Down Hill Riding and the World Cup

Where to go : Fort William
Why : The World Cup Down Hill course is here.

Check it out : http://www.ridefortwilliam.co.uk/

When is the World Cup : June 5 & 6 2010

http://www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk/

You can I ride the World Cup course

Most of the Downhill course is open to the public, although there will be some sections only used for the World Cup.

The course is open for public riding from May 15th. The course then closes at the end of September. (you need the ski lift so when these close down, you are stumped) Oh the course closes over the World Champs week too.

Please check with Nevis Range for accurate opening times.

Telephone: 01397 705825
Website: http://www.nevisrange.co.uk/

The Forestry Commission XC course is part of the extensive Witch's Trail network in the Leanachan Forest. It is also open to the public.

So whats the low down.

We advise, fly into Inverness on sleeeazy jet ( http://www.easyjet.co.uk/) remember to book your bike in if you are taking one. However I suggest you hire there (more later on this). Link your car hire in with your flight booking and drive to Fort William. It is 104 km - easy as.

Exact address of the bike centre at the gondola for your sat nav : Nevis Range, Torlundy, Fort William, PH33 6SW , 0131 555 3820


Hire your bike from OffBeatBikes

Check out this web site with all the details ~ http://www.offbeatbikes.co.uk/


It makes it a lot easier with the car / flights and everything. It is also unlikely you will have the correct downhill bike geared up for this kind of riding. You can also get the gear. This is a must have, you need it all so please hire it !

OffBeatBikes brochures are in the Studio, so grab one !

Prices here - http://www.offbeatbikes.co.uk/hire-pricelist.asp


Hiring an Instructor.

Highly advisable if this is your first time and especially if it is your first time to Fort William on the World Cup track.

You can get group sessions but you need to book ahead. I booked in with James for 1 to 1 session as I arrived on the day and wanted an instructor. The centre is very accommodating and got James in to help and he was great.

I suggest plan ahead and get a group session booked ~ 5 riders would be a nice number.

Details : Check out Alastair MacLennan's website: http://www.mtbrideguide.com/. James will be doing some extra work for him over the summer.


Contact : James Shirley
Mobile no: 07584022481
Email: Jamborghini@msn.com
Rate: £15 + £15/hr

Instructors will go through key skills with you before hand and show you the ropes.

Accommodation.

There is plenty of accommodation. I found this awesome little spot and the land lady Emily was just lovely. I would suggest staying on the far side of Fort William , ie on the road that goes out to the DH track but further out. It makes it easier to get out to the track.

Here is the lovely B&B I stayed at and you can contact Emily. (£25pp – well priced and includes breakfast)

Emily Oliver
East Lodge
Invergloy
PH34 4DY,
Scotland

home 01397-712678
email kandeoliver@aol.com
web :http://www.eastlodgeinvergloy.co.uk/

From East Lodge to the Bike Centre – 11 Miles

All that said, there is a bike only track to ride on up to the gondola and bike centre that runs from the city centre, so you can just ride on up, it is not to far.

Why I mountain bike by Aileen Anderson

Moab, Lake Garda, North Shore: famous mountain bike locations. They have developed a cult-like status amongst mountain bikers and if you have not taken your bike there yet, you should. I’ve ridden all of them and they deserve their reputation. Not just because of the awesome, custom built trails with “sweet flow” but for the experience of being in a place that attracts mountain bikers from around the world and I really like mountain bikers, in fact, I’m yet to meet a really bad one. In these places everything is catered to mountain bikers: restaurants, hotels, tourist offices: bike washes, pasta meals, glossy maps. You can arrive at a restaurant covered in mud and still be welcomed with a knowing smile. These places are the perfect mountain biking locations. But they are not why I mountain bike.

Somewhere in Wales

I’m not saying that you should not go and ride these places, you should. In fact, go and book a flight right now but they are not the reason why I love riding my bike. For me, mountain biking is about those unknown places that you find by chance and wonder why no one else is there. My most memorable rides have been cobbled together with a combination of topo maps, google earth and gut instinct. Yes, you often find yourself hike-a-biking over a pass, cursing the thorny bushes, or worse, riding tar, but sometimes you find a cattle track, an old gravel road, a hiking trail that ends up putting the most custom-built trail centre to shame. These trails won’t be marked “the spider” or “rock and roll” and you won’t find little tea houses selling scones or little red and yellow stickers showing you the way. But you also won’t have to negotiate your way around groups of road riders blocking the single track. Sometimes, you may come across a startled sheep or a terrified hiker but if you are lucky, you will get it all to yourself. Then, as you become more familiar with an area and start to see the topo map in terms or pieces of single track, you can spend hours stringing them together into perfect little circles. A few scouting trips are also important. Now days, whenever I go for a run, I spend most of the time scouting a new area for that little piece of track that may close the circle or checking if that tiny little dotted line on the map is rideable.

Forest outside Geneva, Switzerland

I’ve found these routes on the back end of Signal Hill in Cape Town, in the Jungles of Loas, in the Welsh country side, on the ocean cliffs of Kauai Island, on the fringes of urban Geneva, in the Monduli hills of Tanzania, and in the truly awesome mountains of the Pyrenees. I can’t tell you the names of the places because they don’t have names. They are just a collection of trails spontaneously thrown together over cups of coffee before a ride. I will also say that, like any art, one gets better with practice. So next time you think about going on a mountain biking holiday, drive past the trail centre, purchase a good topo map, lay it out in a place that sells a fine espresso and start planning an adventure.

Kauai Island, Hawaii