Monte Tamaro: Revenge

One year ago, three guys left their hometown and hit the way to the famous Monte Tamaro, in the south of Switzerland. As soon as we arrived, we grabed our bikes and built them up. Every one of us was pretty happy to be there, because the mountain was well know for rough rocks and many roots. It was our first "real" downhill trail we had to ride. After the first day, we met some cool guys. They live in Switzerland, too. The second day was all about riding faster and having fun with our new friends. But this mystical mountain had other plans for us.

On the first run of the day, two derailleurs fellt of the bikes. On one bike, the derailleur hanger was totally ripped appart, so there was no shifting anymore. On the same run, Simon Bertolf felt off the bike. The bike landed on a big stone, bending the fork. One run later, one of us lost five spokes. Two complete bikes left, but not long. Seconds later, an Avid X0 brake did not brake anymore. On thr last bike, the shifter cable broke.

Everyone of us was a little bit shocked but the day ended up very funny. All in all, we found new frieds, had the idea of the trailsidecrew, ate some excellent steaks and left the mountain far behind with tha plan of taking revenge.

The name of the hill which caused damage on riders and bikes, easily to see from far away.

This year, only 4 people went to the Monte Tamaro. As we went there with two cars, we used them to sleep inside. The night was pretty warm, so we slept not very much. The biggest fail was probably to park next to a highway. The sound was extremely loud.

The highway runs thorugh a valley. As we slept next to it, we were there, too. At 5:00 a.m. the whole scenery was bright, but the sun stayed behind the next mountain for three hours. At 9 o'clock, we captured the first sunlight of the day. Since we only had beer in our pocket, we used to drink one.

We left our nightplace and went to the parking place of the Monte Tamaro. We built up our tent, (no one else had one, so it looked pretty epic), placed our car next to it and listened to music while building up our bikes.

Since the hill is very high, the view from the top of it is super nice. Somehow you have to give a small look even while riding.

There are many steep passes. This is Simon Bertolf, hitting one of it.

The ticino, most south canton of the Switzerland, is well kown for rocks. There are rock houses, rock trails and mostly everything has rocks in it.

Sadly, Mike Ladurner had to take a short travel bike, because his Specialized Demo 2013 was still not delivered. It was all about linechoice because of the tubes and the tires. Sharp rocks ain't not to be very good for them.

In the middle of the trail, you can find three drops. They're nice built.

Everything was nearly dry. As soon as you left the forest, the ground was dry and dusty. This looks nice on fast passes.

In the opposite, much of the forest was wet. Wet roots always kept you awake.

Simon Bertolf hits a steep rockface.

Mike Ladurner on the rocks.

You can find a jump even in the hardest trails. Simon jumped it perfectly.

On the bottom section, you gained serious speeds. Not that cool with a short travel bike bacause of the hits but a great overall experience.

Every man who ever rode a downhill bike knows the bad feeling of a saddle to balls matchup. This was the first time we remembered last year. We even said: "Haha the hill strikes again." But this should not be everything this hill does.

The weather changed pretty fast. From sun to clouds. Maybe the hill will strike another time?

In the end, we knew that we probably never will leave this place without damage to our equipment. The tent was totally ripped. No connectors stayed complete.

We will return for another revenge. This is for sure!