Tag Archives: enduro

I am just going outside and may be some time // La Grave

Posted on 22nd September 2021
Mountains make me feel better. Usually. Other things make other people feel better. Usually. We're all different.
Mountain Bike riding in La Grave. Turns out it's just as unique and addictive in summer as winter
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Queyras

Posted on 2nd July 2020
If you're going to climb, you might as well do it somewhere picturesque.
A week of mountain biking in "The Cathedral of Flow." Or the Queyras Parc National as it's known on the map.
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Continuous Professional Development

Posted on 10th August 2019
The Tarentaise. Does a good line in ridge trails, thanks to the inside line for showing us them.
Exploring. What else are days off bike guiding for? In this episode; a trip to Beaufortain for VTT enduro uplift fun.
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Le Thuile: Day of the Dead (forearms).*

Posted on 17th July 2017
Yeah, I know the image quality is terrible, but if you wanted a better idea why didn't you go yourself?
Once again, La Thuile knocks it out the park and out my hands at enduro racing. Superenduro Round 3.
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Enduro des Belleville

Posted on 16th August 2016
Nina on stage 3. Have I mentioned it was a really good stage?
Enduro des Belleville 2016, the best enduro race in the world? Mibbies.
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La Thuile EWS, Veni Vidi Perdidi*

Posted on 21st July 2016
Ciao La Thuile, see you soon.

Amongst the many, many things that annoy me (unnessecary repetition, spelling necessary, etc) is the phrase “have a good time all the time”. The idea that you can have only the good and positive with none of the bad. The yin without the yang, the single market without free movement of people…. Life needs a balance to work.

Hence the crackingness of the La Thuile race weekend; the courses, the weather, the friends, the kicking about in the pits in the sun…. all had to be balanced out by a negative, which in my case was arm pump.

I thought … [Read full post]

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Finale Ligure is waiting for you

Posted on 9th May 2016
Lorne back on the Isallo Extasy trail. Always try to end the post on a good shot...

“Finale Ligure is waiting for you” reads the tagline on the trail map. Which does kinda imply the next sentences are “Outside the school gates 4 o’clock. Finale’s gonnay pure batter you.” showing the problem of speaking second languages and context (ever flown from Prestwick airport).

Once again the original purpose of this blog, to give mtb trail information for Chamonix, is getting ignored and we’re off on holiday to Finale Ligure where there’s plenty of sunshine, absolutely no snow and it’s not Chamonix.

We weren’t the only ones, ascension weekend holiday meant a 90mins queue to get through the … [Read full post]

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Hallowed ground

Posted on 10th October 2014
Sandy heading for the sea.

Every game has its Mecca. A site that unless you visit you can’t call your self a true believer. For Elvis fans it’s Graceland, gamblers have Las Vegas, alpinists Chamonix, Muslims err Mecca. For #enduroist (or mountain bikers as we were known before the number symbol was misappropriated) it’s Finale

And just like Mecca at hajj, mountain bikers must go Finale for the superenduro/EWS finals.

So we did. And lo, it was good.

The reason to head at EWS finals time (apart from Nina racing in it) is that a bunch of new trails get made and marked out for … [Read full post]

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Coupe du France Enduro series round 5, Valberg

Posted on 10th September 2014
Stage 2 practice. It was pretty much this awesome all the way down.

There’s been a lot of race writeups on here recently, and I will get back to proper riding for the next post, but there was one last race in the Coupe du France so for one last time the Kangoo was laden with bikes and tyres. One last time we headed out through the Gorge du Arly. One last time we drove south with no air-con and one working window. One last time you get the idea.

This last one was Valberg/Guillaumes, star of online hits like Fabien Barel’s this, Yo Barelli’s that and Nico Quere’s other. All of these … [Read full post]

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Coupe du France Enduro series round 4, Samoens

Posted on 3rd September 2014
Coupe du France enduro series 4: Samoens

There are 3 certainties in life; death, taxes and the Samoens round of the Coupe du France being muddy.

But to be honest, on Friday afternoon as the car was getting packed for the short drive over to register and deal with scrutineering, I wasn’t so sure. And a quick track walk to see what the trail conditions were didn’t have me convinced I was going to need my newly purchased second hand wetscreams.

Then it started raining, then pissing it down, then the warm up act ended and the real storm arrived. The certainty memes were safe, it was … [Read full post]

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