The SkiBike Shop

Without any shadow of a doubt the SkiBike Tour 2015-16 was exceptional; it was in so many ways both the best and worst since the inception of this website.

It marked my return to Austria's ski resorts, my first visit since 2009 and only my second ever experience of this popular skibiking destination. Things kicked off early in December with the 4 Glaciers Express visit to four Austrian glaciers in as many days. It could have been such a perfect jaunt, in good company with near perfect weather. By the last day I felt like a skibiking god, I owned the mountain; but then came the fall that pretty much ruined the season for me. It was just a random fall of the sort you should laugh off, but it has had long lasting and quite possibly permanent consequences.

4 Glaciers Express - by the last day I felt like a skibiking god

A number of panel beating sessions by Dr. Robert, Croydon's skibiking chiropractor, knocked out enough dents for me to make it to Zell-am-See for the first ever European meeting of freestyle skibikers. It united riders from; Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the five countries that have been pushing the sport forward in recent years. What a fabulously disparate tribe of freaks, weirdos and deviants, I had finally found my tribe.

Skibikers - a disparate tribe

It was a little overwhelming to be in the company of so many of the movers and shakers of the European freestyle skibike movement all at the same time. I have never felt so humbled as to be sat next to a World Master skibob racer at dinner with whom I had previously competed (very poorly) against.

It was also great to see novice skibikers make their first turns on a skibike and to see the expressions of joy (and perhaps relief) on their faces. Blog co-writer Wayne Richards certainly made a name for himself as our chief instructor.

Wayne Richards - made a name for himself as Chief Instructor

Sadly on the last day of the weekend my friend Caspar fell victim to the poor early season snow fall and broke his leg on a tricky section of boiler plate. He was very well cared for at the local hospital in Zell-am-See, local skibike fanatic Maria Boyerl deserves special thanks for helping out as local fixer.

After the skibike weekend I remained in Zell-am-See for a few extra days in the company of Thierry, Stephane and with Wayne as our guide, we toured the extensive skibiking terrain at Saalbach & Hinterglem, Leogang and Kitzteinhorn all places that are rated very highly for skibiking.

We were somewhat beaten back by a great deal of poor weather, whiteout conditions and poor snow conditions which didn't make for the best experience. In fact I don't recall any sunny days for the whole of January, just endless gloom.

No sunny days for the whole of January

Back in France I managed a final ride with Thierry and Stephane, but my heart wasn't really in it, I ended the season early and went home to recover.

A final ride in Frnce before ending the season early

Carl Day wisely once said "freestyle skibiking is not for the over 50's", at the time I couldn't concur, there will always be someone who can buck the trend; my sister is running half-marathons in her seventies. But sadly for this "over 50" he has been proved correct, only in recent days have I had the pleasure being able to feel all my finger tips, for the first time in months of gentle recuperation. I shall count my blessings that nothing broke or I might be dictating this article from a wheel-chair or not even on this plane of existence any more.

Freestyle skibiking - not for the over 50's

For these reasons, I have to accept that freestyle skibike riding is simply too great a risk to take in future. The last six years have been the experience of a lifetime, I have met so many incredible people, have had such wicked wheezes and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

My mother told me that this classic Rolling Stones tune was playing when she went into hospital for my birth; it seems oddly appropriate as the theme for the Blog Tour 2015-16.

So for the last three days we had waited for a weather window in order to visit to the glacier above Kaprun. This, our last day in Austria, was to be our final opportunity for Thierry, Stephane and I to answer the "Call of the Pow" and see whether the stories we had head of vast powder fields high above the clouds were true. As the morning dawned there were patches of blue sky between the clouds and you could even see the sun, was today going to be our bluebird day?

Zellermoos dawn - was today going to be our bluebird day?

The Kitzsteinhorn base station is just up the road from Kaprun, itself no more than ten minutes from Zell am See. The base station sits in a deep gorge of monumental proportions served by either of two possible cable car systems; which is just as well, because once you are up in the glacier bowl the only other way down would be by helicopter.

Kitzsteinhorn - two cable car systems, the only other way down is by helicopter

We were warned at the base station that it was going to be windy at the top, I have survived Scotland, but there was little to prepare us for the sheer brutally once we arrived.

When we got to the first chairlift the cross winds were trying to wrench my skibike out of my grasp as it balanced precariously below me. The temperature was -9 degrees and with the wind the conditions were truly Arctic in nature. We managed a few runs struggling to see anything beyond a dozen metres. Without any vegetation for reference I was watching out for tiny bits of debris on the piste, just to be able to gauge my speed and direction.

The extreme cold forced us to seek the comfort of the Krefelder Hutte and some gluhwein before reconsidering our decision to remain in such hellish conditions. The forecast was bleak, with more gusty winds predicted, today was just not going to be our day. As if to add insult to injury the skies would clear tonight and tomorrow was going to be sunny and bright; someone else would be in for an amazing bluebird day tomorrow, how typical!

The forecast was bleak, today was just not going to be our day

We retreated down the valley to the relative calm of nearby Maiskogel covered by the same lift pass.

Admittedly we did find some good accumulated powder at the top of the mountain, but unfortunately horrendous ice further down. In short, it was the worst slope I have ever ridden, it didn't matter what technique I tried, none of them worked. For the very first time since the start of the Blog in 2009 I called it quits at 3.30 whilst the lifts were still running. Leaving Thierry as the last surviving member of our clique to answer "The Call of the Pow".

Stephane LeMaitre - Call of the Pow

This morning Wayne headed back home and poor Stephane claimed his right to a duvet day leaving myself and Thierry to explore Leogang another resort in spitting distance of Zell am See. Leogang is as well known for its bike park as for its ski resort, so it should come as no surprise to find that it is a skibike friendly destination too.
Our starting point was the Steinbergbahn cable car station at just up the road from Leogang village and about 20 minutes from Zell am See. The Steinbergbahn was to all appearances totally brand new this season, there has clearly been massive investment in this area, if only we had the drive and confidence to do the same in Scotland how different it would be.
We found ourselves at the summit of the Kniestichkogel with the option of following the 88 blue run for an easy warm up. Disappointingly this turned out to be yet another icy mess, so we hastily sought some uplift via our first chairlift. I tentatively asked the operator if this would be OK and his quick witted reply was "Just so long as you have paid for a lift pass". Clearly there were going to be no issues with skibikes on chairlifts at Leogang.

We found a much better run down through the trees on pistes 87 & 92; then the heavens opened  and there was plentiful fresh snow everywhere. After so many days of wrestling my skibike for control, skittering and grinding across boiler plate hard ice, it was pure joy to get back that floating sensation, gliding silently across grippy snow. Unfortunately there was insufficient cover to go the whole way down to the valley floor. Assuming winter arrives at some point in 2016, later in the season this run is going to be something special.

Die Alte Schmeide - The Old Blacksmiths at Kniestichkogel

We stopped for lunch at Die Alte Schmeide a quirky museum restaurant full of ancient artefacts. Thierry was no doubt precisely aware of the; name, purpose and function of each and every one of the blacksmiths tool on display. Unfortunately he was a bit too distracted for discourse thanks to the view of all the waitresses wandering around in Lederhosen. French may be the language of love, but Austrian German is most definitely the language of sexy.

source Lederhosen4U.com

After lunch there was a tiny break in the weather with the odd glimpse of blue sky that allowed us to head further across the ridge. On the chairlift we held on to our skibikes grimly, as the wind tried its hardest to wrench them from our grasp and allow the mountain to claim them as its own. I normally find the skibike leash a bit of a faff, but now regretted not having it on me.
Our perseverance gave us the opportunity to head into a glorious powder bowl between the Grosse Asitz and Kleiner Asitz. With the temperature at -9 degrees and with massive wind chill, I managed to grab this hasty snap of his Lordship waist deep powder; but then couldn't get the camera back in my pocket or blue fingers back in their gloves. This 30 second moment was going to cost me three days of frost bitten fingers.

Powder at last - this hasty snap would cost me three days of frost bite

With the light failing rapidly, the wind rising and the weather generally closing in we headed back to the sanctuary of the Steinbergerbahn lift station.

Leogang proved to be as skibike friendly as its reputation, there were no issues at any of the chairlifts including one of the old ones which the operator dutifully slowed for us to allow easier loading. It is on the edge of the circuit that connects with Saalbach & Hinterglemm giving the option of huge touring potential, all be it in more clement conditions.

I have heard a lot about Saalbach and Hinterglemm over the years for being the place in Austria to skibike. Blog commentator Sharon Shinwell highly rates it and Blog writer Wayne Richards has been taking his buddies round the area on skibikes for quite a few seasons now.

Saalbach and Hinterglemm occupy an area conveniently spanning the length of a wide valley, this topography allows for many easy skibike touring possibilities in a day. There are even links across to Leogang and Fieberbrunn which elevate the area on to 3 Vallees scale riding. The predominance of blue runs make the area a cruiser's paradise, whilst there are often red alternatives for the thrill seekers.
As it was only twenty minutes from Zell am See and we had a few extra days to spend in the area, it would have been churlish to miss such an opportunity. Wayne graciously offered to put his guiding skills to use on this, his last day in Austria.

Saalbach - sparse snow cover, just thin ribbons from the snow cannon

We started our day at Vorderglemm, little more than a gondola station and parking lot just down the road from the town of Saalbach. No doubt this is a handy access point into the network of lifts for day trippers and those denied the luxury of accommodation in the town centre. The sole uplift was via the Schonleitenbahn gondola. As can be seen from the image about there wasn't much snow on the hill when we arrived, just thin ribbons provided by snow cannon. But at least there was no shortage of parking spaces.

With sparse snow cover and a somewhat icy start to the day, some of the blue runs were much more tricky than you might have expected; both Thierry and Stephane conceded that some of these blues would have been graded red in France.
We worked our way over to the Kohlmaisgipfelbahn to head above Saalbach town itself then descended into the bustle of this attractive ancient conurbation.

Hinterglemm - some of the blue runs would have been graded red in France

After a short walk we took the Bernkogelbahn  heading up towards Hochalmspitze at the top of the valley. We had to change our route after encountering problems using the Spieleck and Hochalm chairlifts without foot skis. This seemed to be the only area with such chairlift issues and Wayne confirmed that this had been the case on his previous visits too.

We stopped for lunch, after which we very briefly met up with Andy Upsylon and Carl Day who, like us, had also decided to stay on after the EUSA Skibike Weekend and explore the area.

Unable to progress any further up this side of the valley, we dropped down to Hinterglemm and took the Zwolfer-Nordbahn to the summit of the Zwolferkogel. The weather was progressively closing in as the afternoon wore on, so we hurried home via the Schattberg and enjoyed the long 2b run back down to Vorderglemm in total whiteout conditions. Arriving back at our base covered from head to toe in snow and soaked through to the skin; tired, wet, but happy with our exploration of the area.

Final descent in whiteout conditions

Saalbach and Hinterglemm offer many kilometres of cruising potential. There is no shortage of gondolas and lots of modern, easy loading and large chairlifts; this is pretty much ideal for the modern freestyle skibiker. There are very few drag lifts and mostly for nursery slopes with the odd bit of expert terrain served by them. With a little bit of map reading you can get around the area unrestricted.

On a sunny day, sauntering down through the woods redolent with the smell of pine trees would be a delight at Saalbach and Hinterglemm.

At the start of part 1 I asked a few questions:

• Is the sport producing mass produced bikes suitable and reliable enough to go into the future?
• Will the bikes themselves be sassy enough to make the younger BMX rider or ageing rocker desire to give them a go?
• Will we, as a sport, fit into the lift company’s slot of taking our money in exchange for a day’s lift pass and create no more cost to the lift company than that of a skier?

Well what can we say other than the first EUSA Skibike meeting was a great success, putting all those names to faces and discussing the merits of the sport we love to participate in. For the first time we had participation in numbers at a single resort. It really showed with the general enquiries from people who had never seen, nor been offered to have a ride before; all taking up the offer of having a quick play on the bikes at base station. Kudos and thanks to the participating manufacturers SledgeHammer and BullSkate for offering up their skibikes in numbers for people to play on, often for days without charge and going the extra mile to ensure everyone had a great time.

So this first ever meeting of the European Skibike Association was most definitely a bitter sweet experience.

The sweet side was meeting so many skibikers in the flesh who had only been identities on the internet before. I had been forewarned that there would be some real freaks, weirdos and deviants present and all I can say is "Hallelujah" I have finally found my tribe.

I have finally found my tribe - source Martin Schwaigert

There was also the added joy of riding with so many people who have been part of this Blog since its very outset, all at the same time and in the same place. In some ways it was overwhelming, I prefer such pleasures to be savoured rather than consumed in a glutinous feast.

The bitter part would be seeing one of my closest friends bent and broken in hospital. Inwardly wishing that I had never shown him the skibike I had built, sat on my patio on a sunny day oh so many years ago.

Furthermore I still haven't fully recovered from the crash encountered during the 4 Glaciers Express tour. I have been forced to ride defensively as each fall is like a mini explosion, I hate riding like a geriatric. I want my mojo back.

The joy of riding with people who have been part of this Blog from its outset

Today was supposed to have been a joyous final day, but sadly misfortune and disaster befell our group when my friend Caspar, who had been doing so well for the last two days, took a fall and broke his leg.

There was a lot to do and arrange in a very short space of time; skibikers are a fraternity and we look out for each other.

Above Zell am See - photo Carl Day

This morning all of the beginners were given free time to practice their freshly honed skills which gave myself and Thierry our first chance to ride with Wayne Richards. The skiing area at Zell am See isn't huge and yesterday we had be hemmed into a small area deemed the most suitable for the beginner skibikers. This morning was our opportunity to break free and explore. So we headed down through the woods above Zell am See along a charming path shown on the piste map simply as 5 and 5b towards the Sonnenalbahn cable car.

From this point we could use the Sonnkogelbahn chairlift to reach the summit. The area was reminiscent of the ski stations of Scotland rather than Austria, with a rounded and undulating character with plenty of rough grass and scrub nestled between the pistes.
The snow was much softer than elsewhere at Zell am See and in places a delight to ride, we managed a few circuits but had to head back towards the main group for lunch.

The restaurant was quite a sight to see, with skibikes outnumbering the mainstream winter sports apparatus stacked nearby. At lunch Peter joined me and I took him on a repeat of the morning's route to the "secret" mountain area which had become even softer and slushier by this time.

The moment had finally arrived, today was day 1 of the EUSA SkiBike Meeting. The meeting place was the Areitbahn I lift station where a number of SledgeHammer Skibikes were stored all ready for the demo rides.
Peter, now fully warmed up from our ride on Wednesday went off to join our very own blog writer Wayne Richards, who had agreed to shepherd all the novice and beginner riders.

Meanwhile I had time to spend with my friend and work colleague Caspar, who having said that he "must give this skibiking lark a go" for far too long, had finally made it and was raring to go.

We started with some basic drills on the nursery slope, which he quickly got the hang of and was soon eager to get up the hill to try some more testing terrain. We went to the top station at Areitbahn III, well above the gloomy morning mists and enjoyed the blue cruising runs down to the middle station at Arietbahn II. Caspar even managed a couple of red runs, quite an achievement for his first day on a skibike.

Caspar - "must give this skibiking lark a go"

All the skibikers gathered for lunch to swap stories of their morning's adventures; after which local skibiker Maria Boyerl set up an action photo shoot. This was followed by some group riding till the close of play.

Action photo shot time - source Maria Boyerl

In the evening we headed off to the Bistro di Mare, a local fish restaurant, not a dish you would expect to find in such a landlocked country as Austria, but delicious all the same.

Today; Thierry, Stephane, Peter and I made the long drive from Geneva to Zell am See in Austria in order to attend the first ever EUSA SkiBike Meeting. This will be the first time that both enthusiasts and manufacturers of freestyle skibikes from all across Europe will meet in the same place and at the same time.

The first ever freestyle skibike event for the whole of Europe

Allowing for refuelling and rest stops it was a good 9 hours from Geneva and 11 hours from Thierry's home at St. Jean de Sixt, just down the road from the resort of La Clusaz.
It never looks that far on a map, I mean Mongolia is kind of close, right? But in effect the distance was almost the same as driving to London, to put things into perspective. Fortunately for us, our transport was to be Thierry's monster Dodge Ram pick-up and not my Ford Fiesta.

We left Geneva in mild conditions and drove through the rain all the way to Austria where things started to get decidedly chillier. We entered one of Austria's many long motorway tunnels only to emerge into "Narnia" on the other side.

Emerging into "Narnia"

The only downside of making a long distance trip in a monster Dodge Ram pick-up, with a 5.7 litre V8 petrol engine, is the fuel cost. Thierry has amortised this somewhat by having his converted to run on liquefied petroleum gas or L.P.G. for short, which sells for €0.5/litre in France.
Austria has no shortage of petrol stations, but those that sell L.P.G. and of precisely the correct flavour are not so common. Perhaps I should have got more involved in the efforts of the re-fuelling committee, but I sensed trouble when Thierry asked me, "Innsbruck, is it a big town?"
We found our fuel stop eventually thanks to; three navigators, two satellite navigation systems, and one very long suffering chauffeur.

Refuelled, the Kilometres rolled by and before I knew it we were in Zell am See and with just enough time for a pint and a pizza before bed.

Introduction

There are some people who says things just to be polite and then there's people like Timo. We met at an indoor ski centre this summer, but he wasn't that impressed with the facilities, because he has a selection of skibike friendly glacier resorts just a couple of hours drive from his Munich home. So when he said that I should join him for a pre-season ride around these glaciers, he wasn't just making polite conversation, he really meant it.

Timo - "come to Munich", not just polite conversation, he really meant it

Over the Autumn we evolved an ambitious plan to hit four of these glaciers over a four day long weekend. For my part all I had to do was to arrive at Munich airport and bring my toothbrush, which is precisely what I did.

Day 1 - Kaunertal

In order to get in some skibiking at Kaunertal I had to arrive in Munich around 09:00. The flight's duration and time zone differences meant that I had to leave home so early that it was pointless even going to bed. But after years of working on touring road shows, my body still remembers how to grab power naps in planes and vans.

We made excellent time on the road and even managed to check into our base camp, the charming and super good value Haus Venetblick guest house, before continuing on to the Kaunertal glacier just an hour or so away.

Kaunertal lays claim to being the Tyrol's youngest glacier, an odd claim but I suppose each place has to differentiate itself by being be number one in some unique way. It is just 100 km from Innsbruck and 190 km from Munich.  The ski area is not very conveniently located and even with Timo's rally-cross driving style, it is still a good 30 minutes drive up a rough track to the parking area and chairlifts. We were lucky that this was an off-season weekday, as this road can get very congested at peak times.

We arrived in the afternoon and allowing time for a quick bite to eat, it was going to be a short day. But to be fair none of us were in top form and this tour was going to be more of a marathon than a sprint.

Kaunertal offered a surprisingly good selection of steep and narrow trails

My experience of glacier riding in the past had been of the Pisaillas Glacier above Le Fornet by Val d'Isere and La Grande Motte above Tignes. I recalled these being rather gentle and somewhat boring in character, whereas Kaunertal offered a surprisingly good selection of steep and narrow trails to choose from. My ride for this tour was a Scott mountain bike with a Gigantic Professional conversion kit and Mantrax skis. These skis made for a hairy ride in the somewhat icy conditions and I was able to swap them out for an excellent pair of Sporten Stringer skis which proved to be much better attuned to the snow conditions.


Day 2 - Pitztal

Our second port of call was the Pitztal glacier which lays claim to be the Tyrol's highest glacier. It was a pleasantly short and easy drive from our lodgings, but our good fortune was short lived as huge crowds had gathered to queue for the funicular railway, the sole way to reach the glacier base station.

The attitude of the other visitors was very disciplined and patient in spite of the 30 minute wait, if this had been France there would have been a scrum. Up on the Pitztal glacier, the high altitude literally takes your breath away at first. A variety of runs fan out across the bowl and there were no further issues with congestion.

Long queues - if this had been France there would have been a scrum

The infrastructure at Pitztal was very modern and well maintained, there was still the odd T-bar surface lift which gave Timo and Helmut the chance to put their SledgeHammer Liftguard system to the test. This simple but well thought out device, provides a much better interface between the T-bar and skibike, our testers made it to the top of the run without any problems whilst I had to bail out half way up the lift.

Pitztal Glacier - the snow was excellent

The weather remained bright and sunny and the snow was excellent, especially considering how early in the season it is. Sadly our day passed very quickly and all too soon it was time to head back to the van. We took the funicular railway, but in the high season this can also be accomplished with a selection of off-piste itineraries right back down to the car park. Something I would very much like to return to Pitztal and try.


Day 3 - Hintertux

Our third glacier we visited was Hintertux, its name literally reflecting its position at the top of the valley "behind" the town of Tux. It is open the whole year round, offers a massive vertical range of 1743 m or 5300 feet and is only a short drive from the motorway.

Thanks to an abundance of cable cars and chairlifts at Hintertux, there were no issues with congestion at any point. Some lifts were a little old and small which only allowed one or two skibikes to be squeezed inside.

Gentle and sunny runs could be found at the highest altitudes, whilst there were steep, icy and challenging runs leading down to the valley floor. It was possible to descend from the top right down to car park level even this early in December thanks to artificial snow making at Hintertux.
I really wanted to make a grand descent, but my co-riders who weren't as experienced preferred to stick to the safety of the cable car. At least this gives me an excuse to return and complete unfinished business at a later date.

Hintertux - Zermatt scale riding on a Flaine budget

I was very impressed with Hintertux, it offers Zermatt or Chamonix scale riding for those on a Flaine budget.


Day 4 - Stubai

The Stubai glacier was to be our last stop before heading back to Munich, this should have been an epic day, but lady luck had thoroughly deserted me. It's a long haul from the public car park to the base station, there are shuttle buses but you have to wait, then there are two sets of cable cars to get up to the centre of the glacier.
It is all very efficient at Stubai, but its still 45 minutes from top to bottom. In order to navigate the shuttle buses and cable cars as efficiently as possible we ascended with our skibikes in pieces, then assembled them at the top station. So when the quick release on my rear adapter went into spontaneous disassembly mode, shooting it's guts in all directions, I was not pleased. To replace the missing parts necessitated returning to the van, a 90 minute round trip at best; I left Timo and Helmut to play and went for a ride back down.

It was gone midday by the time I touched the snow, I was furious with myself for being so ham fisted, lunch was out of the question, half the day was gone. You should never ride when you're angry, although it was so much fun to run on a parallel track with the slalom racers as they went through their poles trying my very best to match their speed and coming close.

I smashed through the off-piste, riding in short swings down the fall line under the chairlift, finding hidden gullies and treating them like a half-pipe, feeling like I owned that mountain...a skibiking god.

Stubai - feeling like I owned that mountain

But on the next run the skibike stopped in a heartbeat, but like superman I kept going, head first into the snow. This was the first crash that didn't hurt, it didn't hurt because I couldn't feel much of anything, and I couldn't move, it was both serene and terrifying in equal measure.

Timo poked, prodded and massaged my extremities and after what seemed like an eternity, sensations and some motor control began to return, I guess Windows 65 (sic.) was never the fastest operating system to boot up, especially one with so little space left on the hard drive. Although I could hardly stand or walk, somehow together we managed to get my mangled remains onto my skibike and ride out to safety, how exactly that was possible remains an enigma to us both.

Don't ride any faster than you're prepared to crash

It was a tough salutary lesson; don't ride alone off-piste, don't ride off-piste so early in the season and don't ride any faster than you're prepared to crash.


Conclusion

In conclusion these Tirolean glacier stations offer excellent riding opportunities when normal resorts have yet to open. The quality of snow this high is in a different league, it's the squeak under your feet that lets you know you're going to have a good day's riding. When the sun is out, the views are breath taking. It can feel somewhat lunar as you're way above the tree line and not a good place to be in poor weather. Here is a quick graded summary:

Kaunertal 6/10:

For - good value, un-crowded, variety of runs, very natural wild riding and unspoiled by over development.
Against - poor access from the trunk roads, a small area.

Pitztal 7/10:

For - good vertical range, modern infrastructure.
Against - appalling bottle-necks from the car park to the glacier base station.

Hintertux: 9/10:

For - massive vertical range, excellent infrastructure, good off-piste.
Against - some lifts are small and old.

Stubai: 8/10

For - massive vertical range, excellent infrastructure, good off-piste.
Against - it takes a long time to get to the riding and watch out for those snow snakes, they make you crash.

Here's some very exciting news for the 2015-16 skibike season! Formed just over a year ago, the European Skibike Association (EUSA) have recently announced their first meeting which will to be held from the 8 - 10 January 2016 at Zell am See in Austria.
It will be the first ever meeting in Europe aimed specifically at freestyle skibike riders (skibob riders will still be welcome). Apart from this unique opportunity to socialise and ride with elite freestyle skibikers, you will also be able to test out the latest product offerings from skibike manufacturers.

Registration for the EUSA Skibike Meeting is free and you don't even have to be a member to register.
Membership costs €25 per year, an amount which you will soon be able to recover using the special price for lift passes and discounts on accommodation available to EUSA members at this event.

2016 European Skibike Association Meeting

So what has been the result of 2015 in regards ski biking for yours truly. Sort of an odd year in some ways and not what I had really intended.  I have skied more than ski biked this year and that has been a bitter pill in some ways, as I do enjoy the biking on snow. Mind you the conditions I have skied in this year, which generally have been really slushy and poor, I haven’t missed much, it’s not been an epic snow season for sure.