Want to ride your bike in the biggest Mountain Biking area in the world? 2.0

[Guest Omega Man]

You forgot to add that someone towed me into a drop-off at less than optimal speed, which resulted in me running out of front suspension and playing "let's see what body part hits the ground first" on Lower People... About 30square cm of skin and a riding top got left behind.

Tis but a scratch.

[Dan Dob]

To my credit, I think I dislocated my shoulder on Day 2/3 only... and in retrospect I'm pretty glad or else I would have been pressured into doing the crazy **** Rupert and Evan were doing!

 

Gotta say it was an incredible trip and besides not improving on my skills much after my crash, I got all the steep, slippery, rooty stuff that I could dream of. In fact, did anyone else on the trip have riding dreams every night? I know I did and Kevin as well because he sleep talks -one sleepy quote " No man. I just can't find the right line!"

[capediver]

Aw you guys.

 

So a little casualty list of the trip. Off the top of my head.

 

1 dislocated shoulder. Dan. 1 day out. a bit of duct tape and he was back out there. I might have shouted at Evan and Rupert for breaking Dan a bit.

5 stitches in the knee. Goolam. 4 days out. Those G Form things are a no go.

1 torn hamstring. Karl. He still managed a flip on the dodgy leg.

1 Iphone

1 pedal

1 chain All Nic Criticos. He kinda lost his mojo after that.

lots of tires

2 popped forks. Martin and I

1 bent rocker. To be fair Evan's bike performed FAAR beyond it's design brief.

Nic Bizinos broke something on his bike

Dan destroyed a stem

Someone smashed a derailleur

A few credit cards were melted

A patio chair blew onto the fire. This was caused by a sudden gust of wind. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

A few sticky dropper posts.

Some cracked peaks. Mostly from the airbag

 

Tony had to bin quite a lot of footage of the Zore table cos he put the flag on the table upside down. Pretty sure that's treason.

Hey hey! That orientation was for the benefit of the riders....that's MY story and I'm sticking to it!

[Guest Omega Man]

Ok folks. It's time to start thinking about 2015. No it's not too early. We plan to start booking flights and paying accommodation deposits at the end of October. That's only 3 months from now.

 

For 2015 we'll be offering 5. Yes that's right 5 trips to the Portes du Soleil. And in an effort to offer our customers/friends more of what they want we've decided to split the trips up into economy and business class packages. I'll think of a cool name later.

 

The economy package will be based at the same chalet that we stayed at this year. It's what they call seasonaire's accommodation. It's pretty basic with everything you need and none of the stuff you don't need. We'll use the same setup with 2 trip leaders helping you get settled into riding nirvana.

 

The Business Class package will be at a more upscale chalet that is in the heart of the old part of Morzine. It's a brand new chalet and is currently being built for the 2014/2015 ski season. It has an outdoor bar, Sauna, Jacuzzi and is a 3 minute walk from the famous Dixie bar on the main Morzine strip. This will come at a premium.

 

We'll be running 3 Economy and 2 Business class trips. Expect the price differential between the 2 to be around the 6k mark. The ONLY difference between the 2 trips will be the accommodation.

 

Unfortunately we have had to raise the price of the trip due to the Zuma effect but priced in relation to an SA stage race I still think it's a bargain in anyone's money. Returning customers will receive a R1000 discount off of the list price. I'll put out pricing later this week when I've had time to do a final costing

 

So send me a PM if you're interested in a riding experience that will change your view on what good riding is. Forever.

 

Additions

• One of the trips will be a more XC orientated trip which I've approached Dan Dobinson from I-Ride Africa to lead.
  
• We'll be offering a bike boxing and rental service using Evoc bike bags. Numbers will be limited here and there will be an additional cost
  
• Dan has also offered to help out with a skills clinic aimed specifically at Alpine virgins. This will be run by him and is unfortunately only available to Cape Town customers. There is a small cost for the skills clinic but is highly recommended.
  
• The guys on this years trip received a complimentary cap. We'll continue that next year
  
• We are busy having SA-Alpine-Addiction riding shirts made up that we'll be offering to customers
  
• We are dealing with a travel agent that will hopefully be able to negotiate an additional baggage allowance at no extra cost
  
• SA-Alpine-Addiction customers were offered 20% discount on all Evoc goods (I failed here) we're hoping to continue the discounts in 2015
  

The Epic sold out in 35 seconds this year so by the time I get back from fetching a beer from the fridge I expect at least 300 messages in my In box. Aaaaand GO!

Edited August 13, 2014 by Omega Man

[capediver]

6 of the best:

Rain protection:jacket, mudguard, backpack cover

Game in my backpack bladder

661 knee pads..... All day rides without knowing they were there and no movement during 3 lay downs

Ski lifts

Coffee in Switzerland

Mutzig

6 of the worst:

That boot room smell

Queue at the bike wash

The Face crash

Waiting until 9am for the lifts to start

Crash testing my brakes.

Not enough Mutzig!

[Skylark]

Which 661 knees pads are they? The soft ones?

[capediver]

Which 661 knees pads are they? The soft ones?

Rage soft

[Nofearnofun]

COME WITH NEXT YEAR!!!!!

Count me in!

[beanz]

Count me in!

 

I think it will be your kinda place.

[Rat Bloke]

Tres keen pour 2015!

[NicoBoshoff]

So has anyone had their bikes checked since our return?

 

I thought my bike handled the terrain admirably, but my service invoice begs to differ

 

4 Spokes kaput (I think Morgins did that)

BB basically constructed of mud and grease (I know the Les Gets bike wash did that)

Chain and cassette FUBAR (see BB for reference)

Brakepads needed replacement (to be fair my XT pads lasted the whole trip which was a surprise)

Pedals near seizing but saved with a good service.

 

Oh well, good thing is getting my bike in tip-top shape has just amped me for my first post-Morzine ride.

[Nofearnofun]

I think it will be your kinda place.

The Airline video got an itch started so I might just be building something with more travel for next year

[Guest Omega Man]

Count me in!

Email Address, Name, Tel No in a PM please. Merci.

[Guest Omega Man]

Tres keen pour 2015!

Email Address, Name, Tel No in a PM please. Merci.

[Guest Omega Man]

The Airline video got an itch started so I might just be building something with more travel for next year

Erm. Er. that track is HUUUUGE. The video's don't even come close to doing it justice.

[Guest Omega Man]

So has anyone had their bikes checked since our return?

 

I thought my bike handled the terrain admirably, but my service invoice begs to differ

 

4 Spokes kaput (I think Morgins did that)

BB basically constructed of mud and grease (I know the Les Gets bike wash did that)

Chain and cassette FUBAR (see BB for reference)

Brakepads needed replacement (to be fair my XT pads lasted the whole trip which was a surprise)

Pedals near seizing but saved with a good service.

 

Oh well, good thing is getting my bike in tip-top shape has just amped me for my first post-Morzine ride.

My bike is still in the box. Suffering from PMD Big time.