Post by Mary on July 1, 2020
Europe is open for tourism and the French Alps are open for mountain biking! The Ride the Alps 2020 summer season is up and running and we’re ready to welcome you to ride our trails. We are fully prepared to operate safely in accordance with all of the Covid-19 prevention measures as are all the shops, restaurants, cafes and lift operators here in France. Mountain biking is a naturally socially-distanced sport so it’s easy to keep to the 1 metre rule out on the trails. We can provide you with hand sanitizer and your own re-usable face mask for use in cafes, restaurants and shops during your stay. We have been out of lockdown for several weeks now in France and the virus transmission rates have remained very low. Jamie and I feel very safe out and about on our bikes and in shops and restaurants and we think you will too. Most importantly Jamie has a new Selwyn handmade mountain bike to ride and he needs some company out on those trails 😉
As of today Europe has opened up its borders to many countries around the world including those where most of our guests travel from: the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The quarantine imposed between France and the UK is about to be lifted and airlines are operating again. Unfortunately our friends from the US and Brazil have had to postpone until 2021 but we look forward to riding with them then. If you’re happy to travel we’d be very happy to ride with you.
Because some of our guests have postponed their trips to 2021 due to the previous uncertainty regarding international travel we have several weeks of availability this summer season in July, August and September. We are only taking bookings from private groups. If you want to limit your contact with others then our centre-based trips like our Alpine Singletrack and Alpine Enduro trips will be the most suitable as you are not moving on to a different place every day. For our Alpine Singletrack trips we can book you into self-contained apartment or chalet accommodation for your exclusive use on a catered, B&B or self-catering basis. Our house and apartment are available for some weeks of the summer and there are other choices available.
We have the accommodation for a Tour du Mont Blanc trip pre-booked for 6th-12th September for a group of up to 8 people. The riders who were going to ride this Tour on these dates decided to cancel their trip. We haven’t yet cancelled the accommodation bookings as we thought we might get another group interested in the dates. It’s a classic route and the perfect time of year to ride it. This is a great opportunity to ride the TMB as dates and accommodation get booked-up well in advance every season and it can be hard to find available slots. The trails and accommodation should be much quieter than usual this year too.
We will be as flexible as we can regarding the booking process for all of our trips. You can book as last minute as you like and choose any arrival and departure days within the available period. For our centre-based trips you can choose the length of your stay. Email Mary if you’re interested in riding with us this summer.
If you have access to Netflix check out the film “Magnetic” that features our local area. Some of the biking scenes are set in the Haute Giffre valley where we live and from where run our Alpine Singletrack trips. Hopefully it will whet your appetite for the Ride the Alps 2020 season ahead.
We hope to see you out here this summer!