Okay, you might never have that bright yellow Lambo, yacht with a helipad, or whatever else you'd spring for if you had the disposable income of a famous rapper (
or someone else who actually deserves such wealth), but there are a few cool things that us peons and peasants can afford if we put our minds to it. A bike-centric vacation is one of them. Being mountain bikers through and through, most of us have likely thought about at least bringing our bike along on a decidedly non-bike vacation, and especially so if said vacation involves visiting the in-laws, but what about a trip away from home that revolves entirely around saddle time instead of family time?
Maybe it's a through-the-night drive south and a week spent living like a dirtbag, riding hard, and working on your glove tan. Or perhaps an all-inclusive trip to some foreign land where no one speaks your language and you cap off your day with wine and tasty food that comes in ridiculously small portions that could only ever appease a tiny bird. Are you somewhere in the middle? Let us know us know by answering the poll below.
Unbeatable and always worth the money for the quality of riding you get to experience.
Makes it much easier if you're going by yourself. Especially as the guides always know the best trails and you're not stuck in the bike parks.
Quit my overpaid job in the UAE so I can work (ride) the full season in Les Arcs this year... Cannot wait.
More important things in life than money. :p
oh yea I am neal btw.
Like many before you working for amateur guiding companies who claim "we're just showing friends around", you're gonna get arrested and slapped with a huge fine.
Quick buck? Are you fricking kidding me... Did you not read my original post.
I'm not working out there for the money. I earn in a month there what I earned in less than 2 days in the UAE, so you can piss off with the 'quick buck' BS.
July - August (with bikes) I'm a lucky guy having an extended holiday thanks to my awesome wife!
Step 2: Be happy.
Because the other way may be: riding alone, ending up on a miserably boring descend on a fireroad, if having no GPS, ending up in the wrong valley, taking 5 hours to get home over the pass (eventualy needing to sleep on the ground in the wild). If that guy just hired a guide he'd be on a sweet trail which trail head he missed when going down fireroad. Who can want that?
A bloke that enjoys the unknown, that accepts and seeks risks other than ones coming from riding a bike fast. A very rare and probably foolish kind: for the lack of less pompatic word: "explorer". Exploration starts where tourism ends. We all have different things on our check lists.
And above all- JUST RIDE! Alone or not...
I enjoy reading your posts.
Having been 'benighted' on a ride, lost and coming down the wrong drainage and ending up miles from my intended trailhead, riding for hours after our lights gave up the ghost, and fighting to remain awake while riding back the 3 hours to the car in the wee hours of the morning, massive Montana, Washington and BC back country solo loops hoping the trails on the maps exist and that junctions are findable, hunting for a rumored trail, starting at 23:00 on a Sunday night knowing I've got to be awake and in front of a group of students less than 5 hours after finishing... Either one gets it or one doesn't, agreed.
By the same token, I've also paid for the opportunity to ride with and learn from some of the best in the sport, and have benefitted mightily from that experience, and enjoy my riding more each ride because of the skills I've developed through the insights gained from them. I also work to pass that knowledge on. As much as I love my solo and partner rides, I am also part of a larger community, and there are benefits to being part of something larger.
Different times, different rides, different stages of life, different rides all provide opportunities for growth both as a person and a rider. Part of what keeps me cranking the pedals week in and week out over the past 28 years. (got my first mtb in '86 at the age of 21.)
Keep on doing what brings you joy!
If I ever get to Moab or Sun Valley or Park City I'll try & get a guide for a day or so, and spend a day or two solo. I do the same when I fish new spots. But it really has to be affordable, I dont need expensive meals or extras; just show me where the fun stuff is and let me handle the rest.
Sun Valley is definitely on my list of places to visit. Maybe this summer. Woot.
I'd love to ride in Chile or other places in South America, but airfare would cost at least $900. I'd love to ride in Puerto Rico, airfare is only $400.