Just nearing the end of a week camping in Venosc just below Les Deux Alpes.

View from Venosc

It’s been scorching hot all week 30 degrees plus.

There’s a great bike park but we did feel a bit under biked when we arrived with everyone seeming to have 8″ travel downhill rigs and dressed in full body armour (full face helmets, knee and shin pads, elbow and arm pads, neck and back protectors!).

After you

We uhm’d and aah’d and took the how hard can it be approach and set off in the gear we would use at a UK trail centre, basically gloves and helmet. I can safely say I think I was the only one riding a hardtail in the whole place, but in the end came to the conclusion that the main reason everyone was on full on downhill rigs was because those are the only bikes  you can hire in the resort. They would be certainly needed for the red and black trails but not the green and blues unless you are really flying!

Clear blue skies and dusty trails ….

No pain all gain

The only way is down

I must say the attraction of hitching your bike to the back of a chair lift to cover the 700 m ascent is something not to be under estimated, effectively riding all day hardly completing a pedal stroke except for the ride to the bar for apres!

The slog to the top!

Did I tighten the QR?

Also manged to fit in some high level walking again aided by the chair lifts.

Cooling down @ 3400 m

Walking route 680 – lift up walk down

Plus CrankWorx was in town.

CrankWorx – Maybe next year

We have just clocked up 365 nights in our van, equating to 20% of our time since we have had it. The location wasn’t very salubrious – a motorway service station in France, at the start of a week in the French Alps.

365th night in van

With  Sharon now operating as a freelance locum we should have a little more freedom as we clock up the next 365 nights, however if Sharon needs to supplement her income I have spotted an alternative!

Alternative career!

Human cannonballs aside we are now parked up in the heart of the French Alps surrounded by mountains on all sides looking forward to a week of walking and MTB.

Camping @ Venosc (Les Deux Alpes)