Today was an epic. We were on and off the bikes for a combined total of approximately 7 hours. In that time we rode 30kms, climbed nearly 800 metres and descended possibly 3000 metres (chairlifts account for the discrepancy), spent much of the day above 2000m, enjoyed a year's supply of vitamin D and had a hell of a time. As with Monday, we loaded the bikes in to the van around 9.30am and headed up through Soldeu towards Port d'Enveralira, traveling along the ...

Radiant sunshine, vibrant blue skies, picture postcard mountain ranges, chairlifts, challenging decents. Repeat, repeat, repeat. We began today with a climb up the mountain. Whilst the remainder of the group decided to take the chairlifts from La Massana to Vallnord, the Snowball family headed up on the road, seated behind Courtney as she set a steady pace. Even though it was only 9.30 in the morning, it was bloody hot with the sun searing down on us as...

What to say about today. They say a picture tells a thousand words. Over dinner tonight we compared pictures from our camera phones. Not a lot needed to be said and we were too tired to talk much. The hyperbole could be summarised in one word anyway. Amazing. The day began with a quick shop at the supermarket to pick up food for the day, followed by picking up our bikes from the bike shop and loading them into the van to be transported to Soldeu Bike Park. ...

Today was a day each of us was looking forward to, and certainly won't forget in a hurry. Today was World Cup Day in Andorra, which saw the world's best cross country mountain bikers converge on this pretty little alpine town, tussling it out for round 3 of the World Cup. A coolish morning greeted us, the fresh alpine air a welcome relief following our four or five days dodging traffic in the polluted air of London and Paris. After an early breakfast, we heade...

Up at 5am, we were overcome with a mix of tiredness from the early morning and anticipation of the excitement that beckoned. The rain that bombarded us the evening before was now gone as we said goodbye to Marilyn was good enough to drop us off at the local train station of Maisons Lafitte for our 6am departure as we headed to Paris Orly, the secondary aiport of Paris. With a couple of connections, the trip to Paris Orly took us a couple of hours, followed by ...