Day Off

Still fairly hurty today so I took a walk up Pleney to get some snaps and videos. Unfortunately there was hardly anyone on track though! Instead, I've taken a few photos of a couple of 'features' one might happen upon on the Pleney mainline. So here's a bit of a photo reel...

Some line choice in places, flat run or huck over the roots!

One of the many rough berms near the bottom

You'll find many of these. At the moment they're not too bad, and maintenance is being done to dig out the worst ones

This place usually looks more like a cattle market (but with bikers, not cows) as everyone takes a pause here at the junction between black and green. Both lines are equally fun!

No braking bumps here!

Although labelled as green, this section can take some skills. Line choice and roots, with a huck over the roots at the end if you're feeling up to it.

Diving into the last section through the trees. After the little drainage ditch there's a big G-out which can boot you a long way. Alternatively there is a tight hip on the right.

A few roots and some flow through these corners, before the last section then out into the open!

These corners are where I binned it. Stupid!

I questioned whether this was a good idea for 2 and a bit Euros. But it turned out they were bloody tasty!

Pain (not the bread kind)

Had a big crash in a stupid place today. The last few corners before the bridge at the bottom of Pleney, really rough, really rocky and really fast. Something just slung me off. Bit cut up, bit bashed up, but hopefully will be back on it in a day or two.

Interestingly I've seen a good start to track maintenance in both Morzine and Les Gets. When I say a good start, I mean, they are doing some. In the bike park in Les Gets they were digging out some braking bumps on the entrances to corners, and on Pleney main line, some of the biggest holes had been removed, which really helped after all the wet weather. It's unlikely it will stay like that for long, but hopefully track maintenance will continue. I also hear reports of lots of new tracks and jumps over at Chatel bike park, I will get over there with a camera as soon as possible.

For now though, here's a couple of snaps from the sunshine...

Fine Weather at Last!

 I woke today to clear skies - at last! I went up early to get some photos, there's quite a lot of snow around so it was worthwhile. The trails were still really wet, sloppy mud now though. This of course means the onslaught of braking bumps have begun to appear. They were also tidying up the edges of the tracks with a strimmer - wet grass cuttings make for an interesting piece of detritus to get on your goggles. The runs are probably drier by now, and tomorrow with the nice weather set to continue, I plan to ride a lot more. For now though, the chalet needs preparing as guests will be arriving at the weekend!

Rain and More Rain

So it's been almost non-stop rain and thunder storms for a few days now. Not so much fun. I did go out for a few runs yesterday, it was thoroughly horrid! So wet, and so muddy. Pleney itself was fairly grippy though, being fairly open any mud had been washed away. A couple of the lines through the trees were a little slippy on the roots though. 10% was closed (as I think technically the rest of the track was...), possibly to avoid the house-sized braking bumps from forming?

There's also quite a lot of fresh snow on Ressachaux and Nyon, not low enough to affect any riding but goes to show how cold and miserable the weather is right now! The forecast from tomorrow though is for sunshine, so I'll be back out on the bike then! First guests are in on Saturday too, by which time Les Gets will also be open. Bring it on!

Lifts are open!

Les Gets lifts were open this weekend, and Pleney is now open for the season, so riding is under way! We rode a few lines in Les Gets, hit some nice gaps in the 'bikepark' and spent a bit of time on Chavannes side. The small jump area before the 4X has had an overhaul and for once has a nice string of tabletops. There are also a couple of new bits on the Pleney main run, some new corners and a new fly-off onto the piste. Is it any better? Well.....

Also, I have a new banner at the top, how exciting? This one is just temporary until I can get a suitable photo from this year!

Super M digging

So here is something for the forum powered rumour mill. Is that a dual slalom track on Super Morzine? Could be eh? And there's a big old hip/jump/sender now up there. The top bit of the track could be a bit wet, the rest so far is looking good. Just watch out for the ants nest and electric fence!

No lifts yet

 

So with no lifts open until the weekend, we've been doing a bit of chalet preparation, and since the rain has subsided, I went for a long walk today. From the top of Lac de Montriond, I went up via the the Cascades d'ardent and the old mines. I was convinced to crawl through right to the back and I'm glad I did, the walls shimmer a metallic bronze colour, I'm presuming copper (as a geologist, is that something I ought to know for sure?).

It was pretty spectacular. I went up past Les Lindarets, there's still a lot of snow up on the mountains up there though I'm sure it won't last long. Hopefully over the next few days we will be doing some digging on the new track under the Super Morzine lift that has been desperately needed for many years!