Strade del Sole: 3 road trip regions for the winter
Where it is often too hot for biking in summer, the roads are congested, the restaurants are overcrowded and the shuttles are fully booked, you can now travel freely in the winter months. Even the tourist attractions in Florence can now be visited at your leisure. These are the regions that are particularly worth a visit:
Finale Ligure
There are bikers who only ride to Finale in winter - because the classic trails are simply too crowded for them the rest of the year. But now you can sleep in, wait until the sun has warmed up the mountain flanks and still enjoy the trails to yourself later on. However, in winter the trail crews are also busy with maintenance work or hunters stalking through the forest. Some trails may therefore be closed. If you have enough time, continue along the coast to Provence. Super spots such as Valle Argentina, the Esterel mountains, Sospel and the Terres Noires await you here!
Info
- ToursLiguria Trails!" by Ralf Glaser, price: 29.80 euros
- January temperature: 12 degrees
- Suitable for: (E-)Trail/Enduro/Freeride
- Shuttle: finaleligurefreeride.com
Tuscany
Rugged macchia trails on the peaks of unknown small islands, plenty of flow in the Maremma and in the hinterland of Punta Ala, shaped lines in the hills of Pisa and Florence, but also official enduro lines in the huge beech forests of Monte Amiata. In Tuscany, you no longer have to be a truffle hunter to unearth worthwhile bike spots. There are now plenty of sporty trails here. And in contrast to the often far too hot summer days, in winter it is much more relaxed cranking up to the trail entrances at 14-16 degrees. Only the days are shorter now, but that leaves more time in the restaurant, where game, truffles and mushrooms are now on the menu.
Info
- Tours: "Tuscany Trails" by Ines Thoma and Max Schumann (34.90 euros), delius-klasing.de
- January temperature: 11 degrees
- Suitable for: (E-)Trail/Enduro/Freeride
- Shuttle: amiatafreeridebikeresort.com
Barcelona / Girona
Why not simply book a flight to Barcelona? It's cheap and takes just two hours. That's true. However, once you're there you're limited to a relatively small radius of movement and only get to see a handful of the many super bike spots in the north of Spain.
So our advice is to scrape together all your remaining holiday, pack your camper van and make the journey of almost 1400 kilometres. In the Girona - Tarragona - Valle de Tena (Pyrenees) triangle alone, there are 15 bike parks, trail spots and plenty of dirt lines that can be ridden one after the other. At least that's what pros like Jérôme Clementz (favourite enduro spot Santa Coloma de Farners) and Lukas Knopf (fan of the La Poma dirt lines near Mataró).
Info
- Trail overview: trailforks.com
- January temperature: 15 degrees
- Suitable for: (E-)Trail/Enduro
- Park with shuttle: The nearest bike park is 30 kilometres from Barcelona: lasorrerabikepark.com
Other important bike spots in northern Spain
- La Poma Bikepark near Mataró (Lukas Knopf likes to spend the winter here)
- Santa Coloma de Farners (favourite of Jérôme Clementz)
- Santa Candia Bike Park
- Sant Cugat Bike Park
- Olesa de Monserra Bike Park
- BiciPark Forallac
- Salvatje Bike Park
- 4 Riders Bikepark (near Berga)
- La Molina Bike Park
- Olot Bike Park
- Bike Park Costa Daurada
- Cambrils Bike Park
3 flight destinations in the bike spring
If you're going to get on a plane to plunge into double-digit T-shirt temperatures, then it should be worth it. These are the three destinations with the maximum trail yield:
Madeira
40 trail descents with a total distance of 200 kilometres - that's the possible weekly programme on the Portuguese Atlantic island. Whether you can really manage that in eight days remains to be seen. It is much more important to experience as many of Madeira's vegetation zones as possible: There are rocky alpine climbs in the summit regions, winding slides in the jungle, lush and grippy passages in the eucalyptus forest, dusty paths across steppe-like high plateaus and, of course, the long lines along the typical levadas. Ambitious riders are best advised to sign up for the Trans-Madeira Race in May!
Info
- Journey: 4 hours flight
- January temperature: 17 degrees
- Suitable for: (E-)Enduro/Freeride
- Shuttle-Info: e.g. freeridemadeira.com
Lisbon
Portugal's capital city lights many a sparkler for bikers interested in trails and culture: there is a guided night ride on the Urban Downhill route, which has been held in the city since 1999. A wild course through Lisbon's winding old town alleyways with countless stairs, the likes of which are otherwise only known from South America. There is also a 300 metre long World Cup pump track right next to the Vasco da Gama bridge, the Monsanto hill forest with built lines in the middle of the city and the Sierra de Sintra, accessible by suburban train, which is teeming with trails, castles and views of the Atlantic.
Info
- Journey: 3.5 hours flight
- January temperature: 15 degrees
- Suitable for: Tour/Trail/Enduro
- Trail tour info: e.g. weride.pt
La Palma
The iconic descent from the 2426 metre high Roque de los Muchachos down to the black lava beach alone made the small, green Atlantic island a Mecca for all winter mountain bikers. But then: corona, a volcanic eruption and the subsequent long closure of the biking hotspot Puerto Naos. But now the time has come: almost all accommodation, restaurants and bike centres on the west side of La Palma have reopened this winter. And as problematic as the volcanic eruption was, it has created a lot of new territory that can now be discovered. The island's bike guides have of course already explored the new trail options and adapted their tour programme. In future, Atlantik Cycling will only offer e-MTB tours. Keyword: new uphill flow on La Palma!
Info
- Journey: 5 hours flight
- January temperature: 21 degrees
- Suitable for: (E-)Tour/Enduro/Freeride
- Shuttle-Info: e.g. mountain-ride.com, atlantic-cycling.com (E-MTB station), bike-station.de, bikenfun.de
Bike parks: shredding in winter
There are now several bike parks in Germany that open on winter weekends when there is no snow. Our neighbouring country Austria even has a bike park that is open every day of the year:
Geißkopf / Bavarian Forest
The largest selection of routes can also be found in winter in the bike park on the Geißkopf: including the kids' and practice course, 16 lines of all levels of difficulty await you here. If individual lines are closed due to forestry or track renovation work, there are still plenty of runs to choose from that are not affected by the closure. The lift is usually closed during the week. But then you can simply wind your way up the winding and challenging uphill route with its steep sections, which has been specially designed for e-bikers (3 km). Overnight stays in the camp car park are also possible throughout the winter, but without electricity and showers.
Info
- Open: Sat and Sun, if snow-free
- Routes: 16
- Day ticket chairlift: 42 euros (possibly open at weekends if there is no snow)
- Info: mtbzone-bikepark.com
Schulenberg / Harz
You can practically decide for yourself whether the Racepark in Schulenberg is open in winter or not: From 17 day tickets sold, the drag lift in the Upper Harz buzzes away in good, snow-free weather. There are now six different lines available at the top. These include the 1.4-kilometre downhill for very experienced riders, but with the Down(c)hiller there is now also a fairly easy to ride crushed sand line. You can simply roll down the latter without any great riding skills. However, the specially designed rhythmic magic can only be coaxed out of this route with an active riding style.
The bike park also offers a trail shuttle for downhill excursions outside the park. However, only when the extensive forestry work in the Harz Mountains allows it.
Info
- Open: from 17 persons, if snow-free (the weather forecast from Wednesday applies)
- Routes: 6
- Day ticket drag lift: 35 Euro
- Info: outdoorwerkstatt.eu
Schöckl Trail Area / Graz
Mediterranean air currents give the capital of Styria on the southern side of the Alps mostly snow-free streets in the old town. Only rarely do a few flakes get lost on the surrounding peaks. That's why the cable car on the Schöckl (1445 m) provides its services for bikers all year round - every day. However, you should definitely bring good riding technique with you, as the four longer descents are natural forest trails in quite steeply sloping terrain. It's not for nothing that in winter you can sometimes meet a World Cup downhiller like Andi Kolb on the almost two-kilometre-long "Gedscho". Currently still under construction, but probably ready to ride by next spring: a 2.6 kilometre long, medium-difficulty enduro trail towards the Johann-Waller-Hütte.
Info
- Open: daily from 9-16:30 (except during the revision)
- Routes: 6
- Day ticket for the cable car: 39,90 Euro
- Info: schoeckl-trail-area.at
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
