Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking

Transcription

1 Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking Singletrack Tour of Bolivia and Peru th March 2009 Join Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking on a spectacular tour of the mountain biking highlights of the South American Andes, via the singletrack routes of Bolivia and Peru. Explore ancient rarely biked pre-inca roadways, remote corners of the Andes and villages untouched by modern society by the most exciting means possible. Challenge yourself on trails made famous by the likes of Cedric Gracia in the film New World Disorder 6. Learn new skills and gain confidence under the instruction and coaching of our professional guides and through exposure to world-class challenging trails. Aim to break more than 100,000 vertical feet of descent in two weeks of incredible singletrack riding.

2 Day 1: La Paz, Bolivia. Arrival Arriving in La Paz you ll head to The Adventure Brew, La Paz s hottest new hostel. With its own micro-brewery for post-ride carb-loading, stunning views from its rooftop bar and wood-fired outdoor beer spas, The Brew is the perfect place to base ourselves for the next week of riding. After a look around, we ll crash the Gravity workshop to build up our bikes and pick up any last supplies and bits of gear for the coming weeks. Recommended: If you are worried about the altitude, we recommend you arrive earlier, and use this day for a trip down The World s Most Dangerous Road with a public Gravity tour. This is a great way to expedite your acclimatisation and check out the biggest tourist attraction in Bolivia. See GravityBolivia.com for more details. Descent: 3,500m Day 2: Pueblos outside of La Paz, Bolivia. Secret Singletrack We get to test our skills and acclimatisation with a ride on a number of legendary trails out in the hills surrounding La Paz. Made world famous by the folks from Freeride Entertainment in the film New World Disorder 6, these trails will give you a taste of what s to come and your first attempt at the legendary Collana switchbacks (you won t believe them until you see them!!). We may even get the chance to undertake some skill training on one of the local downhill racecourses. Descent: 1,500m Day 3: Urmiri, Bolivia. The Hot Springs Today we head to one of Bolivia best-kept secrets an hour of so out of La Paz. We unload the bikes to launch into an endless array of downhill switchbacks and exposed singletrack... dusty, drifty, dirty good fun! Watch out for the cacti, though -- they are equally vicious against skin and tyres! To fine tune our skills we will repeat some sections under the watchful gaze of the Gravity guides, focusing on tips to improve flow, speed and fun. One of the highlights on this ride is actually the finish: we ride directly into the hotel, handily equipped with its own hot spring (all included)! After dinner, you can even choose to upgrade to a room with a private hot-tub. Descent: 1,000m

3 Day 4: Urmiri, Bolivia. If we manage to drag ourselves out of the hot pools, we will explore some more of the trails surrounding Urmiri, trying a few runs of some of the shorter trails or some longer descents into the valley. We return to La Paz and The Adventure Brew Hostel in the evening and hit the hay early. Tomorrow is a big one! Descent: 1,000m Day 5: Takesi, Bolivia. Pre-Inca Trail This is the one trail you would ride if you knew you were going to die tomorrow. Its seven or so hours of ancient, mostly downhill, Pre-Inca trails, stairways, rock-gardens, and kilometre after kilometre of ribbon-like singletrack will blow your mind. From the lofty heights of the Andes, through virgin Cloud Forest to the steaming jungle of the Yungas Region, this ride has enough to keep the most hardened adventurer happy. We ll keep the hike-a-bike to the start of the trail our own little secret for now. Return to La Paz in the evening. Descent: 3,500m

4 Day 6: Sorata, Bolivia. Sick, Sweet Trails Day six we have a 2-hour drive to the pueblo of Sorata, our destination for the next two days. Today we start riding at the pass above the township and wind our way along some spectacular knife-edge ridges under the gaze of the summit of Mt Illampu (6,368 masl). Descending into the valley we weave through farms, walking trails and even local people s back-yards (avoiding the random donkeys along the way). Finish by crossing a rickety foot-bridge, or with some wet feet, and a short climb (or push!!) into the town plaza for a cold beer in the sun. The adventurous amongst us can try the notorious and near suicidal Zig-Zags into the Altai Oasis, where we spend the night amongst the pet llamas. Descent: 1,600m Day 7: Sorata, Bolivia. After a tasty breakfast at the Altai, we load up for the 2- hour drive to Paso Chuchu, 2,000 vertical metres above Sorata (4,700 masl). This is home to the Jach a Avalancha racecourse, Bolivia s answer to the MegAvalanche. Ahead lie 30 odd kilometres of scree slopes, mountain terrain, hand-built mountain bike trails, berms, jumps, drops and the type of tracks synonymous to Sorata -- village walking trails. Handily enough, we ride straight in to the Altai for a bite to eat before heading back to La Paz. Descent: 2,000m

5 Day 8: Pueblos outside of La Paz, Bolivia. MiniMegAvalanche! Time to put what you have learnt over the past six days into action. Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking will be playing host to a local mass-start downhill race, a MiniMegAvalanche if you will. Don t worry, the course will be one of the trails you rode on Day Two, but if you are super-keen, you could do an early morning run to practice the course. Join the Gravity Bolivia team for a celebratory beer and BBQ at the finish of the race! Descent: 800m Day 9: Transfer to Peru Today we say goodbye to Bolivia and depart for the next Leg of the tour: Peru. It s a long day on the road but with the Gravity bus pumping out some pimpin tunes it is survivable. And after the last seven days of riding you might need to catch up on a bit of sleep to feel ready for the week ahead! Mid-way we complete border formalities then continue on to Cuzco, the culture (and backpacker) capital of Peru. If you have any energy left, tonight is an opportunity to taste the infamous nightlife of Cuzco.

6 Day 10: Chincerho, Peru. This is a ride that could be described as either one of the most brilliant trails in South America, or alternatively just plain silly! Without realising, the Incas succeeded in creating possibly the ultimate downhill mountain bike trail. Seemingly endless stairways and rock gardens give way to tight, technical singletrack. Then a blast through the small village of Urquillos and out to meet the bus in Huayllabamba. Had fun? Then let s do it all over again!! Tonight we make ourselves comfortable in a hostel in Ollantaytambo, where we ll be staying for the rest of the week. Descent: 1,800m Day 11: Sacred Valley, Peru. One of the finest trails you will find anywhere in Peru, this wilderness biking at its best. We start with a bit of a high-altitude pedaling (or pushing). After a breather at the pass we head down, down, down it s a long way down from here! Following another old Inca road, manifesting itself as a superb mountain bike trail, we make our way to the ruins of Huchuy Quosqo perched high above the Sacred Valley. The last 1,000m descent to the valley floor involves some gravel roads, but mainly sweet singletrack and some tricky switchbacks that remind us of Bolivia. Descent: 1,500m Day 12: Abra Malaga, Peru. Mega Practice Here s our first look at the MegAvalanche racecourse. We will head up early with the team from Gravity Bolivia to hopefully squeeze in several runs of the course. This allows us to practice the tricky sections and refine our line choices for the upcoming race. The course is mostly stunning singletrack with the occasional (optional!) monster jump for good measure. Descent: 3,600m

7 Day 13: Lares or Abra, Peru. Today we have a couple of options. First, we can head out to the Lares valley to ride a trail very similar to the Mega course. The local riders believe this is actually a better route and includes many flights of Inca stairs through a narrow and amazingly beautiful canyon. We can complete this route twice, or for a more relaxing day we make a morning visit to the Lares Valley hot springs. The day finishes with a roll down the road (with a few off-road shortcuts) into the town plaza of Calca. The other option is to return with the Gravity team to the Mega course for a further day of practice and refining the racecourse. Descent: 3,300m Day 14: Race Classification Saturday is the day of classification for the MegAvalanche race. You will be allocated one of several start times for your classification run, and your finishing position in this determines which line on the grid you will start for the race runs tomorrow. In the evening we head to the main plaza in Ollantaytambo for the release of the day s results. Descent: 1,800m

8 Day 15: RACE DAY! Crunch time. Two runs down the Mega course, the rider with the fastest combined time wins... simple! In the evening we will head along to the prize-giving ceremony and hopefully toast our success with a Cusqueña or two (the local brew). Descent: 3,600m Day 16: Cuzco, Peru. We will travel back to Cuzco to say our goodbyes, or to drop you off at your hotel should you decide to extend your stay in Peru. Total Trip Descent (estimate): 30,500 vertical metres / 100,066 vertical feet

9 Additional Information Extras Optional add-ons to the tour include those listed below. Contact us for more information - Visits to the ruins of the pre-inca civilisation of Tiwanaku (Bolivia) or the lost city of Machu Picchu (Peru). - A 2- or 3-day climb of Huayna Potosi, the world s most accessible 6,000m peak, near La Paz, Bolivia. - A trip down The World s Most Dangerous Road, the most popular cycle journey in South America. Trip Summary Day Date Activity Overnight Accom Included Notes 1 Sunday 15/03 Arrive, Build Bikes La Paz TABH - Optional WMDR Acclimatisation Ride 2 Monday 16/03 La Paz SST La Paz TABH B,L 3 Tuesday 17/03 Urmiri Urmiri Gloria B,L,D Option upgrade to room with private hot-tub 4 Wednesday 18/03 Urmiri La Paz TABH B,L 5 Thursday 19/03 Takesi La Paz TABH B,L 6 Friday 20/03 Sorata - La Cumbre Sorata Altai B,L,D 7 Saturday 21/03 Sorata - ChuChu La Paz TABH B,L 8 Sunday 22/03 MiniMegAvalanche La Paz TABH B,L 9 Monday 23/03 Transfer - Peru Cuzco Loki Cusco B,L 10 Tuesday 24/03 Chinchero Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L 11 Wednesday 25/03 Huchuy Quosqo Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L 12 Thursday 26/03 Mega Practice Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L 13 Friday 27/03 Lares Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L Optional Extra Mega Practice Day 14 Saturday 28/03 Classification Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L 15 Sunday 29/03 RACE DAY!!!! Ollantaytambo Hostel B,L 16 Monday 30/03 Depart B

10 Included - Breakfasts, Lunches, Ride Snacks and Water on all ride days - Dinners, days 3 and 6 - Guides - Private transport including purpose-built bike racks - Accommodation - Airport transfer in La Paz - Race entrance fees - Access to Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking s workshops in La Paz and Cuzco - Optional Bike Rental includes: o 6-inch travel Kona Garbanzo Coilair o Full- or open-face helmet (depending on ride) o Knee/shin and elbow guards o Body Armour o Full-finger downhill gloves Not Included - Dinners not listed above (see above) - Border fees - Personal insurance - Alcohol - Tips - The World s Most Dangerous Road acclimatisation trip - Upgrades to private rooms - Flights and associated taxes - Incidental Costs Costs No. Of People Trip Price Trip Price Trip Price (total) (including bike rental) (incl. bike rental, Early Booking) 4-5 $2200 $2655 $ $1700 $2155 $ $1500 $1955 $1745 Prices above are quoted in $US. Early booking refers to a confirmed booking, including deposit paid by 01 January Deposit (paid on booking) $US500, remainder due no later than one month before trip departure.

11 Notes This trip is classed as difficult and is aimed at experienced mountain bikers with singletrack experience and intermediate to advanced skills. The trails are often very technical and are far from advanced medical care, if any is available. A heavy trail bike or light freeride bike is ideal for this trip. A full-on downhill rig is fine but will be hard work on the occasional pedalling and hike-a-bike sections. As an example, bikes owned by our guides include Santa Cruz Nomads, Bullits and Hecklers, and Kona Coilairs and Stinkys. Keep in mind that we are a licensed dealer for Santa Cruz and Kona bikes -- pick up a new ride for a fantastic price when you arrive! Full-face helmets and body armour are not necessary but are useful for some trails. The use of knee/shin and elbow guards are strongly recommended. A certified and suitable helmet is necessary at all times on our rides. Contact Us info@gravitybolivia.com subject: MegAvalanche GRAVITY ASSISTED MOUNTAIN BIKING Av. 16 de Julio #1490 Edificio Avenida Planta Baja, Oficina #10 La Paz, BOLIVIA Telf: (591-2)