Exploring Mountains – the basics

Riding in the mountains is incredible. It’s also incredibly easy (in theory. Less so in practice…). You get on your bike, you start pedaling and at some point you reach the summit, with or without stops and with or without your legs/arms still working. You’re rewarded with stunning views and, usually, a stunning descent into a fabulous valley.

So how do you get yourself to that start line? There are a number of questions to ask yourself when planning your trip:

1. What do you want to do?

2. Where will you stay?

3. How will you get there?

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In time this site will help you answer all of those questions and turn it into a great riding agenda. For now, here’s some tips to get you on your way!

It’s tough to go wrong in the Alps, but it’s worth considering elevation as well as locality of routes

Riding goals: My top tip? Be ambitious. Pick out the mountains you really want to ride and plan everything around these. If you or your friends struggle with training, or have an injury, there are far worse places to pare back your adventures. You can always shorten routes, stop more, or ride for longer. It’s nearly impossible to decide at the last minute, without preparation, that you’d like to ride up Galibier because you hadn’t realised how (relatively) close it is to Alpe D’Huez.

Home base: Deciding where to stay can be confusing, but there are traps to avoid. Basing yourself at the top of Alpe D’Huez seems like a great idea, until you realise every day ends with a 13.8km suffer-fest just to get home. Look to stay in the valleys, in and around what I’m going to call ‘anchor towns’. These are the places which can offer good value accommodation, food and drink options all year round and open up a huge variety of cycling. This is also an important consideration for your travel logistics. Choosing to stay atop a mountain can add considerable driving time which could affect your ability to fit an extra ride into your agenda.

Travel logistics: Often overlooked, how you travel will have a real impact on the kind of trip you enjoy. Living in Yorkshire I’ve experienced the fun of epic road trips with friends, but typically take the flight and car hire route. Driving is tiring and the less time you spend travelling, the more time you can spend riding. Try to limit driving at either side of flights to less than 2 hours – even if it’s not the cheapest flight. Be aggressive with your flight times (early departure, late returns) and it’s very possible to fit in a kit-test evening ride on arrival and a final morning bash before departure.

Top tip: always pack your helmet, shoes and one set of kit in your carry on luggage. It’s easy to hire a bike if the worst happens to yours. Getting comfortable shoes, helmet and your favourite bibs? Not so much!

So where should you stay? Really, this is completely up to you and there are plenty of options, from small apartments, to chalets, to B&B’s. I recommend starting with anchor towns, which is a concept I’ll come back to. Typically this is the biggest town in its valley and will serve multiple climbing routes, with good access routes. From these anchors, you can branch out to smaller villages to find your preferred accommodation. Some examples below:

1. Le Bourg-D’Oisans : Alpe D’Huez, Col de la Croix de Fer/Glandon, Col d’Ornon, Les Deux Alps

2. Saint Michel-de-Maurienne : Col du Galibier, Col du Telegraphe, Les Lacets du Montvernier

3. Cortina d’Ampezzo : Passo Giau, Passo Tre Croci, Passo Falzarego

Wherever you choose to go and however you choose to get there, it’s absolutely worth putting in the preparation to pick the routes you want to do. The nature of valleys and mountain passes naturally restrict your ability to just follow your nose – your goal should be to turn up ready, ride your bike and have fun!

Happy riding!

#location #accommodation #tripplanning #travel #howtoguide #logistics #holiday #valleys