In 2017 I got the idea to pick up mountain biking again. Have a full inclusive holiday in Switzerland came to mind and after some searching I found MTB Verbier.
Erik and Jessica (two Dutchies) run a very good business in Verbier which next to the accommodation and food also guides are included. So after some mailing back and forth I decided to go at the end of June to Verbier. One of the conclusions while mailing with Erik was that my current Merida hard tail wasn’t sufficient for the tracks over there. Brakes in the rims instead of disc where really needed and also a full-suspension so out shopping again.
My eye caught a very nice orange (yes I am Dutch too) Trek Full Ex 5 and during the spring I used it a lot to get used to the braking and the behavior of the suspension. The major tracks in the Netherlands I used for this like: Broekpolder, Austerlitz, Rhenen, Amerongen and Bergschenhoek. Although I am cycling for a long time using a MTB is completely different than a road bike but I felt pretty confident in my bike skills going to Verbier.
On the 25th the car was packed and after a decent drive I arrived at MTB Verbier and had a warm welcome. Of course after some unpacking I had to take the bike out and explore the environment. Verbier is a nice little village build for skiing and the scenery is unbelievable.
All the days had a similar setup. After a very good breakfast a skill training by our guide and afterwards using the newly learned skills on new lined out tracks. This way our confidence grew and our guide knew exactly what was possible and not. Never too many risks or too difficult tracks for the groups skills.
One of the days we did a little side trip to a bike park in Italy. Totally different tracks than the one in Verbier and much more challenging but awesome fun. Also the last “black” track back to the van was insane. Use drops and steeps climbs combined with high curves was so cool!
Then on the last Saturday unfortunately my holiday ended a day to soon. On a rocky mountain road, not steep at all, I lost my front wheel and crashed with just 8 km/h. I landed on my right hip and as i was trying to unclip I knew something was completely wrong. The guide called the medical rescue team and per chopper they escorted me to the hospital. Conclusion a broken hip. The end of a dream holiday and my future MTB adventures.
Here you find some of my pictures 🙂
See also some videos here!
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