Post by Mary on June 11, 2019
The Ride the Alps alpine summer mountain biking season has begun! We’ve kicked-off with Ian and Hamish, a very fit Father and Son from Australia, riding some excellent Alpine Singletrack in our local area. Jamie took them on the classic Tour du Mole where you get the perfect pine needle singletrack all to yourself. They also rode up and over the famous Col de la Joux Plane, dropping into the ever popular trails of Les Gets before cashing in the climbing for the epic singletrack descent back down into Samoens.
As with last year the cols above 2000m are still well-covered with winter snow. In the picture below, taken last week, you can see the Col d’Anterne (2257m) with a good layer of snow. Mont Blanc is the big white peak you can see behind it! Crossing this col is one of our favourite rides in our Alpine Singletrack collection but we’ll have to wait a few weeks before it’s snow-free.
This week sees the start of the point-to-point trips. We have 2 Tour du Mont Blanc trips, 4 day and 5 day itineraries, this week and next. The first col of the tour , the Col de Bonhomme (2479m), is going to be a snowy crossing but the reports from the TMB hikers are that there is a good track over the top that is well-marked. We’re recommending everyone to bring sturdy bike-a-hike shoes and waterproof socks!
It may well be chilly on the top of those cols this year but we have just the right item of clothing to keep your ears warm under your helmet. Just in time for our alpine summer mountain biking season, our special edition, brand new Ride the Alps headbands are here. Hand made in Samoens by the wonderful Asa at Popcorn Vintage. Choose your favourite colour from a range of green, blue, turquoise, grey and orange. Ideal for all sports they look and feel great.
20 euro per headband, one size fits all and if you’re not coming out on a trip this season we can post them direct to your home. The perfect gift for the sportswoman or man in your life. Contact Mary if you’d like to buy one.
We still have a gap in our summer schedule from 26th July-9th August. This is high season so all trips are possible. Please do get in touch if you’d like to ride with us this summer.