now. But with the improvements on the newer 5 Spot model, chief among them the huge change to the DW-Link suspension design (though I think they included that in all their new models), it got even better. I am always amazed by the incredible efficiency of the suspension and in combination with the chassis integrity and the great handling it really makes for a perfect ride. Whether uphill, downhill, cross-country or road, I have the confidence to conquer almost any terrain with this baby. Plus: Not that I am that insecure, but it sure feels nice to get looks of envy from other riders

Singletrack Safari in the Pyrenees

Christophe — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:00:52 +0000

If you are not familiar with Singletrack Safari you should check it out as soon as you can. Their concept of a highlights-based holiday is exciting and unique: Whereas you normally travel along a given route, have to haul all your luggage and at least half of the rides are not especially memorable, the folks at Singletrack Safari have used their knowledge of biking trails throughout Europe to create packages with a base from which you start out every day, ready to explore the most exciting rides in the area. Since not every trail will be in the neighborhood, they will transport you from that base to your trail and back in a van that looks like B.A. Baracus has escaped the Hollywood dreamworld just to be your driver for the day.

erixxson via Flickr

Recently, Singletrack Safari was able to secure its largest ever sponsorship deal, allowing them to connect the Grandvalira Bike Park and the Vallnord Bike Park, just around the corner from our beloved home turf. Andorra is attempting to rebrand itself Europe’s “hottest new riding destination” and the deal that is supported by Andorra Turisme could be one of the first deals between major bike parks, local tourism authorities and company like Singletrack Safari, who are really the only ones operating in the region so they were almost the logical choice. On their homepage, Martin Hills, director of Singletrack Safari, wrote: “We are incredibly proud to be heading this unique project up – we have loved riding in Andorra for years now, and as soon as we set up the company we knew it had to be one of our destinations. It’s really popular with riders from all over mainland Europe – particularly for DH riding – but most people within the UK have never even heard of it, let alone ridden there. Andorra offers world-class trails, enormous snow-capped mountains, amazing food, really friendly people, fantastic weather, VAT-free prices and – very importantly – a much longer season than you get in The Alps. The weather on this southern side of the Pyrenees mostly comes from neighbouring Spain – which means you can ride in warm, sunny weather pretty much from the end of May until the start of October.”

Anything to add? No. Just have fun!

The Upper Nive Valley Circuit

Christophe — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:50:32 +0000

photo © 2010 TRAILSOURCE.COM | more info (via: Wylio)
Just in case you were wondering what the page name was about: Its my home circuit – the Upper Nive Valley Circuit. Traditionally, experienced guides recommend to ride it in four stages, which is what I would say as well. You will have the time to stop and enjoy the amazing scenery on the way, from the green mountain of the Pyrenees to ancient Roman towers more than two millennia old. Stage One takes you from St. Jean Pied de Port to Koskoleta and covers a little more than 18 Kilometers.

Stage two then takes you from Koskoleta to the Mendilatz hostel, a course of striking beauty that crosses the French-Spanish border. A visit at Mendilatz will be reward enough for a very painful second stage. Check out their homepage for more. The third stage then continues on from the “Albergue” to the Orisson hostel. More than just a course connecting two mountain refuges, it will guide you past the Urkulu summit at 1420m which features some Roman constructions from the time of Augustus. The final and fourth stage takes you back to St. Jean Pied de Port. With the work done, should take the time to enjoy this wonderful mediaeval town which has its roots way back in the eighth or ninth century, possibly even before that.

Of course, this route is not my creation. For more details, images, and precise data on the climbs as well as contact information for the hostels, check out: http://thvn.free.fr/sources/thvn/thvn_etp_gb.php3?etp=00

Biking in Aude en Pyrenees

Christophe — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:12:24 +0000

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