biking in Austria vs alps

bluechair84

I'm planning my first ever foreign biking holiday and always assumed Morzine was the defacto destination - but the LBS has suggested Austria as it's cheaper. And cheapness counts for a lot as I can spend more days there potentially...
So, how easy is it to find good technical trails, lifts, get lost then panick? Does anyone recommend it? Any useful webbies as a quick googly has turned up fruitless - I'm browsing as I wait :P

Konalisa120

Myself and the better half went to kItzbuhel last year, Was very cool.

Mccraque

Not wishing to be pedantic but Austrias main mountain range is the alps!?

Nicer people, better service than in France...but just check which resort and the sunmmer uplift on offer. I know that St anton for one is only just getting into biking - whereas I think the french are a little more geared up for it in places.

Deputy Dawg

A quick google for 'mountain biking austria' threw upthis sitenear the top of a long list & it mentions cable cars.

Next door in Bavaria might also be worth looking at.

Dawg

poppit

Konalisa120 wrote:

Myself and the better half went to kItzbuhel last year, Was very cool.

Thats funny, so did we.

Yes, Kitzbuhel is good, you get quite a few old walkers, well set up for cycling though.

Went to Hinterglemm the year before, a bit more variation and if you go over the top of the mountain you can access Leogang's bike park.

Wouldn't go to France personally, too many Frenchies lol, its the same with skiing.

rinkydinkdink

Kitz and KIrchberg are really well set up for MTBing because, like Morzine, they're lower and don't have as long skiing seasons. So there's loads going on.

bluechair84

bikensoul wrote:

A unique, breathtaking network of MTB trails - with all levels of difficulty represented - promises that cross-country fans, soul riders, freeriders and downhill experts will all find precisely what they have been looking for.

I'm one of them, I'm definatly going there now.

Just need to check out lift passes and routes. What did you guys make of the trail networks? What is it like?

poppit

Don't think we found the best trails, easy to get lost and end up on walking trails which are sometimes ok but can be busy with walkers funny enough. Talk to the people in the bike shops, they should be able to give you some advice and get a good map or GPS.

compo

Go for Austria - better beer

bluechair84

Argh I'm bloody lost on this matter. Morzine is a 9 hour drive and Saalbach a 12 hour drive. On a website referring to trails around Morzine, it says the longest are around 4km long...
How do you complete the 75km loop that ties in the ski lifts? Or do I just get there and follow people? I want to make sure I get there and have a crackin time... is there a map of trails I can use to plan rides from??

Fully

These guys in Kitzbuhel could be worth checking out:

http://www.mountainedge.co.uk/index.shtml

bluechair84

cheers fully, I like that the site has a map of routes. That might be a good place to end up! Might have to spend one day on a guided route as I think I'll end up missing the good stuff. Check out the local knowledge when I get there yet. 6 weeks to research.

realnumber 1

How about Lac Blanc in North East France? Think that would be about 5h from the ferry.

http://www.lacblanc-bikepark.com/bike-park/domaine.htm (need to translate it)

I'm going next month and looking forward to it. Apparently the french DH team train there but that could well be BS, but still looks good....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArPl2MDbQd0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viqoNH8aHBY

Fully

Just to add, i went to Austria in 2005, it was my first biking trip abroad. I was staying just outside Kitzbuhel and didn't book any guiding at all. I also hadn't researched the area, and knew nothing about the trails or how they were marked on the ground. I ended up riding aimlessly around fireroads for 2 weeks, finding only a few very good trails....

....This year; i have had maps for a good 6 months with a lot of the trails marked on. I have done a lot of research into the area and have a good mental picture of the shape of the terrain, where the lifts are, and what trails to look out for. I am also having at least 2 days guiding when i get there. With this bit of planning i know i'm going to have an infinitely better time.

Oh, and i'm going to Les Arcs .

Seriously though, Austria is lovely. I just planned my time in Kitzbuhel really badly and i was very unlucky with the weather (It rained for 10 days solid out of 14).

bluechair84

that's my issue really, I'm so used to planning my own routes from a good OS map that the thought of diving into Euro-mountains without one is alien. The Kitsbuhel website you linked to Fully has a rough map of where the red and black routes are but it's less than ideal. Looking closely at it though, the few lifts don't seem to take you up the majority of red and black runs.
I'm tempting Kitsbuhel because i've at least got a map and can start my research from there, but can anyone else suggest a good set of lift serviced runs that will assure me a good first euro-ride, that is a days drive from Calais?
I'm really just getting started but the week off is booked and the van is bought for the trip (see sig )

Fully

The reason that i'm going to Les Arcs is that i know a lot of people who've been, i've not heard a bad word said about it, there is a mix of proper dh runs and apparently some of the best singletrack descents in Europe.

Have a look at TRAIL ADDICTION , these are who i am booking a couple of days guiding with. I have got a weeks accomodation booked for me and my wife for £300.

I'll also PM you shortly.