Most Exotic MTB Trip You've Ever Taken?

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Pretty cool story/video about riding in Nepal popped up over on that other part of the website last night: http://www.tetongravity.com/story/bi...bike-adventure

Got me thinking, what's the most exotic/off the beaten path/etc. bike trip you've ever taken? My feeling is that most of us on the boards concentrate on ski trips, but I could be wrong. But sadly, the most exotic locale I think I've ridden a bike has been the Appalachians... or at least felt that way because I never thought I'd ride a bike there, and for sure not have found as good of trails as I did.

[creaky fossil]

I did a ride with stuckie that took 10x longer than it would have if I did it solo, and it wasn't because he had a mechanical, unless you consider being fat, slow, without skill, and vibrating with anxiety like a parkinson's patient to be "a mechanical."

that's pretty exotic when you consider he talks such a big game on TGR

it was polar opposite of when I rid a ride with toast-boy, who actually has skill & fitness but talked only a medium sized game when he posted here

[NT]

Nothing like Nepal, but a couple summers ago my wife and I rode across Scotland. We tried to maximise single track and dirt roads. Lush, wet, green, can't understand half of what's said, wet, haggis, sea level: felt pretty exotic to us at least. We'd go back in a heartbeat.



More photos here:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/ind...ic,4964.0.html

We've also done some biking along the coast of Costa Rica for our honeymoon. Best part of that was we did it at the beginning of the rainy season so many of the roads that ran along the coast were empty as the rivers were too flooded to drive through; we'd just hoist the bikes over our heads and wade across. We had miles of empty jeep roads going through jungles and by gorgeous beaches all to ourselves.





Travelling to bike is pretty cool, but I'm still most interested in ski travel. Skis are so much easier to get on a plane than a bike. That said, you meet a lot of people when you're on a bike.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

I did a ride with stuckie that took 10x longer than it would have if I did it solo, and it wasn't because he had a mechanical, unless you consider being fat, slow, without skill, and vibrating with anxiety like a parkinson's patient to be "a mechanical."

that's pretty exotic when you consider he talks such a big game on TGR

it was polar opposite of when I rid a ride with toast-boy, who actually has skill & fitness but talked only a medium sized game when he posted here

You haven't even ridden with kidwoo to ensure you're better than him? Man you're only halfway there!

[WaistDeepGroomers]

That's crazy shit man. Always thought Scotland would be a rad place for an MTB trip. What was the singletrack like for the most part?

[creaky fossil]

You haven't even ridden with kidwoo to ensure you're better than him? Man you're only halfway there!

no, I'm absolutely terrified of the little dude, he vowed to spray me with "roost"

[WaistDeepGroomers]

no, I'm absolutely terrified of the little dude, he vowed to spray me with "roost"

The roost–noooooo!

[NT]

That's crazy shit man. Always thought Scotland would be a rad place for an MTB trip. What was the singletrack like for the most part?

Sometimes it was like this:


Other times like this:


Mostly like this:


In other words, some of the best and worst. The Scots are definitely a bunch of sandbaggers, but the good stuff is really good.

[kidwoo]

no, I'm absolutely terrified of the little dude, he vowed to spray me with "roost"

Can I change my answer to 'loogie?'

[stuckathuntermtn]

I'm sure he rides with toast all the time.

[babybear]

Andrew's going to Thailand in 2 wks to go biking. That's about as exotic as we've ever done. I'll vicariously post some stoke from him once he returns

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Those Scotland pictures are rad! I mostly picture the riding like that last pic. Do thy have many designated mtb trails or mostly "hill walking" routes or whatever they call them?

Thailand eh? Whatever. After next week I'll be able to say I went to whistler!

[Hugh Conway]

Wow! Their cellphone didn't work!

[babybear]

well I haven't been as exotic as even biking in canadia so you've def got me beat there haha
Have fun- are you just renting a big bike up there?

[Swine]

This seems like a lifetime ago - from when I guided in Bolivia. It's a small sampling, I found my old TR's but I don't know what happened to the photos, they're broken links now so all you get is this cause I'm too lazy to do another write up. This is just one day fucking around at about 16K feet and doesn't even touch on the amazing single track there. It really is the most mind blowing place I've ever ridden. From jungle to high desert and everything in between Bolivia is the real deal.

You can go here and flip to page 31 of IMBike Mag if you want to read an article I wrote and see photos I took.

[jm2e]

I've been to Thailand to climb a few times. That was definitely rad.

Just got back from 2 weeks in Italy. We brought our bikes which was a hassle, but definitely worth it. Riding your own shit is always 10x better and the stuff we were doing was harder than anything we'd ever done before so nice to be on a familiar steed.

[davep]

This seems like a lifetime ago - from when I guided in Bolivia. It's a small sampling, I found my old TR's but I don't know what happened to the photos, they're broken links now so all you get is this cause I'm too lazy to do another write up. This is just one day fucking around at about 16K feet and doesn't even touch on the amazing single track there. It really is the most mind blowing place I've ever ridden. From jungle to high desert and everything in between Bolivia is the real deal.

You can go here and flip to page 31 of IMBike Mag if you want to read an article I wrote and see photos I took.

Do you have any reco's for guides/outfits to go with in Bolivia now?
I much prefer the idea of riding without a guide... but have to imagine it must be hard to navigate the trails without one...

[evdog]

I went to South america for two months back in 2005. I got in 3 days of riding in both Peru and Bolivia - with KB tours in Peru out of Ollantaytambo on some "other" Inca trails, and with Gravity Bolivia around Sorata. I think KB and Gravity have merged in some manner now. Both were good outfits though KB only had bikes with v-brakes back then. Awesome trip, I had not planned to check out any biking but I was glad I got it in. With all the terrain and ancient trails there has got to be killer riding everywhere down there if you knew where to look. Guides are probably worthwhile for that reason. Unless the locals are all on strava now.

[Swine]

Do you have any reco's for guides/outfits to go with in Bolivia now?
I much prefer the idea of riding without a guide... but have to imagine it must be hard to navigate the trails without one...

I worked for Gravity Bolivia and they are the only legitimate operation in La Paz that accesses all of the singletrack in and around that area (there are a lot of companies that do the "death road" - which might be worth it for the views, but isn't real mountain biking - incidentally it's what I had to guide most, but when a singletrack trip came up we all piled on it and would work for free if another guide got it just so we could go ride). Sorata is about 3.5 hours away and is DEFINITELY worth riding if you're there as well. Gravity does Sorata trips, but so does Andean Epics, I think the guy who started it used to work for Gravity some. I don't know much about them though.

If you watch Cedric's part from NWD 6 he uses Gravity Bolivia for his trip (as all pros that I know of do who go to Bolivia, I got to ride with Rob J and Renee Wildhaber in Sorata, they kicked my ass).

Everything he rides here you can too with Gravity, and it is all in and around La Paz (not Sorata). At 1:19 he starts riding "Ayma" - it's like a drainage on the ridge of a mountain, one of the most fun trails, ever.



And, a photo from Sorata. I rode into a herd of wild horses in this area, it was quite possibly the coolest experience I've ever had on a bike.



I still talk to the owner of Gravity Bolivia and have some lifelong friends that I guided with, I'm biased but I'd go with them. It would be essentially impossible to do these trips without a guide and a support vehicle to get you to the top (hike a bike, much less riding up, at nearly 5000 meters is insanely awful). Plus, a lot of the singletrack (except Sorata) is not purpose built, you're riding down old Incan trails or footpaths that are very very old - some cross through small rural enclaves and Gravity has permission to ride through these areas and has done good-will services for the local community. Some are so remote that the people barely speak Spanish and still stick to indigenous languages. It's another world, for real. Damn, I really miss it.

Gravity's site doesn't seem to be loading at the moment, not too surprising - it's Bolivia and still pretty much a third world country. I can get you emails if it doesn't come online in the next couple days if you want.

[creaky fossil]

Can I change my answer to 'loogie?'

if it makes you feel better about yourself, but anyone can spit and according to you, only the raddest riders shear tires off rims and throw "roost" at their online enemies

I'm sure he rides with toast all the time.

look, it's Mister Me Too, here to give us the whalebear viewpoint

*****************

is Swine the reincarnation of Arrogant Progressive Mr Mom, a/k/a Wendy'sburgers, a/k/a My Homemade Shit Will Only Cost You $1,000 And It's Rad Shit

[stuckathuntermtn]

I got lost up the Taylor Fork drainage in the Madisons overnight. This was a long time ago now. Anyway, it was pretty exotic. And by exotic I mean terrifying.

[creaky fossil]

staring at Google Earth for an "overnight" period definitely can make you feel disoriented and you may begin imagining you're actually there

[Swine]

Christ creaky, do you have to cunt up every thread that stuckie and woo post in? I'm pretty sure they have you on ignore, why the fuck do you follow them around?

[creaky fossil]

oooooohhhhh, you're cunting up your own vagina! that's like being the gay wachowski who gets a transgender to a woman, then back to a man, then back to a woman.

remember, wendy: it's just "a waste of time" when you insult others here, but when someone insults you, it's a Blue Ribbon Panel Discussion among Leaders in the Field.

right. that's stellar stuff. can I buy one of your pieces of bike junk for 10,000? I promise not to re-badge it with Ben Ferencz/FairEnds logos.

[grskier]

I'll need to add Bolivia for a mtn bike trip to my bucket sports trips.