Pure riding indulgence.

Food and mountain biking find their heavenly match in Liguria, Italy

 By Vince Shuley.

“Buon giorno!” Antonio greets me heartily as he looks up from watering his plants, smiling. Our host and chef at the agriturismo "A ca Vegia" doesn't speak a word of English — the norm for most people of the older generations in Italy — but I can tell by his gestures towards the green valley bathed in sun that he is admiring another perfect-weather day in Liguria.

Downtown Finale Lirure is beautiful.

 Our hilltop retreat at A ca Vegia overlooks the township of Finale de Ligure, one of the many towns along the Italian Riviera. Finale is the first stop on Big Mountain Bike Adventures' Bella Rivera DH, a week-long downhill mountain bike tour of the Ligurian coast shuttling some of the country's finest trails, and gorging on arguably the best home cooking in the world.

Mountain biking has existed here since the early '90s with many of Italy's cross-country racers using the hills surrounding Finale as a training ground. But after Canadian freeride pioneers Brett Tippie, Wade Simmons and Richie Schley (namesake for Whistler Mountain Bike Park's "Schleyer" trail) visited Finale to film for the Kranked film series in 1999, the local mountain bikers began to put shovels in the dirt to build their own downhill-centric descents.

Guide extraordinaire Louise. There's no one better to show you the trails, and more.

"(The Kranked crew) rode XC trails jumping from one side of the trail to the other, playing around and having so much fun with their bikes," said Allesandro Molini, a born and raised Finale local and guide for Big Mountain Adventures.

"It was an explosion. After that (the locals) started to build trails just for fun."

Finale de Ligure has since become a popular destination for British and European mountain bikers looking for easily accessed trails and reliable, sunny weather. Trails range from berm-filled downhill descents, jumps and stunts to the 2013 Super Enduro course, all with views stretching along the beaches of the Ligurian Sea.

With as many shuttles as our group can handle, for two days we sample trails that finish either in the town or on the beach, the locals barely noticing trains of riders donning full face helmets and body armour. Bikers are welcome here, providing much needed tourism after years of declining mainstream tourist visits to Italy.

Mid-descent. Yes, that's Finale Ligure way way down there on the Med.

A new destination is on the cards tomorrow, requiring a send off from the hospitable folks at A ca Vegia. Glasses of Prosecco clink as another gargantuan four course meal emerges from Antonio's kitchen.

Good thing we don't have to pedal uphill tomorrow.

The Witching Hour

Driving west along the coast and turning up the steep Valle Argentina, we soon arrive at the tiny crow's nest village of Triora. A dark history permeates the alleys and cobblestone streets, testament to the brutal witch trials held by the Holy Inquisition in the late 16th Century. Today the locals celebrate the morbid legacy of putting the witches on trial and burning witches by selling wart-nosed witch dolls and Halloween decorations year round, as well as celebrating several witch-themed festivals throughout the year.

The steep walls of the valley meant most paths were originally built to traverse the hillsides, used by hunters stalking game and peasants harvesting the numerous chestnut plantations. But the trails are not without their challenging sections; rocks and roots protrude out of the soil and the exposure off to the side requires disciplined braking and line choice. Ancient medieval bridges and simple stone shrines honouring the Virgin Mary are just a few of the historic treasures we pass by as we descend towards the valley floor.

Nice spot to be at the end of the day.

We break for lunch in Triora's town square, the iron sculpture of a hooded witch – complete with cauldron and broomstick – overseeing our four courses of bruschetta, meats and cheeses, pasta and tiramisu. I order a double espresso to shake off the afternoon fatigue, but our first ride after lunch turns out to be a spectacular wake up call.

We descend directly from the restaurant in Triora to the satellite village of Molini, bikes buzzing down the vacant stone walkways. Riding through the town's deserted cobble-stoned alleys with cats scattering into the shadows, you can't help but feel that the souls of those "witches" haunt the place several centuries later.

The hills have their share of history as well. During World War II the area was a staging ground for the guerrilla attacks against Italy's fascist rule, the roads that provide such convenience for shuttling mountain bikers were refined by Nazi Germany to move troops and armour faster inland from the Mediterranean. Now the majority of traffic is relatively peaceful with shuttle vans and motorcycle groups.

A SUPER fun trail deep in Europe's largest beach forest.

 The Santo Spirito Hotel is our dinner and bed for the next two nights, and its chefs have been hard at work to give our hungry group of mountain bikers the meals of our lives, which after Antonio's magic will not be easy.

Two more days of riding and eating lay ahead of me. Without a single hill to climb on this mountain bike vacation, I'll be needing an endurance of a different kind.

For more information on this trip and more, head to the Big Mountain BikeAdventures

Click here for Bella Riviera DH trip details, and here for Dolce Vita all-mountain trip details.

10 YEARS.

This is a photo compilation that was posted on Pinkbike.com back in May of this year. We figured that since the year was coming to an end we'd bring it back. Enjoy!

This photo-essay shares a few highlights from Big Mountain Advenures (BMA), the Whistler-based mountain bike tour company that turns 10 this year. This is a brief history for Big Mountain, but really its roots started growing back in the early-70's...

Circa 1977, BMA founder Chris Winter getting a taste of cycling tours from the back of his dad's custom tandem on a month-long camping trip with 30 high school kids. Winter's pioneering parents started running road bike trips in 1972 to Europe and Canada's maritime provinces. The company, called Cycleventures still exists today, 41 years later.

The wheels were set in motion for the idea of developing an international mountain bike travel company during the winter of 2001 while eating fondue and drinking wine in a little chalet perched above the town of Haute Nendaz, in the Swiss Alps. Winter met local Francois Panchard earlier that year on the internet as he researched riding options in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The two hit it off like old friends and realized that they both shared a passion for mountain biking and exploring new terrain. In this 2002 photo, Paddy Kaye, Ryan Bowland & Winter ride the Col de Mines, Verbier, Switzerland.

 On this first exploratory trip Panchard eagerly dragged Kaye, Bowland and Winter all over his local mountains, linking up rides with buses, trains, lifts and a shuttle truck. Panchard’s bike that year was a 25 pound fully rigid with v-brakes that he climbed like the wind. The bikes of choice in Whistler at the time were heavy overbuilt freeride bikes with double-crown forks and 3” tires built for jumping off roofs and big stunts. And jeans and flannel shirts as riding apparel. Needless to say, the Whistler crew got worked pretty hard on that first trip, but they still returned blown away by the riding. This photo is Winter taking trip notes after a long stretch of back to back big epics in the Alps. Tired, but very happy.

 In Switzerland every ride requires a map and serious logistical planning to link the details together. Besides the amazing rides, what stood out for the Canadians was the lack of riders they saw on any given day and the unreal transportation network. And unlike riding in Whistler, every ride in Switzerland is a high alpine epic accessed by a lift or paved road usually with a cafe at the top. Each day became a top 10 of all time. In this photo, Panchard & Blaise Mettan scope new lines in their backyard.

 Winter was so excited about his Swiss experiences that he and Panchard hatched up a grander adventure for the next year, 2003. Panchard dubbed it the Crazy Canuck Freeride Challenge (CCFC) based on the ambitious itinerary and the all-star crew of fired-up BC riders and local Swiss riders invited. This photo shows the modest view from their digs in Zermatt and JJ Desormeaux heading out for a day of big mountain riding on his Chromag on singletrack that could not have been closer to the front door.

 Panchard laid out an ambitious riding itinerary that encompassed rides that overlooked Lake Geneva to rides on the doorstep of Mont Blanc and a long list of loops on both flanks of the Rhone valley through Martigny, Sion, Sierre and onto Brig and Zermatt. Many of the rides had barely seen bikes. This 2003 pic is Squamish-based Chad "The Champ" Onyschuk hanging it out on the Dent de Morcles. A hike-a-bike to end all hike-a-bikes that led to an extra large descent.

Nights on the CCFC were spent packed into his small chalet pouring over maps, listening to techno music, drinking too much beer and wine, or spent in a mountain hut, drinking too much beer and wine. In this photograph night had fallen, the group had ridden a massive day and had caught the very last lift, just in the nick of Swiss time, to an alpine hut for the night. Panchard (second from left with beer in hand) set the bar very high on the CCFC, and it was met with great enthusiasm as the smiling Sean Dinwoodie attests.

Guides Joe Schwartz & Chris Winter descend the final stretch to the Hotel La Vallee in Lourtier, Switzerland, Big Mountain Adventures' European headquarters in the heart of the Alps. The hotel is run by the skiing and mountain biking Pellissier family who are the warmest mountain hosts after a big day of riding.

This photo is Big Mountain Adventures' backyard, exploring deep into BC's South Chilcotins region with good friends and a flight from Tyax Air. BMA has spent a decade exploring some of the far reaches of the earth in search of great singletrack and great trips. Each time the crew returns home though, the riding and culture out its front door become just a little sweeter. The company also run some impressive itineraries out of Vancouver that encompass Squamish, Pemberton, Whistler, the South Chilcotins and the North Shore.

Fall '04 was their first trip to Morocco led by Montreal-based Dave MacDougall who’d been guiding and living in Marrakech on and off for a decade. After an amazing eight days of remote desert riding, on a whim, MacDougall had this first group climb North Africa's highest peak, Mount Toubkal. A side-trip that goes down in the books. BMA knew that this would be the first of many visits to Morocco. Here, Andrew Shandro is seen flying high in remote mountains on the edge of the Sahara while Vanderham carves a giant red wall while filming for The Collective.

Early in ‘05 a big crew left the snow and rain of Coastal BC and headed south to the palm trees Costa Rica to ride with legendary San Jose-based guide Paulo Valle. The trip ended with a few deserved days of surf and sun on the worldclass beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula. Since then Valle has hosted hundreds of BMA riders and created lifelong memories. In this photo Valle admires a killer view in his beautiful country.

 Along with leading trips for clients, BMA also produces corporate and media events. Here, locals Fabio Bernardi & Paolo Tossi drop down to their beautiful hometown, Cortina D'Ampezzo while researching routes for a Trek Bicycles event in 2012.

 Peru remains one of Big Mountain's most popular destinations. It's for good reason, it's one of the best places to mountain bike on the planet. The Andes are extra grande, the second biggest mountain range the world. Add the fact that their mountains are arid, that the Incas happened to be master trail builders and you've got a recipe for a whole lot of good times on a mountain bike. Rider: Justin Mark.

 For a number of years Big Mountain ran a mountain bike safari trip in South Africa and Botswana where you'd ride from luxury camp to luxury camp in a 70,000 acre game reserve. Kinda like being inside the cages of a zoo, except without the fences. The trip is no longer, at least for the time being. This photo is a group racing the sun back to camp. When the sun sets in Botswana the predators come out to hunt. Lions, leopards; a different kind of technical. It's a good thing guides carry big-ass guns just in case.

 Mr. Wade Simmons with Chile's Villarrica volcano looming in the background. Not all destinations have made the cut for a BMA trip. Chile is one of them, at least not yet. It has all the features of a world-class adventure mountain bike destination but its unique geography makes logistics difficult and expensive.

 This is mountain bike-crazy Rotorua, New Zealand. A truly great place to ride if you get the chance. Every town planner should go to Rotorua and take some notes in their Whakarewarewa Forest trail network. Task #1 is to figure out how to pronounce the name. They've created an extensive network of great trails within a concentrated area minutes from town. Easy climbs to trail heads, trails for all levels of riders and a killer shuttle service. The dirt there is pretty much perfect for trail building. Lucky them. Rotorua. Rocks.

Dropping down to dreamy Lahaina, Maui with Lanai island in the distance. There are pockets of good riding on Maui but not enough to warrant bringing your mountain bike instead of your surf board, yet. This is local mountain bike advocate 'Moose' leading the charge on a killer evening ride.

Wherever they travel, Big Mountain's mission is to support the local economy by partnering with the very best local guides and tour operators at its destinations. It also has had the pleasure of working with a number of celebrated guides like Joe Schwartz, Wade Simmons, Lorraine Blancher, Paulo Valle, Wayo Stein, Andreas Hestler, Seb Kemp, Louise Paulin and Stephen Matthews, to name just a few. Here, Kemp is right at home on the planet's biggest mountains, on BMA's Nepal 'Himalaya Heights' trip.

What's in store for the next decade at Big Mountain Adventures? Continue to fine-tune and improve their current roster of destinations, develop new itineraries and keep inspiring people to ride their bikes and love our sport. The search continues...

A huge buffed-singletrack-filled thanks to all the riders who've joined BMA on trips over the past decade. And more thanks to the amazing professional photographers that have shot our trips: Sterling Lorence, Blake Jorgenson, Harookz, Chris Christie, Scott Markewitz, Dan Barham, Ian Hylands, Bonny Makarewicz, Ilja Herb, Mattias Fredriksson, Christophe Margot & Adrian Marcoux. And BMA's amazing sponsors: Trek Bicycles, Sombrio, SRAM, Chromag & Smith Optics.

Three things we love about Italy.

If you've been to Italy, then you know the Piaggio Ape. Bad ass. Piaggio need to bring the bad boy back into production. I got my first ride just this past spring on our new Bella Riviera DH trip and let me tell you it was memorable. Typically driven by an old guy, these little three wheelers can carry everything from peaches and even grapefruits. Big, juicy pay load. Look closely, this little nug has mano-a-mano hand painted on the front and door, one yielding a blade. Ape.

Guys in white pants and guys white shorts talking by a fountain. Guy white in shorts: "The climb," he said, "it was insane. You wouldn't believe how steep it was." Guy in white pants: "No shit eh? I love your shorts man." No disrespect at all boys, full props to let'ner fly.

 

Like architecture and history? Italy has amazing buildings that we'd only dream of back home. Check this out, the Duomo in Catania Sicily that was originally built in 1078 but destroyed many times by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 1078? A little reminder that we're all here for just a short time, best enjoy it and take care of your surroundings so that the next generation can enjoy it...

Monteviasco Italia: by Marco Toniolo

Watch this refreshing video with some historical background of the town, the trail and it's inhabitants. Mmmm, Italy. Bela. We're working on a new Italy trip. Keep your eyes peeled here. Enjoy!