Details Announced for Trans Liguria Tour with MTB Beds

PRESS RELEASE: MTB-Beds

Transmountain - Adjective - “Across or through a mountain or mountains” Old idea, new energy. Trans-Liguria is the culmination of ideas and dreams among friends and partners that has become a reality we can finally share with you all. It’s been in the pipeline for a very long time but in our patience to get things right, we reckon we’ve got something special.

This is a point to point closed loop (oxymoron) that explores the Italian coast and mountains from Finale Ligure down to the French border, hopping over a couple of times and returning back to arguably the home of enduro mountain biking, on the beaches of Finale Ligure.


We are working with some of the best and most knowledgeable guides and resources in the region to make this a once in a lifetime trip you’ll want to experience again and again, we’ve thought of everything possible to make this unique, fun and satisfying, the hardships we’ve endured testing the trails have been tough, but you’re worth it.

For now this is a shuttle assisted holiday, a tour with necessary effort applied. The future? Watch this space….


What inspires tours like this:
Exploration and adventure, to seek out new challenges and experiences inspired by the unknown and also what has come before. Almost every trail must exist because someone or something built it, walked it or used it in the past ancient or recent. Organised events that have preceded this Trans Ligurian Tour have inspired it’s development but not it’s idea. Alessandro Merlini, a Finale Ligure OG and owner of Back Country Finale has called Liguria home for his entire life, a life spent in love with the outdoors and the people that work this land. His original idea of a riding trip to France to link with another project we have in the pipe line has become a partnership with MTB Beds, which we think will bring something truly original to the concept.



Why not a traditional Point to Point:
We wanted to start in Finale Ligure, for us it is a focal point of mountain biking in Europe for good reason. We knew what we wanted to do, ride the best trails possible on our way to somewhere cool, eating good food and meeting great people along the way. The reason we decided to come back to Finale is the answer to the same question we had in our minds every step of the planning process, “Is this as awesome as it can be at this moment?” and we could not find a better place to finish than on the beaches of Varigotti, the same end point for countless EWS races over the last few years. The fan fare of an event with hundreds of competitors finishing an epic trip together in the logistically possible places in France just can’t be replicated by 7 mountain bikers and their guides, we rode, we checked it out and we just didn’t feel it. We travelled the coast and Google mapped everything we could think of and we knew the right vibe was returning to where we’d started. That beer on the beach will taste bloody good, shared stories, friendships and experiences carried on aching bones and sore legs.



The effort to reward ratio on the tour:
The same question, “Is this as awesome as it can be at this moment?” was in our heads throughout the planning and testing. We were always thinking ahead of time what people would feel like during a certain climb or hike. We want the riders to kind of resent the guide at times for the effort being put in, taking it to the limit of being tired will make that trail so much more thrilling and rewarding. You feel good after putting in the hard work and to be honest, some of the climbs are in there to discourage those who are after a chairlift holiday, they are great fun but this is a different beast. There is a 9 seat Land Rover Defender supporting the trip with an advance team setting things up where they need to be setup. This is not to make it easy but it’s make sure spirits stay high. We won’t ask you to pedal up long tarmac roads that can be driven but we won’t do so much for you that you don’t feel the experience of the outdoors, that’s why you’re on this kind of tour, right?



The trails:
All of the above. It’s a vast area we are going to cover, passing through zones that have purpose built mountain bike trails that have been created by some incredible individuals and through areas that see a handful of bikes every year. It’s a real melting pot of riding experiences, which is true of the style of trail aswell. You won’t see a berm or jump that hasn’t been put there by tyres on dirt or by mother nature, you will see a mix of nearly every style of trail you’d expect to ride on an enduro tour. High alpine single track with views of the ocean, open ridge lines and dense forest, loam, roots and rock, there’s flat out balls to the wall descents aswell as slow and technical, there is very little that you would consider easy, each tour component bring it’s own challenges. We’ve planned the days so that you are at maximum freshness for the hardest parts, there is no down day but we'll make sure you have the energy and snacks needed to get it done.



Other activities:
Culture, food, people and the atmosphere that surrounds these experiences from start to finish is something we have always wanted our tours and holidays to have. Every place is different and people travel to them for different reasons. Though mountain biking is the unifying ingredient, if you think back to every holiday you’ve had the good memories are more than just time spent on the bike, it’s the interesting local food you eat, made with love and care, the people that guide you and welcome you to their hotel or B&B, the old boys in the cafe playing cards, the views from your bedroom window and the driver that helps you load up each day. These are the things that make these experiences unique and in answer to the question, it’s soaking up this land, it’s people and their boundless hospitality. You’ll spend time tweaking your bike and relaxing before the next day and you’ll do that with like minded mountain bikers you’ll most likely stay in touch with long after the tour has ended.


Make sure you put this region on your bucket list:
No matter how many times you visit Liguria there is another new adventure, new trail and new people to meet, aswell as the perennial favourites. With thanks to all the friends, partners, locals, trail builders, chefs and accommodations that make tours like this possible.



For more info CLICK HERE

#ONEPEDALAHEAD

Posted In:
Racing and Events Travel Press Releases