Mountain Bike Rider — March 2018

56 mbrMARCH 2018

FEATURE

TheinfrastructureinGraubündenseems
perfectlygearedtowardsbikers,evenduring
thewinterseason.
Although we thought we’d skipped the
hardpart,Michitellsusthatit’sabouttoget
seriouslyphysicalnow.AndasIsaidbefore,
fromthemouthofaSwissguide...timeto
digdeep.Twohourslater,andwe’restill
traversinganarrowsingletrackcontouring
upanddownalongthevalley,inthedirection
of Monstein. I’m developing tunnel vision.
Nothing else matters, other than trying
tosurviveandkeeponAle’sbackwheel.
Foraphotographerwithheavygearheis
surprisingly fit and super-comfortable on the
technical terrain.
Aboutanotherhourlaterwestopforalong
overdue lunch break. Perfectly synchronised,
wefallintoourchairsandorderfoodand
drinkswithoutevenlookingattheprices.
Switzerlandisn’tcheap,perhapsthereason
whysomemountainbikerstendtobewaryof
theplace.Itisreallyalittleeconomicislandin
Europe;peoplehereearnmoretospendmore.
Atoughcallfortouristsfromothercountries,
buthonestlythisisdefinitelyacaseofyouget
whatyoupayfor.Irideallaroundtheworld
andIamsoldonthehighAlpineexperiences
wehadoverthelastcoupleofdays.Itseemsso
easytogetaroundwithyourbikeandto access
this amazing, world-class terrain.

ON THE LIMIT
IfMichihadnotpromisedusa‘spectacular
highlight’ just around the corner, we would
havefounditdifficulttogiveupthischill-out
zone.Acoupleofkilometreslater,Michiand
Richiestopattheendofaclimb.IhearRichie
screaming:“Ohmygod,youhavetoseethis,
Ale.”WeareinthemiddleofaforestandI
can’timaginewhatcouldbesospecialabout
it,whilealsothinkingI’mabittootiredtoget
stoked about pretty much anything right now.

Still,Iarriveattheedgeofwhatlookslike

amassivequarrywithatrailsupportedonly

bywoodenbeamscuttingrightacrossit(see

theBigPictureonpage8).Itlookssuper-scary

to traverse this steep rocky wall, but Ale has

ashotsetupwithinsecondsandisready

topushthetrigger.Richieis,ofcourse,an

original freeride legend and I am stoked to get

to ride this part together as it definitely looks

‘freeride’.Worriedaboutthefactthateven

Richie has second thoughts about some bits

of this little trail, we both commit and drop

in.ItotallyforgethowtiredIamduringthis

intenseadrenalinsurgeandweendupriding

itacoupleoftimes.ThenIseeAlewithasmile

onhisfaceandIknowitwasallwellworthit.

Fromthereweonlyridedownhillandwe’re

going crazy-fast in places. It’s fun and at the

limit,themostaddictivekindofridingforme.

Youknowhowpeoplealwayssayyoumustn’t

saythisisyourlastrun?We’vegottoforget

about that though, and let it all hang out,

becausewe’vegotatraintocatch.Afterfinally

seeingtheRhaetianRailwaytrainstationin

Filisur with its traditional architecture and

afriendlylittlekioskwithtablesandchairs

outside,Ithinktomyself:“OK,maybethis

doeslookabitlikeDisneylandafterall.”

Although the train is already at the platform

readytoleave,wecan’tboardwithout

something cold and refreshing: ice cream

and beers should do it. It’s the most relaxed

return ride I’ve ever experienced, but we’re

completely cooked from this amazing full

dayofriding.Icanonlyhopeitdoesn’ttake

another10yearsuntilIgettoridewiththese

guys again. If that’s the case though, I hope

we come back here.

The epic descent to

Davoswill drive

you to distraction

Misty mountain peaks are

straight out of a fairytale

Relivingthe dream

starts as the journey

home begins