With the weather we are currently having I think it’s say bike season is in full swing. We’ve been out and about on the bikes for a few months already and already completed the season opening MTB Tour of Lake Zurich in three stages. Since then we’ve been making the most of the weather with a great trail ride taking in the Aegeri, Biberbrugg Gratweg and Etzel trails on a sunny Sunday a few weeks ago.

A quick break on the way up to Pfannensteil on the last stage of the Tour of Lake Zurich.
 
A bit of uphill single track.
A bit of downhill single track
A quick refill of the bottles before the last descent to Zurich.

I also found the time to disappear to Sud Tirol to participate in the Mountain Bike Guide course being run down there by the Austrian Bike Guide Association (ÖRV) through www.bikepro.at. The course was an intensive week which covered all aspects of bike guiding and included a good mixture of theoretical and practical sessions. At the end of the course we had to take a written theoretical test, a practical MTB skills teaching test and a test of our own personal riding skills. Our ability to navigate in unknown terrain and look after a group were continuously assessed throughout the course. It was a great week where I learned a lot and happily passed all of the exams to pick up the Mountain Bike Guide certificate.

A bit of theoretical work on the mountain bike guide course.

Fortunately the classroom got moved outdoors often enough.

Skills practice and how to teach it was an important part of the course too.

The last few days have been spent giving the legs a bit of a break before getting out on the trails and doing some exploring for new routes over Easter. SAA bike season is about to go into full swing. Our next group ride is on April 30th in Geneva, and the following Tuesday (May 3rd) our weekly “after work” rides will be starting in and around Zurich. On May 21st we’ll be heading to Wallis and over the next few months there are plans afoot for trail rides in some of the best areas of Switzerland for trail riding. Check out the events section of our facebook page for more details.

Happy Easter.


Swiss Alpine Adventure

swissalpineadventure

Swiss Outdoor Sports events for an international audience