Alpine Break

This circuit was real adventure mountain biking, if you don’t like having to carry your bike then this is not the circuit for you. It starts here at the Chateau and heads up into the Val d’Escreins up past the marble quarry. The initial climb is on 4×4 track and then it changes to singletrack and there is a section that is about 2k long where the height gain is about 300m which is just about too steep to ride (as a general guide I find that 100m per klick is the limit of ride-ability) and we ended up carrying our bikes up a lot of this section. Read the rest of this entry »

This ride has one of the best, if not the best, singletrack descents that I have ever ridden. Starting near St Crepin the first section of climb on road can be avoided by running a two car shuffle.

On arriving at the small hamlet of Moussiere at 1850m we were already in need of some refreshment. Read the rest of this entry »

The ski station of Risoul sits at 1850m on the hillside above Guillestre. It is a great resort to ski in in the winter and they run a few lifts for mountain biking in the summer. Out of season though the 1000m descent from the station to the valley floor is a great ride if you can blag an uplift. Read the rest of this entry »

This little circuit can be done in about an hour so is ideal for an evening blast or it can be linked up with a couple of other rides like the Circuit de Barbein. It has a fairly easy steady climb on 4×4 through a little hamlet and up onto the sides of the Durance valley before dropping down some fantastic singletrack back to the valley floor. Read the rest of this entry »

This circuit starts off down at the hot springs at Plan de Phazy and initially there is a couple of klicks on tarmac before hitting the 4×4 track. This takes you up past La Traverse and Languieu where there are a lot of nice houses dotted around before hitting one of the steepest sections of 4×4 climbing that I have ever done before levelling out at les Quatre Chemins. Read the rest of this entry »

This ride is a full day circuit starting out from the picturesque Chateau Queyras. There is 1900m of climbing on this 35k circuit, and a rewarding 1900m of descending too. It climbs initially up through the Bois du Peyron towards the Sommet Bucher before dropping back down to Molines-en-Quyeras where it crosses the road leading up to Col Agnel. From here it traverses round through the Foret de Fonteloube and then hits a fantastic singletrack descent down switchbacks into Aiguilles, the largest settlement in the Quyeras. This is a perfect spot for a lunch break in the quaint town centre. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a pretty grim and overcast Sunday for a change. Emma, Ollie and I went for a small walk from the car park at the end of the hidden Val d’Escreins up past the Cabane des Chalances to where the path crosses the river up at La Gourre. Read the rest of this entry »