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Day 36: Launching the Bike Circus Road Gap

URT Day 36 Saalbach

Eno off the road gap with a trademark 'suicide'

Day 36: Awesome Saalbach trails and the Evil Eye road gap. Today was an epic day. And the rain held off, despite the forecast predicting that all hell would break loose over lunch. It didn’t, so we had a full day of great riding and got some great pictures along the way. Things got off to a good start when we met up with trail shapers Roli and Mucki, halfway down the “Pro Line” Trail busy hacking away at the berms with shovels and a pick-axe. Together with Sasch they are responsible for trail design and build here as Saalbach-Hinterglemm – and what a great job they do! The “Pro Line” trail is a fast-flowing trail with optional sections of northshore known as the “Evil Eye” Trails, after the adidas shades that sponsor it. These drops gave some great opportunities for pictures, so we spent a good couple of hours with Sasch and a few others, getting some shots. Got some good ones too – should give you some idea of the site of the gap…

Sasch launches the Evil Eye road gap

We were also joined by Eno from Bike Hotel Conrad, who was out guiding a small group of riders from the hotel. So he got in on the act and launched a couple of ‘suicides’ over the road gap before heading on down with the group.

In the afternoon we headed up the Schattberg X-press to check out X-Line. This is a fantastic trail – no exaggeration to say it is one of the most enjoyable trails we have ridden in the URT! It has 1025m of height loss and includes everything you could possibly want – fast berms, roots, rocks, jumps, northshore etc. And you can ride it top to bottom without stopping if you can hold on to your bars! It is not super technical or steep, at least until you get to some very rooty sections near the bottom, but it is fast and flowing and super fun and makes you want to do it again and again. A big factor is that it’s missing the sections that have a severe ‘penalty for failure’, those moments where if you get it wrong you will definitely hurt yourself. Those are great on occasion, and there is certainly a demand for it as mountain biking continues to push the boundaries. But sometimes you just want to have stacks of fun on a bike without really putting your neck on the line. And X-Line gives it to you in bucket loads. Just near the bottom of the course there is a classic Canadian ‘BC’ section of woods with moss all over the ground, indicating some pretty wet conditions all year round. So in classic BC stye they have built huge sections of northshore boards to get you through – all ridable by those with not that much experience. There are a couple of large drops right at the end, both optional, and some more demanding northshore for those wanting it, and then it brings you out right by the lift so you can get straight back on and go up for more.

David on the long northshore section near the bottom of X-Line

In the evening we went for a beer with Sasch and Sabine, the mountain biking cover star of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm trail map, who also happens to be Sasch’s other half. Restaurant Bärenbach is this cool little local’s hangout with outside tables (under cover) and fresh fish smoking away on an open grill. It’s the perfect place to chill out and talk bikes after a big day on the mountain. The reception we had from those guys (along with Roli and Mucki) has been immense, and you will be hard pressed to find a more down-to-earth, friendly and open team of people involved in bike park development. Seems like Saalbach has it sorted.

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