Any tips on mountain biking in the Pyrenees / southern France (places to go / accommodation)?
travelling with own car and own bikes, looking for intermediate level off road stuff, any tips
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Tagged with: bikes • intermediate level • own car
Filed under: mountain biking
As far as accommodation goes: The answer is simple: Vacaiton home rentals are perfect for you!!
If you have a car, you’re bringing bikes, and you want to explore the countryside, you obviously don’t want to be stuck in a hotel in a city somewhere. Vacation homes are cheaper than hotels, you have more space, free parking, place to safely keep your bikes, and in many places you can start biking right from your front door. T
here are 100s of vacation homes in Southern France and the Pyrenees on this web site:
http://www.traversia.com
Contact the French Tourist information office. They will provide you with a detailed map showing the long distance tracks, plus details of accomodation en route (including emergency shelters). It also shows the most spectacular viewpoints plus places of interest close to the routes.
We go to the area near Gap in the Alps (sorry not Pyrenees). There are very few British and it is a very outdoor sports type area. A couple of years ago the World Mountain Bike Championships (or something like that) were held there at a ski resort called "Les Orres". People take their bikes up the mountain on a ski lift and ride back down – they wear body armour and it looks pretty hairy stuff to me though!!!
It is a very beautiful area and there are loads of mountain tracks and places by the lake of Serre Poncon (biggest man made lake in Europe I believe).
http://www.serre-poncon.com/
My wife and I stayed at La Haille Gites. The owners are both qualified guides, had lots of time for their guests and took me out on the marked cycle trails through rolling hills, not too technical, but you needed to have a fair level of fitness. The owners also took us to Luchon for some serious downhilling via the cable car lifts. There was a wide variety of skilled circuits to choose for your descent through beautiful views. The legendary Col du Tourmalet was in the same region below the Pic du Midi observatory, all just over an hours drive away. The accommodation was clean, well equipped and informative and hire bikes were also available with secure and lockable storage, bicycle washing facilities and a workshop which included most bicycle tools and essential spares. A great place in the heart of cross country heaven!