The Wheel World

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to what i hope will be a guide to riding in Europe. This thread is for people wanting advice and for those who have riden in Europe to share their experiences, good or bad.

We read so much about Whistler and how amazing it is. Ok, the place does rock and the time and money spent developing the trails is mind blowing. That being said, i believe there are equal or even better places to ride in Europe. There's a reason Europe has so many world cup events.

So come on Guy's and Girls's, give us Your best or worst European experiences.

Where did You go?
What was good/bad about the place?.
How did the local riders treat You?
What You would recommend to someone planning a trip there?

There is a world of knowledge out there and i think its about time You shared it.

Luke

OK, since i started this tread i guess i'll share my riding experiences in Europe.

Firstly i moved out to Switzerland from Oz two years ago and was blown away by the size of the mountains here. I lived in Whistler for 5 years and the mountains out this way dwaf anything Whistler has to offer. Last summer i had the pleasure to doing a couple of road trips and riding some Europe's most famous tracks.

Lenzerheide, Switzerland
Ok, I live there so i know the place pretty well. It's pretty well set up for the xc rider with over 900kms of trails and more each year added for GPS touring. I ride DH and it's no problem to do 20km Dh runs here. It's even possible to do 4-5hr dh runs, going from one ski area to the next and using their lifts to get a bit more height. All of the riding is done on hiking trails and fireroads. We are pushing to get a decent track built here, but as yet nothing to write about.  www.bikerheide.ch

Livigno, Italy.
There is a reason it was used for the world chamionships. Unfortunatly the world cup dh track wasnt maintained when i was there but the normal dh track was and it had everything to keep a rider happy. I found it very cheep to ride there. A days lift pass was under 20 euro and general prices weren't to bad from what i remember.Livigno is a little village close to the Swiss boarder and well worth hitting up if You in the area. http://www.livigno.it

Les gets, France.
dh, xc, fr, dj it doesnt matter. Les gets has it all. 1 day there wasnt enough. i didnt even scratch the surface of what possible there. on the mont Chery side is the kona bike park and dh tracks linking it all up. The Chavannes side of the valley has cool dh track that leads into the four cross track. I loved riding there a will head back there this summer for some more runs. Les Gets is about 45min drive from Geneva, Switzerland (closest airport)
http://www.lesgets.com

here a couple of pics to wet Your appetite

[attachment=57]
Bashie on a typical berm in Livigno

[attachment=58]
Looking down at a couple of the bigger jumps in the Livigno track

[attachment=59]
lenzerheide

[attachment=60]
which track? Lenzerheide

Cheers guys and i look forward to hearing about Your european experiences.

Luke

Thanks for the comment matt but thats exactly what i dont want in this thread. If this thread gets full of pointless replys then it will die as people wont read it.

i thank you for spending time hitting the reply button but wheely if you have nothing important to ask or share please restrain yourself.

luke

This is a great thread. Im Stickying it.