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

[Guest Omega Man]

Joh, this must be heaven......

 

All jokes aside, how do you think a trip like this will be for someone with a hardtail/4inch travel bike (which is by far the majority of people on the hub), obviously you wont do big jumps etc, will it be a waste of time and money?

Um. You'd still have a ridiculously good time but I think there are better places for that type of riding in Europe to be honest. For the PDS to get maximum fun you want a 160mm + bike. There is amazing technical xc riding in the area but that's not the focus at all.

 

Having said that there is some amazing ridge riding. It's a tough one to answer. If you want to cover big miles on jeeptrack then look elsewhere.

 

I'd love to be able to give you more info but that is the extent of my knowledge ITO xc riding in europe. I know there's incredible xc ridng just over the border in Switzerland.

 

You'd still want a dropper on your bike cos it's FAR more technical than here.

 

Where do you ride?

Edited June 3, 2013 by Omega Man

[Guest Omega Man]

 

But still, braking bumps and all, PDS rocks!

 

The braking bumps mean you actually need to use your brakes cos the trails are fast & steep. So I'll take them without complaint. Woooop wooop.

[hyltonenglish]

How fit do you need to be? Are you catching the ski lifts most of the time or riding to the top at all?

[hayleyearth]

How fit do you need to be? Are you catching the ski lifts most of the time or riding to the top at all?

 

I think it is a totally different type of fitness as I think your upper body and hands goes through way more than when doing normal riding.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I think it is a totally different type of fitness as I think your upper body and hands goes through way more than when doing normal riding.

 

Indeed. Also - if you're not breathless at the bottom, you ride like a fairy.

 

I've had sessions where I am literally panting at the bottom of a ride due to the intensity of the descent and how hard it's been going.

 

Having said that, Omega (and I) are about as fit as your average garden variety panda. And Omega could handle it!

[Guest Omega Man]

How fit do you need to be? Are you catching the ski lifts most of the time or riding to the top at all?

 

You use the lift system. There's 24 lifts and you do NOT want to ride up an Alp trust me. You can try to ride up but I guarantee you'll be buying a lift pass by lunch time on the first day.

 

Even the xc guys buy lift passes cos a lot of the xc riding is ridgeline based. Your hands and arms take a beating so some hand strengthening is recommended. Also suspension setup and brake positioning and grip thickness are critical. The fitter you are the better obviously.

 

But it's not critical. what's more critical is a desire to have fun. Lots and lots and lots of fun on your bike.

 

I must admit I'm a bit nervous this year cos I've done precisely zero physical prep work. Last year I spent months working on hand (grip) & arm strength.

 

The first year I couldn't even remotely do a full run. Last year I could but I still suffered a bit. The syndrome people get is commonly called the claw. It feels like someone has been tapping away at your knuckles with a small hammer for hours. It's not arm pump. hit your cnuckles on a desk for an hour. It feels like that. It's a good pain tho.

 

I have a strategy for dealing with it.

 

1. Anti inflams. 1 in the morning and 2 in the evening

2. Protein shakes post ride

3. Post ride arm icing (the water troughs help for this)

4. Beer (This might be a placebo but I'm not going to take the chance)

5. Bike setup (critical) I'm hoping my fox 40 and carbon rims will help alleviate some of the trail buzz.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Omega Man

[patches]

How fit do you need to be? Are you catching the ski lifts most of the time or riding to the top at all?

I think it is a totally different type of fitness as I think your upper body and hands goes through way more than when doing normal riding.

Indeed. Also - if you're not breathless at the bottom, you ride like a fairy.

 

I've had sessions where I am literally panting at the bottom of a ride due to the intensity of the descent and how hard it's been going.

 

Having said that, Omega (and I) are about as fit as your average garden variety panda. And Omega could handle it!

 

@ Hylton...

 

like they said. We didn't go in particularly fit. (Mind you I also didn't train for Sani... not so smart )...

 

Ski lifts all the way! virtually NO ONE rides UP those hills. Even the XCers on their carbon hard tails use ski lifts.

 

There is a bit of "climbing" along the ridge from Zore to Avoriaz (when you want to get to Chatel), but it's doable on a DH bike and moderate fitness.

 

That said... Peach and my bodies took a beating! (and not only cos we both broke bones hahaha)

 

We thought we were goig to ride everyday, all day, for our 13 day pass. After 1 day we were popping back Cataflam and icing out hands in the water troughs. It's a totally different physical strain. I imagine more like riding dirt bikes. (Super_mil will be able to comment better on that).

 

Our first 2 days we went all out (over 70km each day), 3rd day we were shattered, so did a "lazy day" trip to Chatel. Peach was so tired that he figured it was better to crash into a big hole and catch an ambulance back, than ride along the ridge line again

 

But yeah... the more fit you are, the more fun you'll have. But it's not essential. trying to prep your hands, arms and legs for the bumpity-bumpity is more worthwhile.

[Guest Omega Man]

@Hylton.

 

Don't think for one second that using the lifts is a soft option. On a good day you'll do 7-10km of vertical descending. There's 12 mountains (and I mean Alps) with trails on them and most of the descents are multi km trails. For example the Pleney main line is 3.5km long and drops 600m.

 

Last year i took my cat eye along to see how much riding i was doing On the sunny days I was averaging 70km a day and on the day I went to Morgins I did 85km That's 85km on a DH bike.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Omega Man

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

@Hylton.

 

Don't think for one second that using the lifts is a soft option. On a good day you'll do 7-10km of vertical descending. There's 12 mountains (and I mean Alps) with trails on them and most of the descents are multi km trails. For example the Pleney main line is 3.5km long and drops 600m.

 

Last year i took my cat eye along to see how much riding i was doing On the sunny days I was averaging 70km a day and on the day I went to Morgins I did 85km That's 85km on a DH bike.

 

Add to that - the 7 - 10km isn't distance - it's ELEVATION. 7,000 to 10,000 m of elevation change in a day. That's a bucket load.

 

Also why I really really really wanna go myself.

[Guest Omega Man]

Add to that - the 7 - 10km isn't distance - it's ELEVATION. 7,000 to 10,000 m of elevation change in a day. That's a bucket load.

 

Also why I really really really wanna go myself.

Ja vertical. It's an estimate tho. i figure 12 runs a day (conservative) dropping 600m that's 7200m. I'm gonna take some form of GPS device this year and get an actual value.

 

On that. does anyone know if I can run Strava and only update when i have WIFI?

[Guest Omega Man]

Add to that - the 7 - 10km isn't distance - it's ELEVATION. 7,000 to 10,000 m of elevation change in a day. That's a bucket load.

I'm waiting for some hero to say "I earn my turns"

 

Just for the record I earn my turns too. I go to k@k places like Lagos to earn money. I buy a lift pass with the money. Ergo. I earn my turns too.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Omega Man

[Guest Omega Man]

 

[Guest Omega Man]

Super Morzine lift

[Guest Omega Man]

[Guest Omega Man]

Dan and Fabien Barel. Chatel 2012.

[Guest Omega Man]