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Morzine Mondays/ Les Gets Lundis continued into August - shame the nice weather didn't...
...Pretty much the whole of August was a wash out. Luckily we found out about some trails at the head of the Chatel valley that were standing up to the weather fairly well. Marcus, Karl and Wayne are actually one valley over from where we'd ridden most of the day - just about to hit the "French National" downhill - a fairly technical run especially given the wet conditions. |
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Wayne in an early berm section. There is a real art to riding berms - when it clicks its a fantastic feeling - unfortunately I rarely get it, but I'm improving all the time - next year...
We were fairly battered by the time we reached the end of the run - my finger is still swollen a month on from a brief but painful encounter with a rock. The bikes had taken a pounding too and Wayne opted to drive back round to Morzine and a spare part hunt while waiting for us to cycle back.
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Rough translation - "Don't take your bikes down here, Idiots." (Because if you do, Wayne will have more than enough time to fix his bike...) |
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Get bored of saying it - the camera never does justice to slopes and general dodgy areas! We managed to ride on past the sign for a couple of hundred metres and then it was on foot, well backside, the rest of the way. Karl debates whether its worth riding a short section - looks innocuous enough, eh? Don't get me started. |
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Nightmarish down hill scrambles all forgotten and it was back to Morzine the following week. Yey, Its me. The Pleney downhill is a fantastic mix of fast sections, technical rooty areas and this piece of ridiculousness. |
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"I want my Mum". It was Karl's idea to ignore the sign the previous week - muttering something about the locals hoarding secret magic trails, hmm - Karma in action? You often get a choice of lines and while Wayne and I headed into the steep, slick and rutted section, Karl opted for a steep straight line into a huge berm. Unfortunately the line had deteriorated badly since Karl had last hit it - fortunately he only winded himself. |
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With August, bad weather and the crowds gone we decided to head through the Montblanc Tunnel and see what Italy had to offer. We'd heard plenty about Pila, a ski area sitting above Aosta. The station is really pushing mountain biking - hosting a world cup down hill last summer. For the moment the pace of trail development seems to be well ahead of usage. We've had a couple of fantastic days on really quiet trails - the eight kilometre ride down from the main area back to the car park in Aosta is an epic. |
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Great to be riding back in the sunshine. Posing with Monte Bianco in the background. |
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Its taken all summer, but finally I'm starting to attack the trails occasionally - there's a long way to go - but the odd air keeps me happy - all two foot of it! |
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We've also spent plenty of time up at Le Tour - where Chamonix's one and only down hill course is to be found. Wayne and Steve put in a bit of trail maintenance. The course has potential - but that's the best that can be said of it, well, and its local.
God forbid that a mountain town should be at the cutting edge of mountain sports - there is huge potential at Le Tour for trail development. Maybe the Compagnie de Montblanc will see that one day - Ha, who am I kidding... |
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Five minutes of effort worth while - Steve looking pretty tidy. |
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Hopefully I'll be getting a bit bigger than this next summer. Or I'll find someone who can take a flattering photo! |
