Western Europe Stage 3 - Wet & Wild
 

Words and photos: Joe Houghton

What a wet and wild few weeks it has been since arriving in Leogang, Austria. Not exactly the Euro summer I had in mind, but I’m quickly learning that the weather in the Alps makes Auckland look stable and predictable.

First up was the Leogang Enduro/DH World Cup double header. Despite the weather forecast it wasn’t as wet as expected, although come race day there was still plenty of mud and wet roots to keep things exciting. While not the best race for me, I had two mates come along to watch and share the experience. What a weekend it was, topped off with a party and free beers in the pits after finals, how good?

From Leogang, a couple of rest days in Innsbruck were in store, before getting back into the bikepacking side of things - taking on the Alps enroute to Morzine, France. Riding through the Alps of Austria and Switzerland was unlike anything I’d ridden so far in my trip. The climbs were long, views spectacular and temperatures freezing.

My first mountain pass was 1790m vert in Austria. To be honest it was horrible. Having already ridden for seven hours, I was pretty cooked and freezing cold - plus the narrow alpine roads and tunnels resulted in some close calls with cars and trucks.

Getting to the campsite on the other side of the pass was a relief, although after pulling in I discovered it was deserted. After a few minutes of searching I found someone in the office who advised they were closed. The pained expression on my face as I stood there soaking wet and knackered must have swayed him. He offered to open up one of their bunk rooms for me for the night. I was inside and out of the rain. Yes.

My new best friend then gave me a beer and asked how I’d gotten over the pass. On both the ride up and down I’d received honks from passing drivers. Thinking it was just encouragement, I didn’t take much notice. Turns out it is illegal to ride over the pass - cyclists have to catch a taxi or hitch. Oops.

The next day was another solid effort on the bike clocking up 166km as I left Austria and transited through Liechtenstein into Switzerland. This was followed up with what was meant to be a 2000 m vert ride over two passes. However this rapidly changed after reaching the start of the second pass to find it was closed due to excess snow at the top. Not gonna lie, I was pretty stoked to have an excuse to take a detour on the train - until I had to cough up 30 euro for the 20 minute trip. I fantasised about the feed I could’ve bought for that 30 euros after riding the pass. If only. Fortunately by the end of the day's riding I was in Bellwald, Switzerland with some exciting mountain biking planned.

Bellwald was host to the fifth round of the EDR (Enduro World Cup) series. I couldn’t race it but was keen to check out the tracks, which were awesome. After three days riding, it was time to get back on the road and complete the final push into France and the alpine town of Morzine.

Knowing I would be based in Morzine for a whole seven days felt weird after 10 days almost constantly on the move through Austria and Switzerland. But I was stoked. In all honesty the bikepacking was beginning to take a toll mentally and physically. I was starting to get a bit over it.

The menu for Morzine was nothing but Mtb, and although the weather gods didn’t deliver, the trails certainly did. After a week in Morzine with no shortage of rain, but plenty of good times and bike time, I was ready for the short pedal down the road to Combloux and the final EDR of my Euro trip. Until then…