The Original Women's Mountain Bike

The whole story started a few months ago… actually, a year ago now! We were chatting with Débi and we decided to go on a trip together. We know each other for a long time, (for more than 15 years) and we like the same things in terms of trails, views, and food!

We both came up super naturally with the same idea: we wanted to ride in Alsace, our home land and explore the area like a proper exotic trip!

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We both traveled a lot over the last few years, we went in New Zealand, British Columbia, Madeira, New Caledonia, Tasmania and in a lot of places in Europe. But, what we realised is we still share the same passion about the flowy trails we have in Alsace, in the north east of France. It’s the opportunity to look at it as new and realizing how good is it, how lucky we are to have mountains around and a ton of trails right behind our doorstep. Especially during these crazy times, it’s important to enjoy what we have before wanting something else, isn’t it?

Here our 5 tips for organising a trip in your backyard :

1. Find a fun crew “Hapiness is only real when shared”. You have certainly already heard this famous sentence. And believe us, it’s accurate for mountain biking as well!

Do you already have this feeling to hug your friend and be really happy at the end of a sick singletrack? And then speak about your ride again and again with a fresh beer? This is why is important to grab a great crew of friends!! You know, the one you’ve been telling for ages they have to ride your home trails ;) It’s really pleasant to show your playground to someone who doesn’t know and seeing him surprised & happy in return.

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2. Choose your days It has never been so easy to book a trip (apart the availability of your friends!). Book as many days as you want in your favorite place and season because you don’t care, you’re at home! We recommend you to create a flexible planning. Don’t rush, like already said, you’re at home and it gives you the time to stop and have a drink around to your favorite place.

We also recommend you to always have a B plan in case of bad weather or something unexpected. It’s not because you’re at home means you can control the weather! Look, it snowed during our trip so be ready like on a normal trip, everything can happen too.

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3. Take your time but be prepared! Feel free to take your time as a normal trip, it’s good to appreciate things and the right moment. And it’s more exciting when you discover something close to your house because you can go back there anytime! Whatever the destination, be sure to have all you need in terms on equipment in case of bad weather. Mechanicals, being hungry, same story, be ready ! Or ride close to a city and bring some money with you ;) Make a checklist (the same one as for a long trip) to make sure you don’t forget anything.

juliana-bicycles-roots-alsace-2019-vojo-paul-humbert-101_1.jpg Paul Humbert

4. Decide what kind of trip you want to do Like for a long trip, be with the ones who share the same kind of riding to be able to enjoy it at its best! It’s really easy to organize, you don’t need to book accommodation, or carry a huge backpack during your ride. Take it easy, you’ll save some money and you’ll be able to have fun.

Also, you don’t need to take the car and go far to discover new trails. Yep, use what you have around before wanted something better because there will be always a better thing somewhere else anyway!

5. Get in touch with the locals The best way to find the best trails is to get in touch with the locals riders and/or locals associations. If you’re like us and you spend a lot of time being in different places, you might not be updated by the last trails shaped and it’s always good to know the right person (and spend some times with them shaping because don’t forget: « No Dig No Ride! »). If the locals are not available, they are usually happy to give you some advices, tips, and sometimes the GPX tracks.

You got it, we have really enjoyed this experience. It was breathtaking like for an exotic trip and we realized even more how much we like to be outside on our bikes…. and at home!

You create a few new memories and it maybe gives you some new ideas about some new loops etc. Or where it should be good to shape (if you’re allowed obviously) or what could be updated.

juliana-bicycles-roots-alsace-2019-vojo-paul-humbert-58_1.jpg Paul Humbert

It’s a great opportunity to ride this great variety of trails without taking the car, especially these days where we stuck at home! It’s the time we realise how important it is to be ‘kind of free’ to quickly go for a ride from home. It was nice to be a tourist at home, you should try it especially if you’re in quarantine because of the Covid-19.

Also, don’t be sad if one of your trip has been cancelled, it’s probably the time to take the time and appreciate even more what’s around your house.

Unfortunately, we can’t ride these days in France because we’re limited to 1 km away from home and 1 hour of practice per person. But be sure that as soon as we’ll be allowed to ride as before, you know exactly where we’ll go: around our house, riding our favorite trails.