Category: MTB

  • First Time Hiking in France: A Short Van Trip Adventure

    First Time Hiking in France: A Short Van Trip Adventure

    We went with our MinionVan for a short but sweet trip to the border of France. It was actually a boys’ trip, but I decided to come along as well. And I’m glad I did!

    Our first lunch stop in France already had beautiful views of larches changing the color of their needles.

    But before we went to France, we had another stop in Pontida, Italy. We went for a short bike ride, where we stumbled upon a funny barbecue in front of the church.

    Anyway, the biking was a bit too cross country for me, but fun enough. The trails we did are called Uccellaia 2 and Guendalina Basso.

    Let’s return to France. It was still raining the first day. We checked out some waterfalls in the area of La Grave. We also visited my favorite French shop, E.Leclerc in Briançon.

    The second day the boys did some canyoning, I hiked up to Lac Lauvitel. Lac means lake in French. Beautiful, easy hike – 10 km, 2 hours up, less than 1.5 hours down, 750 m height difference. This was my first proper hiking in France.

    On the way to the lake:

    The views of the lake:

    The next day we were exploring a different part of Le Parc national des Écrins. I went for a nice walk to Cascade de la Pisse, along the Le Veneon river. I did this while waiting for the boys to return.

    The next day, Rick and I went to Les Deux Alpes, Venosc. Since it was a school holiday in France, we were lucky that the trails and chairlifts were open. Also the ticket was super cheap. There was snow on the top and wet further down. Still worth it!

    The views were magical!

    I was in love with this part of the trail! Photo by Rick.

    For the last day I had my morning coffee with the nicest views.

    After that I went for a stroll around La Grave. It was out of season, the town was very quite. All the locals were looking at me funny. The town is quaint though.

    This was it for our short, but magical French adventure!

  • 4 Days of Thrills: Canyoning and Mountain Biking in Italy

    4 Days of Thrills: Canyoning and Mountain Biking in Italy

    Time for a MinionVan trip. Rick planned for us 2 days of canyoning and 2 days of MTB. After the summer season we were not really fit, honestly. So, we went for 2 days of shuttling with Flow School.

    First day was canyoning day – Prialunga (V3A3IV). We spent 4 hours, car to car. Nice flow, awesome views, beautiful rappels.

    After finishing the canyon, we returned to Pietra Ligure for a gelato and the beach.

    Next day – shuttles! We did Toboga, Kill Bill 1, Madonna della Guardia, Val Nava, La Rete, DH Borgani, Ca Bianca, DH Donne, Briga Destra and Briga Sinistra. In the afternoon I managed to have a small crash, because I was tired. But it was fun.

    Photo by co-rider
    Photo by co-rider
    Photo by co-rider
    Photo by co-rider

    Barbaira (V2A3II) was the canyon of the next day. I liked this one very much! It took us less than 3.5 hours, car to car.

    First we had to walk through an old town to get to the start of the canyon.

    And it started with the most beautiful bridge. I love bridges, so I might be biased.

    Photo by Rick

    Although there was some walking in the canyon, I did not mind. It had beautiful pools and some narrower sections. I only missed some verticalness of the rappels.

    After a nice day out, we returned to Pietra Ligure and enjoyed a nice dinner at Machettö.

    The next day we had the backcountry shuttle day, which I liked a lot more. We did Ca du Campo, Euforia, Super Canaletta, Tobogazzo, Rientro, Roller Coaster into Cacciatore.

    This is how our 4-day trip to Italy finished and we drove home. Bella Italia, grazie!

  • Exploring Cappadocia: Sunrise, Sunset and Stunning Views

    Exploring Cappadocia: Sunrise, Sunset and Stunning Views

    My mother’s wish was to see Cappadocia. After 5 years or so her wish has finally come true. This was our trip. I was very happy to see it too. The formations there are out of this world. We stayed in a hotel in the center of Göreme. Our first sunrise there was magical.

    Photo by mom

    That morning I did so many photos, but still not one photo could describe the real beauty of it.

    Here is another video from when the balloons were still warming up.

    This video was made a bit later, when most of the balloons were in the air. There were probably more than 150 balloons up there.

    It was magical. We were also lucky, because the next 2 mornings the balloons were not going due to the strong wind.

    The rest of the day we took it easy around Göreme.

    Because later I had my sunset MTB tour around Rose Valley. Although the trails were not the greatest, the landscape and the views made up for it. Well, the Red Bull part of it was fun. Another magical moment! We started around four or five and it was still very hot to pedal.

    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide

    Of course I had a rental bike, I did not want to pack up my bike for only 1 ride. It was alright, but I sure missed my Switchy. The tour was nice, I’ve seen a lot and the guide stopped in some interesting historical spots as well.

    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide
    Photo by tour guide

    After a long day, I really wanted to try Turkish Ravioli. Where better to try them than at Turkish Ravioli Restaurant? Besides ravioli we ordered peravu and bulghurball. When ordering ravioli, be mindful that they do not serve it hot, but medium temperature. Bulghurball is made of bulghur wheat and filled with meat and walnut, great as hot appetizer.

    The next day we went on the “Green Tour”. It stops at Kaymakli Underground City, Selime Monastery, Ihlara Valley and Pigeon Valley. Unfortunately it does not avoid the crowds, but if you have only a few days there, it is practical.

    The next day we went on the “Red Tour.” We visited Zelve Open Air Museum, Pasabag (Monks Valley) and Uchisar Castle. These were the better stops. We also saw Devrent Valley (Imagination Valley), Avanos (pottery) and Love Valley.

    Besides the amazing landscape, we also enjoyed some nice Turkish food these days. Besides the kebab & Turkish ravioli the first night, I had them again at a different restaurant.

    Çokertme kebab
    Chef’s greeting
    Kofte
    Testi kebab
    Aside (dessert)
    Ambience at Topdeck Cave Restaurant
    Turkish ravioli at Kilim Cave restaurant
    Kayisi tatlisi kaymakli (apricots poached in syrup with walnuts and cream)

    Lovely experience I got to share with my mom.

  • Adventure-Filled Birthday: MTB, Diving and Canyoning

    Adventure-Filled Birthday: MTB, Diving and Canyoning

    Celebrating my birthday this year was very fun. On Sunday we went on pre-birthday MTB ride at Monte Jouf.

    We did a 2 hour ride (moving time).

    Uphill on the road.

    This was the most fun trail – Puerto escondido, which I got to do twice, thanks to shuttle bunny Rick.

    Photos by Rick

    We have also done Barbarossa, Kraken and DH Jouf II parte, with which we have started our ride. Fun trails, Barbarossa was my least favorite though.

    Photo by Rick

    The next day, my birthday, we went diving to Y40. Because my wish was to dive on my birthday, not ski as earlier years. I use my iPhone underwater with the housing Divevolk.

    Underwater photos are very blue-toned, so to have more “realistic” colors, I use Dive+ app, which restores colors. Look at some before and after photos. Photos made of me were made by Rick and I edited them.

    The utmost depth of Y40 is 40 m. Well, if you lie on the floor, it’s actually 41 m. Very cool place to practice your diving skills.

    Next day we went canyoning to Torrente Favarinis. A short 40 min walk to the entrance and more than 2 hours canyoning tour. It took us more than described, because I was downclimbing and walking slower than otherwise. I broke my record. I did a 50 m rappel by myself. It was the last out of 7 waterfalls of the canyon.

    Photo by Rick
    Photo by Rick

    When you finish you are practically by the car, which is my favorite ending a canyoning tour.

    What fun ways to celebrate my birthday!

  • Discover Chiang Mai: Ultimate Mountain Biking Experience

    Discover Chiang Mai: Ultimate Mountain Biking Experience

    Mountain biking in Thailand? Yes! Chiang Mai – a very different experience than anything else.

    Good and cheap food, many temples, hungry stray dogs, wild boars and some crazy trails. Also, nice and cheap massage!

    This was the first days of riding. We shuttled in a tuk-tuk! The trails ended at a temple. We’ve found some nice views too before going down.

    This was one of our first lunches after MTB – Anchan Noodles. We loved their noodles so much, we went there a few more times. It was slightly more expensive than your average Thai place, but still much cheaper than European restaurants. The owner gifted us dried anchan flowers for tea. They use this flower as food coloring, also for their noodles. I decided to get an anchan tattoo. Anchan is known as butterfly pea flower, which in many different cultures has significant meanings. “The Butterfly Pea flower is ruled by the planet Venus. It is connected to the element of water. These associations give it the attributes of love, emotion, serenity, and protection. In India, this flower is named after Hindu goddess, Aparajita, meaning one who can’t be conquered or defeated.”

    I have also visited probably one of the most ethical elephant sanctuaries Elephant Dream Project. There is no riding and no touching. The elephants are free to walk around. The sanctuary is trying to motivate others to start the same eco-tourism and keep the elephants in their natural habitat.

    Photo by Dee
    Photo by Dee

    One day of our 3-weeks-holiday we went on a Thai cooking class. We cooked and ate the whole day, it was fun! We got to see their garden as well.

    We visited street food markets quite often.

    And some more MTB adventure and other sight seeing (with a scooter).

    Photo by Rick
    Photo by Rick
    Photo by Rick
    Photo by Rick

    An adventure, which I will remember for sure.