50 BEST PLACES TO RIDE WHEN LOCKDOWN LIFTS

Being confined to our flats, houses and local neighbourhoods means different things to different people. If you’re lucky enough to have access to the great outdoors from your back door, it can be a wonderful enforced detox from the hustle and bustle of modern life. But living in an urban environment, as so many of us do, is a different matter, and as humans we instinctively try to return to nature, seeking the calming power of green spaces and open air. Naturally, we also explore our imagination and seek sanctuary in our memories, playing back those happy experiences that have defined our lives. Which poses the question, when the lockdown lifts, where do you most want to ride your bike? So, we asked 44 globe-trotting mountain bikers to tell us where they are most looking forward to riding when freedom returns. The responses lead us on a stunning voyage around the world; from the Azores to Tasmania, and everything from backyard trails to backcountry wilderness.

HAUTE SAVOIE, FRENCH ALPS

MICK KIRKMAN

Photographer/tester @mick_kirkman

Savoie, in France, has a special place in my heart. It’s a part of the Alps I’ve visited regularly through my involvement in the Trans Savoie multi-day stage race. No enduro event has yet packed in more descending (30,000m per week) and every summer we took in dozens of sensational trails in the shadow of Mont Blanc.

The Savoie scenery is stunning and the sheer variety of terrain is unbeatable, from endless loam tunnels to high-Alpine rocky moonscapes. There are also hundreds of 30 minute-long natural trails on virgin leaf and loam.

One especially amazing trail is La Varda above Peisey-Vallandry. From fast and flowing singletrack in Alpine meadows overlooking the Vanoise National Park, to tight switchbacks, to Lake District-style rocky puzzle challenges, it’s got it all.

Despite many attempts, I’ve ‘cleaned’ the whole thing only once, and the trail changes each winter, so the hardest bits continuously morph. With one short access hike and a lone punchy climb in the middle, it still melts my mind that you can get 2,500m of descending in one hit here, and the whole trail is simply heaven.

NORTH SHORE, CANADA

DANNY MACASKILL

Trials rider, YouTube sensation @danny_macaskill

I’d most like to ride the North Shore trails above North Vancouver! I was last out there in August 2011 shooting a street edit with the Anthill crew for the film Strength in Numbers. I unfortunately slipped in goose cack while filming in Stanley Park on the first day and tore the meniscus in my left knee. It postponed the filming, but I was still able to ride some trails on my mtb. Vancouver has to be one of my favourite places in the world. Amazing trails, scenery, street riding and bike culture. The trails on the North Shore have to be some of the most famous technical trails in the world. Unfortunately many of the cool wooden ladders, skinnies and seesaws have been taken down. Shame – they would have suited my skill set perfectly! That’s not to say the trails that are there these days, carving in among the giant redwood trees, aren’t the coolest trails you will ever come across. They are all so full of crazy features, seriously steep rock slabs, huge gaps with no chicken runs and blind drops. I would definitely recommend trying to get a local to show you about.

FOREST OF DEAN

ALAN MULDOON

mbrbike test editor

Living in a city has made me soft. It’s probably why I find it somewhat reassuring, comforting even, to have all the amenities to hand even when I ride. And what better place to grab a cuppa and a bite to eat or get your bike fixed before, during or after a ride, than Pedal-A-Bike-Away in the heart of the Forest of Dean? Sure, the pay and display parking is one hangover from city dwelling that I could well live without, but the quality of the riding easily offsets the price of admission.

Most trails are hand-cut by local volunteers, so there’s nothing sterile or urban about the riding here. Just dirt, roots and a very creative use of the available elevation. It’s as natural as trail centres get. It’s real beauty though, is that it’s easy to mix and match your favourite bits of different trails. Best of all, if your legs or lungs give out before you’ve filled your boots, jumping on the FlyUp uplift is every bit as easy as catching a bus to the West End.

VALAIS, SWITZERLAND

JAMES RICHARDS

Mechanic/guide @mtbsprocket

It has been over 10 years since I first visited Switzerland to ride my bike. I’ve returned to the Valais region of Switzerland every year since.

The riding is hugely varied, from lift-assisted bike parks to high Alpine goat tracks – some of which are accessible from a lift with a pedal – and runs that can drop over 1,500m to the valley floor. Add in a few 20 to 40-minute traverses or climbs and you can do enormous amounts of riding and descending with a lift in the morning and a lift at lunchtime, racking up thousands of metres of vert in one day. There’s a trail called The Ultimate, near Verbier, and it’s kinda accessible from the lifts, with a bit of pedalling and hiking. It starts high on a ridge looking towards the Mont Blanc massif and with stunning views to the tiny patchwork quilt valley floor.

The track is as single as it gets and quickly becomes exposed, gnarly, and at times scary, with boulder fields, hairpins, drops, washed-out gullies, and rolling baby-head rocks.

As it drops into the forest, tree roots become more prevalent and contour-hugging trails start to speed up.

The dirt changes as you descend and the forest smells increase as you feel the warmer air of the valley floor. The trail mellows out for a while, then all of a sudden you pop out into a vineyard then loop back into the trees, through a garden, back into the vineyard, past a shed with an old Swiss guy chopping firewood, down a driveway… let’s just say it’s varied. At the bottom, you jump on the train ready to repeat the process all over again.

BELLINGHAM, USA

BRYN ATKINSON

Former racer @brynatkinson

Honestly, I’m just really looking forward to getting back to riding at full speed at home in Bellingham, Washington, without a care in the world. It’s got good dirt and lots of rain. The terrain in Washington is some of the best anywhere, well it’s my