Nice.
Couple of Italian and Swiss ride pics
- Thread starter buckoW
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WestCoastHucker! ...unforgivable... that mess is where its at! baha i love it
those are the people that make life more interesting. you gotta love it.This shot is from Malcesine, Italy. Me hitting the "Il Droppo" with my new Italian friends. We can hardly communicate but thanks to the bike we rode together for a week and drank like pirates every night. (there was even a drunk 80 year old guy that thought he was a pirate, the joke is, that he has only been out on the lake and never on the open sea) Check the wine crate construction I'm talking about. It actually is wine crates!
btw, your friend takes GREAT pictures. he's definitely got the eye for it.. he should think about a career in photography (after riding of course) if he has'nt already!oh, and the guy in the red with the ciggie... just beautiful!
Seriously. That shot made me realize I need to do more celebrating when the people I'm riding with are ripping.
I agree. We are always cheering for eachother. Here is a photo of some stoked riding buddies getting ready to drop in.
later, on the same trail
and another shot from Verbier, Switzerland
sometimes I built some big jumps for friends
Porter flipped this thing
last run of the day
our home tram
our home tram
Yeah, there is a trail to the right of the tram where you have nothing but a singletrack on the knife ridge with a big dropoff on either side. It is easier to ride that stuff in the winter.
I gotta move back to Europe, I love the Alps.
Japan is cool, but it's a nightmare to travel anywhere with the bike! Can't take it on the trains (unless you pack it up in a bag, carrying a 40lb bike on the train?) Even then there are no connections to the lift access parks! And having a car in Tokyo is a bit ridiculous!
Japan is cool, but it's a nightmare to travel anywhere with the bike! Can't take it on the trains (unless you pack it up in a bag, carrying a 40lb bike on the train?) Even then there are no connections to the lift access parks! And having a car in Tokyo is a bit ridiculous!
Where is the place in the first two photos that you posted today?
Fantastic photos, please post more! They sum up for me exactly why I love the sport so much; the thrill plus the beauty of the landscape. And you guys have real mountains over there too!
Fantastic photos, please post more! They sum up for me exactly why I love the sport so much; the thrill plus the beauty of the landscape. And you guys have real mountains over there too!
Champery. Right on our doorstep.
In fact, that trail leads pretty much to his door!
In fact, that trail leads pretty much to his door!
and the first photo is from Garda Lake.
Yeah, that leads back down to a fireroad that heads back down (then back up) to Les Crosets if I recall correctly? F*ck riding down that, I was scared enough walking down it!
BTW should have news about riding there (or not) this summer tomorrow night.
Here is another one from out back behind my house
This one is from Montreux which is a 40 minute drive from my house
This was taken in Bex which is a 20 minuter drive from my house
Porter on a temporary jump I made on the Swiss Champs DH track
Les 7 Laux, France. This was like a snowboard kicker.
This one is from Montreux which is a 40 minute drive from my house
This was taken in Bex which is a 20 minuter drive from my house
Porter on a temporary jump I made on the Swiss Champs DH track
Les 7 Laux, France. This was like a snowboard kicker.
An old one from Chatel, France
Some friends have modified backpacks and like to ride/hike stuff like that. I rarely go with them but they have another peak (Dent de Morcle) that they climb for 3 hours with the bikes on the packs and then have a sick run down. That is 3 hours of almost rock climbing with huge drop offs to one side. I prefer to pedal, push or ride a lift but they like the mountaineering/downhilling excursions.
The photos have got me super stoked to head to the alps again this summer. Hopefully we will have a campervan with us this time and can travel a bit further afield.
I had such an amazing time last year, so much riding to do, and such variation.
See again you in July Ben!
I'll have my maps ready for directions!
JT
I had such an amazing time last year, so much riding to do, and such variation.
See again you in July Ben!
I'll have my maps ready for directions!
JT
Sounds good. See you this summer.
Once again, nice photos. Are you not native to Switzerland/France because your English is very good. I've always wanted to live in Switzerland but I hear they are pretty restrictive about letting foreigners own property. Or is that only for foreigners purchasing a second home?
I am from the US but married a Swiss girl so our house is in her name until next year when I get my Swiss passport. There are laws against foreigners buying property but it depends on where you want to buy and where you are from. For example it is easier for someone from the EU to work buy property than it is for an American. It depends on how a country treats the Swiss people in their country regarding work. Some resort towns are protected but some are not. It also depends on what kind of work you do. If you have a special trade and a company needs you then it is easier.
I found some more shots to share with you guys
Top of the Mosette lift with a couple a regulars from Champery
My wife sitting on one of the foam blocks from the foam pit having a beer reading a bike mag after riding in Chatel.
Solveigh loading her bike onto the trailer in front of the train which takes us up 1800 vertical meters
Me and the Champery gang riding one of the trails accessed by the train.
Dede tried to pass me and slipped out and luckily I jumped over him.
Beers on the lake after riding is one of the reasons that Montreux is one of my favorite spots around here.
Top of the Mosette lift with a couple a regulars from Champery
My wife sitting on one of the foam blocks from the foam pit having a beer reading a bike mag after riding in Chatel.
Solveigh loading her bike onto the trailer in front of the train which takes us up 1800 vertical meters
Me and the Champery gang riding one of the trails accessed by the train.
Dede tried to pass me and slipped out and luckily I jumped over him.
Beers on the lake after riding is one of the reasons that Montreux is one of my favorite spots around here.
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they really give you a passport? seen "the swissmakers"?
haha, no I haven't seen that one but I have heard about it. My wife had to write a letter for the first 3 years that we were together saying that she still loves me and we are still together. I supposedly get the red passport next summer (after 5 yrs.) so we will see.
so it's still hard to get one in these days
for an American it is very hard.
My page on the Scott site has 2 cool photos from this summer that I shouldn't put up here. The first 2 pics at http://scott-sports.com/gb_en/team_rider/192/ben_walker the first 2 shots are by Marco Toniolo.
all i can say is
f@cken awesome
f@cken awesome
Likewise. You have your flatties pretty dialled Ben!
Thanks, I have been working on them forever.
a couple more shots from Montreux
Here is what the top of the highest trail loos like. There are lots of loose rocks and drifty corners. That is my wife riding in the pic.
the train that takes you up 1800 vertical meters
and one of Eric Porter from a couple summers ago in Champery
Here is what the top of the highest trail loos like. There are lots of loose rocks and drifty corners. That is my wife riding in the pic.
the train that takes you up 1800 vertical meters
and one of Eric Porter from a couple summers ago in Champery
Thanks.
Here is a sequence shot by Christophe Margot (www.photomargot.com) from the same shoot as above. The dirt quarter was over head high with a steep and loose downhill race track as a run in. The hand plant was the jump leading into this quarter. I built this stuff in the morning then he rode it and then I took it down. Lippy dirt jumps and dirt quarters don't really have their place on a DH race track. Here is the sequence.
Here is a sequence shot by Christophe Margot (www.photomargot.com) from the same shoot as above. The dirt quarter was over head high with a steep and loose downhill race track as a run in. The hand plant was the jump leading into this quarter. I built this stuff in the morning then he rode it and then I took it down. Lippy dirt jumps and dirt quarters don't really have their place on a DH race track. Here is the sequence.
EPIC
Sick dirt QP flare
Im really just in awe.
You are one lucky man!
Sick dirt QP flare
Im really just in awe.
You are one lucky man!