Tag Archives: bike ban

How to ride a bike in Chamonix.

Posted on 3rd December 2018
Chamonix. Grand, isn't it.
Your handy, one stop shop for everything you need to know to go mountain bike riding in Chamonix. Lifts, trails, restrictions, beer and bikes.
Posted in Chamonix ride, Trail conditions , tagged ,

All the lifts.

Posted on 17th August 2018
The shot of the day, but where and when is it taken....?
We tried to ride every mountain bike accessible lift on the Chamonix Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass. All 14 of them. Did we succeed? Well you'll need to read to find out won't you.
Posted in Chamonix ride , tagged , , , , , , ,

Milestones

Posted on 21st June 2018
Oban cycles roof drop. In hindsight, the trials bike was a better choice for this...
The bike's 1, the blog's 6, the sun's 4.603 billion and the lifts are open. Mostly. A bunch of words covering most of these issues.
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Unintended consequences/Chamonix Bike Ban

Posted on 12th July 2017
Chamonix's most photogenic corner. No can do in July and August.
Why the Chamonix Bike Ban doesn't really make much difference to summer biking in Chamonix.
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Loriaz v1.5

Posted on 31st May 2015
Lorne doing his best to smooth out the upper trail.

Big fan of the Loriaz ride, fairly easy up, great views, few people and an excellent descent. Hard to fault really.

But it’s easy to get complacent about these things, it’s good to mix it up a bit. What if Neo had chosen the blue pill?

So, after a run in with the SNCF’s grumpiest conductor who wouldn’t let 1/2 the cyclists at Chamonix central onto the train and a little over 60 minutes of climbing Lorne and I stood ready at the Croix de Loriaz ready to eschew the truth of the red pill/normal Loriaz trail and explore the … [Read full post]

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To the ends of the valley

Posted on 9th July 2013
But why be picky when you have trails like this

OK, it can get a bit insular here in Chamonix. The steep valley walls cut off any sight of the outside world and, as long as you’re only paying attention to mountain sports, then everything you want is on your doorstep.  It’s a bit of a change to look out of the valley occasional and be reminded that the outside world exists, but to do it twice in less than a week, madness.

To cut a long intro short, the bike ban’s started, so most natural trails are now out of bounds thanks to Arrête Municipale (n° 124/2004) which prohibits … [Read full post]

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2 shades of grey

Posted on 28th July 2012

There’s a few techniques used locally to deal with the bike ban. You can ignore it, you can give up on the mountain bike, you can stick to the man-made trails and you can go elsewhere. You can also have a look at the Arrete du Maire, try and find a loophole, and hope for the best.

The arrete lists 12 exceptions to the July & August bike ban, most of which are listed in the official Chamonix bike map (which you can also get a paper copy from the tourist info and bike shops around town) but there’s 2 … [Read full post]

Posted in Chamonix ride , tagged ,

Crisortunity….

Posted on 5th July 2012

Pop culture has it that the Chinese have the same word for crisis as opportunity (they don’t, but it makes for an easy intro to the blog if we pretend they do). The idea that a forced change, whilst unwelcome, can be for the better. It’s much the same just now in Chamonix with the start of the July & August bike ban. No one wants to stop riding the trails they enjoy, but it’s good to be made to think outside the box a little and try some new places too. That and the trails are generally that hoaching … [Read full post]

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