Anyone ridden Alpe D'Huez MTB park?
Discussion
Morning all,
I'm looking at next year's summer holidays, and wondering if anyone has ridden the MTB Park at Alpe D'Huez?
Specifically, I'm wondering if the green and blue Enduro trails would be suitable for 10 & 13yr old kids on hardtails who are comfortable on the red trails at Swinley & Bedgebury?
I'm looking at next year's summer holidays, and wondering if anyone has ridden the MTB Park at Alpe D'Huez?
Specifically, I'm wondering if the green and blue Enduro trails would be suitable for 10 & 13yr old kids on hardtails who are comfortable on the red trails at Swinley & Bedgebury?
No, but the green & blue downhills over the valley up 2Alpes are fine, great fun. Their enduro trails seemed to have bigger features than the downhill ones for some reason.
There's lots of good natural footpath riding around too. IGN Randos Alpes A5 Belledonne 1:50k ISBN 978-2-84182-318-5
Log cabin campsite with pool at the foot of the road climb & waterfall footpath up to AdH, www.lacascadesarenne.com
http://bike-oisans.com/en/mountain-bike
There's lots of good natural footpath riding around too. IGN Randos Alpes A5 Belledonne 1:50k ISBN 978-2-84182-318-5
Log cabin campsite with pool at the foot of the road climb & waterfall footpath up to AdH, www.lacascadesarenne.com
http://bike-oisans.com/en/mountain-bike
richardxjr said:
No, but the green & blue downhills over the valley up 2Alpes are fine, great fun. Their enduro trails seemed to have bigger features than the downhill ones for some reason.
There's lots of good natural footpath riding around too. IGN Randos Alpes A5 Belledonne 1:50k ISBN 978-2-84182-318-5
Log cabin campsite with pool at the foot of the road climb & waterfall footpath up to AdH, www.lacascadesarenne.com
Ooh! Excellent, thanks. There's lots of good natural footpath riding around too. IGN Randos Alpes A5 Belledonne 1:50k ISBN 978-2-84182-318-5
Log cabin campsite with pool at the foot of the road climb & waterfall footpath up to AdH, www.lacascadesarenne.com
Kermit power said:
Morning all,
I'm looking at next year's summer holidays, and wondering if anyone has ridden the MTB Park at Alpe D'Huez?
Specifically, I'm wondering if the green and blue Enduro trails would be suitable for 10 & 13yr old kids on hardtails who are comfortable on the red trails at Swinley & Bedgebury?
Ignore the UK colour gradings. think more about Alps vs. SE England. It's another step up entirely, if not for tech then for distance/time/speed. I'm looking at next year's summer holidays, and wondering if anyone has ridden the MTB Park at Alpe D'Huez?
Specifically, I'm wondering if the green and blue Enduro trails would be suitable for 10 & 13yr old kids on hardtails who are comfortable on the red trails at Swinley & Bedgebury?
From what I remember of the blue at AdH, it was swoopy, fast and which chicken runs around most things. Braking bumps aplenty (isn't everywhere in the Alps? Although it's not as bad as PdS!) so they'll be rattled about a lot on HTs. Expect a LOT of fast boys on big bikes belting down to AdH for beer...
The single biggest "step up" to Alpine riding from the UK is the NECESSITY to be able to control ones speed.
In the UK, except in a few, isolated places, you don't really need to brake that much. In the Alps, the average trail, even the greens, can have hundreds of meters of vertical height loss, and as a result, it's imperative that riders can properly judge and control their speed.
Plenty of the alpine "greens" are fun, flowing, and without un-avoidable large features, but at all times high speed is just a release of a brake lever away!
In the UK, except in a few, isolated places, you don't really need to brake that much. In the Alps, the average trail, even the greens, can have hundreds of meters of vertical height loss, and as a result, it's imperative that riders can properly judge and control their speed.
Plenty of the alpine "greens" are fun, flowing, and without un-avoidable large features, but at all times high speed is just a release of a brake lever away!
Only time I have ridden in Alpe D'Huez was for the mega so didn't really spend any time on the greens and blues, but as another poster alluded to the grading system is a big step up from anything you will find in the UK (especially Llandegla, the black run there would barely be a blue in the Alps). We rode a red enduro track as a bit of R and R from practising the mega course, but we were shocked at how steep, narrow and technically demanding it was.
Have also ridden there during Mega Avalanche. Not too bad for riding and if you can get to the top of the glacier during normal operating in the summer i more than recommend it.
other than i rode the Qualifying track most of the week and it was more than decent with wide variety of terrain.
Les Duex alpes is just down the road if you have a car.. also worth visiting!
other than i rode the Qualifying track most of the week and it was more than decent with wide variety of terrain.
Les Duex alpes is just down the road if you have a car.. also worth visiting!
Cheers guys. I also posted something similar on Singletrack, and over there pretty much every answer was "Morzine/Les Gets", with a number of people commenting on it being much less rocky than Alpe D'Huez. Interesting how you don't think about the ground surface in a ski resort most of the time! 
Anyway, now looking at accommodation in Morzine...
Anyway, now looking at accommodation in Morzine...
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