The first stop was to stock up on the cheap supermarket food and ready ourselves for the Tour De France’s infamous 21 switchback climb to Alp D’Huez, the last remaining question for the overloaded old buses. 500m before the first corner and Red Leader was in troubleas we rolled up in the other bus, she had her bonnet up and 9 concerned faces were making the classic tight lipped whistling sound that says “Its a sealed unit love, have to have it all out.” Fortunately there were 20 of us on hand to bump start it and the 1st gear, walking pace grind up the famous climb began. 40 minutes later and we were celebrating the arrival of Team S.P.E.R.M.’s summer road trip crew at the base of the ‘Huez lift station. By the end of the day the rest of the group had arrived, and the Tent City population was busy establishing what they’d left, forgotten or lost in a drunken haze in the past 24 hours.
The riding? Well, simply put, some of the fastest flatout tracks the Alps has to offer. Nothing too tech, just beautiful linking berms and steep sections of dusty snaking corners. There’s a little ‘Slopestyle’ park here too, but frankly, why would you come all this way to ride your bike around a dog obedience course? Its the Alps for f*cks sake. Mid session, a thunder storm added to the hilarity as all those flat-out corners acquired the friction coefficient of buttered glass. Grins all round and time for 28 man Death Cross down the Venosc track...
Our plan was to race the Mega Cup and MegaAvalanche events and then tour some of DH tracks in the surrounding area the following week. Logistically this takes some organisation, but if you’re tired of Morrzine’s over-ridden tracks and fancy some adventure on your next Alpine trip start by getting some mates together to chip in for some wheels, do your research well, get a Sat Nav and get on it. Meanwhile...
A ghetto shower in the bike wash and its Tesco Value Gin and tonic time, everybody buzzing from a great start to the trip. A short drive back, talking the talk of who did who on which corner, what mech work was planned for the evening and whose turn it would be to cook for their 4 man ‘Food Group’.
Alp D’Huez and Les Deux Alps
who who won? cares ? 28 riders, 17 days, 7 lift stations, 3 vans, 2 races & a lot of laughs. This year’s Team S.P.E.R.M. Alpine Training Camp was an epic logistical feat.
wideopen 10 october 2009
Next morning, all but the drivers kitted up, not for conventional DH, but for a race back down the 21 Switch Backs. Although the mighty LDVs can crawl up them, nobody in their right mind would risk the brakes taking them back down fully loaded. 40mph manuals, elbow to wing mirror car racing and at least one set of road tested knee pads later and they were all down waiting in the shade for the buses to show up. 20 minutes after and the smell of burning brakes filled the air. ‘Load up’ came the call and, once again, the 3D jigsaw of bikes and bags was completed. By the time we were ascending the Venosc lift in Les Deux Alps, the excitement was palpable. For some this was their 8th Alps trip, for others, like young Alex it was their first, but every time we come here that first lift winds up the adrenaline. And the best thing about Les Deux Alps is that straight off that first lift you simply get on another to head further up. Tractor/trailor uplifts in the UK just can’t prepare you for the scale.
As a bit of a warm up for the mass start Mega, we all line up across the carpark at the entrance to the track. A rolling start... and it’s super-inside lines for everybody, T-boning your man off the track wins extra points as you pass. Run after run, faster and faster, the lift closes late, and we’re on the last one.
The Mega Cup & Mega Avalanche Race
For the rest of the week a daily routine soon developed. By 7am the tents had reached Gas Mark 6 and we’d crawl out to escape the heat. Water and breakfast cereals, a coffee if someone in your food group was prepared to make it. A deep breath and an appreciative sigh for the city livers, taking in the stunning, early morning Alpine view and crisp fresh air. Bread and cheese in the bag for lunch, suit up, bike check and on the lift. A full day’s DH with all of your mates, with fingers crossed you’d survive the mechanical lottery that day. With so many of us on the hill, evenings became a roll-call of smashed mechs, torn spokes, snapped fork internals and spent brakes. Each day ended in a last race down ‘The Bitch Track’, a wide-open perfectly-smooth series of turns from the lift’s mid station returning us, via a hut drop in the so called free-ride park, to Tent City. Showers in the local swimming pool complex, a fight for some time on one of the two cook stoves, and as much TPS (Tuna Pasta Slop) as you could stomach. A quiet beer, some bullshit chat and an early bed, ready for the next day. Could it get any better? dirt bike magazine 40