Frequently asked questions including-
Information about our mountainbike holidays
Bike recommendations
Travelling with your bike
Rental
Riding level
Kit to bring
Insurance
Responses below -
Our Holidays
We offer week-long holidays on an all-inclusive basis for meals and drinks, with the transfer day being Saturday (unless otherwise stated). We aim to provide guiding and daily transfers to the area chosen for biking on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is usually a day to try one of the other local activities (such as canyoning or via ferrata), or a more relaxed outing. Or you could simply relax in our hot tub! Wednesday will also be the day you will have the opportunity to eat out in the evening and try the local cuisine.
Our aim is to provide you with a truly memorable holiday and with over nine years’ experience here we have been perfecting this to ensure that you have an amazing trip - Ian and Angela
What we do on our guided rides is up to you. We don’t set out with a specific plan at the beginning of the week. We tailor each weeks’ riding to the group’s desires and abilities and make use of the massive selection of trails available to us to ensure each group is well satisfied. We can also make use of chairlift uplift facilities to access some areas you wouldn’t normally get access to or to play on the downhill courses in the local ski stations.
We will make the best use of the massive variety of trails available to us in the Cerdagne and Capcir valleys to ensure that each day gives great riding and a different perspective on the area. Our aim is simply to take you somewhere you may not have found without us. We know the area inside out, where to stop for lunch, where the good views are, where the next drinks stop is.
Our mission is to use our local knowledge to guide you where you would never have guessed trails existed and to give you some idea of the massive variety on offer in this undiscovered area - Ian and Angela
All routes are mapped using MemoryMapTM electronic mapping and guiding is offered as a free service by Offroad Training Consultancy trained Guides.
Bikes
We ride and recommend Scott Genius LT and Genius full suspension bikes. For the majority of trails that we ride these types of bike are ideal for your comfort and enjoyment. This does not mean that we see this as a minimum requirement however a good quality front suspension mountain bike should be.
Before coming on holiday we recommend that you have your bike serviced at your local specialist store to ensure that everything is in good working order. Although we have our own workshop your fellow riders will not thank you for delaying their riding whilst you service your bike. For minor repairs you will be welcome to use our workshop and for more major repairs we will arrange assistance through one of the nearby bike shops if possible.
We can assist with mechanics and bike setup. We have some spares available for purchase.
Travelling with your bike
So you want your pride and joy with you on holiday but you are nervous about travelling with it . Here are some tips.
A clean bike is always easier to dismantle and rebuild!
Get yourself some bubble wrap or use old clothes to put in between the frame and other parts.
Try to keep within the airline weight limit by not stuffing your bag/box with everything including the kitchen sink!
Put small parts ie bolts back on your bike as you dismantle it ensuring you don't loose them.
Below is a great video from our friends at BikeRadar clearly explaining the process. The only difference if you are using a cardboard box is that you don't normally have to remove the rear wheel as the bike should fit with it in place.
Rental
Altitude Adventure has joined forces with SCOTT Sports to promote the amazing summer and winter Scott product range. As passionate mountain professionals we are proud to be ambassadors for SCOTT Sports. Ian has a long history with the company, having been a founding member of the Scott distribution team in the UK, racer, race team manager, UK sales manager and part of the product development team at SCOTT headquarters in Switzerland.
In teaming up with SCOTT Sports we can provide you with the opportunity to test some of the best equipment in the mountains. We will be riding SCOTT Genius LT's on the summer trails which are the ultimate trail riding and bike park weapon. Our rental fleet are Scott Genius 740 bikes.
These bikes feature the totally re-designed frame optimized for 27.5" (650b) wheels. Its larger wheel size blends the benefits of the big wheel with 150mm travel. Our fleet are all equipped with Rockshox reverb dropper seatposts. The ultimate trail bike suitable for all mountain trail riding.
Bike rental price is 45€ per day, payable locally during for stay. For week long rentals we can offer 6 days for the price of 5. Mountain bike rental is only available for guests on guided rides.
PLEASE NOTE! We ask customers to bring their own pedals when renting our bikes.
Riding Level
To get the most out of your holiday we recommend that you should be capable of riding in arduous terrain for a minimum of 2-3 hours. Many of our rides are full day outings and can pass through some spectacular alpine terrain. This does not mean that we are trying to wear you out, we will ride to the ability of the group and ensure that you get the best from your holiday. Whilst riding we use our years of experience to help you improve your trail riding and we are always happy to run short skills sessions looking at specific aspects of our type of terrain. For example how to attack real world hairpins!
The type of mountain biking that we do make our routes of a reasonably high technical standard, therefore we are unable to recommend our holidays to beginners. To get the most out of our holidays we recommend that you should be happy riding mountainous natural singletrack and not just man made trail centre trails. For each type of trip that we offer there are more details in the introduction section.
The minimum age for participation in accompanied rides is 16. All riders under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. We welcome family groups and will be happy to recommend family friendly cycling routes in this area for outings with younger children, or other activities and places to visit for non-cyclists.
If you are booking as a group we will tailor the rides to your groups ability or where possible split groups into differing ability levels. When booking please be honest about your ability level as this helps us to plan your weeks’ holiday better allowing you to get the most from our local trail knowledge.
Kit
You will be riding daily in a hot environment and we highly recommend that you use energy or hydrating drinks and carry energy bars. Unless your bike has a lot of bottle cages we would recommend that you carry a hydration pack with about a 2 litre capacity.
Carrying a pack also allows you to carry your other essential trail spares that we would expect you to have (tubes, pump, multi-tool, brake pads, food, waterproof jacket, spare clothes etc).
Please remember to bring a few different sets of riding clothing and a fully waterproof jacket as you will be riding in a high mountain environment. We do not recommend sleeveless riding tops, as they don’t offer much protection from the sun or rocks. We also recommend protective eyewear and full finger gloves for extra grip with sweaty hands. Knee pads, elbow pads and other protective clothing is a riders choice (except at bike parks where it is compulsory) however we (the guides) wear knee pads as a matter of choice as the rocks can be unforgiving. You have been informed!
Remember “No Helmet No Ride”; your helmet must be ANSI or Snell approved.
Insurance
It is compulsory that all guests have their own travel insurance whilst on a holiday with Altitude Adventure. Mountain biking is an adventurous activity with inherent risks and in a mountain environment emergency evacuation and treatment is very expensive. We recommend that you take out adequate insurance cover and carry a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). You will be asked to show your insurance documentation on arrival.
