Emily Horridge thinks we should appreciate where we live and go exploring more. With a map in hand they avoid their usual haunts and head out to explore their local area from the front door and see what they can find.

What are your plans this weekend? Perhaps you are heading out to your local trail centre for a blast with your mates? Or maybe heading out to the hills for a lap of your favourite killer loop? Or are you perchance, planning something totally new and different?

It’s all too easy to fall into habits. In every area of life, we have our little routines. The morning coffee, toast, marmalade, cereal and milk. They bring us comfort and even enjoyment. It’s easy to go the same way when deciding where to go on your next ride too. Perhaps like us, you live in a valley, and maybe you also have the habit of always looking south on the map. It’s a bit strange, but there are some seriously quality trails in that direction, so perhaps that’s why. Or maybe it’s because we see more of those areas bandied around on social media. What about what lies north? Isn’t there some good stuff there too?

We decided to set a challenge. A twofold challenge: the first being that we should ride from the front door, or failing that, starting no more than a 30-minute drive away. The second was that the chosen route should be in a different area to our usual haunts. Getting the 1:25,000 map out, and ignoring the temptation to drool over all the trails to the south of the house, we focussed on the area to the north. Nothing really stood out – over the years, the hillside in question has had most of its trails turned into farm tracks to facilitate agricultural activities. Looking a little further north, we spotted something that looked very promising indeed: A ridgeline. It looked as though we’d have to do a 500m hike-a-bike to get to it, but that didn’t seem unreasonable. Bonus – there was a mountain refuge at the top of this hike, meaning we’d be in for a slice of cake and coffee at the top – brilliant!

The route off the ridgeline was difficult to decide on. There were lots of options on the map. Well, why not just wait and see – surely we’d have a much better idea once we were up there. We could see them in the flesh and make a decision then. A final check of the map also revealed that we’d even be able to ride almost all the way up to the ridgeline via a farm track we’d not previously spotted. We’d also get to ride the ridgeline in both directions which wasn’t exactly a bad thing as the highest point was in the middle so no matter which way we rode it there’d be a climb and a descent along it.

The morning of Operation From the Front Door dawned bright and early. It looked like it was going to be a glorious day. Amazingly we managed to leave on time and 30 minutes later were unloading the bikes from the car. Setting off before 9am under a beautiful autumnal sky was just perfect. It was still nice and cool, and we swiftly despatched the first part of the climb, on a very rideable farm track, which zigzagged its way up the hillside gaining height very efficiently. We paused at a mountain hut to refill our Camelbaks with icy fresh water before continuing, this time pushing the bikes up steep singletrack for a short while, before re-joining another rideable farm track.

In what seemed like a very short space of time, we reached the mountain pass from which the ridgeline climbed. Shifting the bikes onto our backs for a bit of solid hike-a-bike up onto the ridge, we set off in the direction of the mountain refuge, keen for a coffee.

At this point, progress significantly slowed. The views were just breathtaking! In front of us, we could see Mont Blanc, completely clear of cloud. Plus we were way closer to it than usual, and it was just stunning. Off to the north we could see the mountains we’d usually be riding directly beneath, and it was quite impressive to see that Mont Pourri really is a lot higher than we give it credit for. Towering above the others in the chain of peaks heading off up to Tignes, including the Grand Motte glacier high above Tignes ski area. What an added bonus, we hadn’t even considered the different viewpoints we’d get of the mountains we usually see all the time. Looking to the south, we got completely new views – looking towards the Grand Massif, La Clusaz and Morzine directions.

We made it to the refuge just before lunch, and to our delight, they’d cooked up some chocolate cake for the final day of their summer season. Coffee and cake despatched, it was time to jump on the bikes again. Riding back along the ridgeline in this direction meant a much shorter climb before a decent bit of descent that looked really promising on our way up. It didn’t take long before we were barrelling down the side of the mountain, a tight little unit of a two-bike train, loving every minute. What an awesome trail! It was so much fun, and being able to see it stretching out ahead of you as you sped down it was fantastic…although we had to remember not to get distracted by the views beyond!

On the way up, we’d taken the opportunity to eye-ball the trail options descending off in various directions. We had considered continuing past the refuge to another high pass, and coming back down from there, but it didn’t look too great from a distance – almost directly down the fall-line, with little opportunity to get off the brakes. The option of riding back along the ridgeline had looked much more inviting – less steep and more flowy. After putting the effort into getting up there, it seemed a much better idea to eke out the elevation by taking a mellower descent.

After a quick stop for lunch, we headed off down towards another river valley. It was one of those tech-flow type trails – big rocks all over the place, with the need to execute a few trials-like moves to keep things rolling.

Reaching the valley floor, we crossed the river a couple of times, riding an undulating trail which at times was quite tricky. After the second river crossing the trail climbed up a little and I’d spotted a scar in the cliff above us, and above the rocky river bank. Could that be the trail? We started to descend and rounding a corner it was as if we were riding into a tunnel hewn out of the rock – incredible! It wasn’t actually a full tunnel, but perhaps about a three-quarter circle, with the river now a raging torrent a fair distance below us. It really was completely unexpected and quite something. Having seen photos of these types of trails in other areas of the French Alps, we had no idea we had one of our on more or less on our doorstep. This day was just getting better and better.

Things became a little less technically exciting after the tunnel trail, but the views were still giving. We were heading down towards a reservoir that neither of us had ever been to or seen before. It reminded me of a similar (but smaller) reservoir in the Roya Valley, in the very southeastern part of France. We climbed up above it on a very British-feeling double track with a gentle gradient and the first leaves of autumn coating the floor. Isn’t it funny how just the smallest of things can transport your mind to a completely different place?

We reached our final high point before it was time to head back to the car. We took a little detour to admire the beautiful view of the Lac de Roselend – once again from a different viewpoint than usual. After that, we were more or less done. Just a fire road descent (sadly no singletrack to ride) down to the road. 

Reflecting on the day, we both agreed it’d been absolutely brilliant. Riding in a totally different area to usual, with varying characteristics of trail, varied scenery, and new viewpoints of familiar scenery had been incredible. It was well worth the effort of looking at the map differently and trying something new. Breaking habits can be hard, but sometimes it’s so worth it!

Now it’s your turn. Why not get your map out or download an app such as Viewranger, and see what you could ride from your door. Maybe you are lucky enough to be able to ride from your door all the time – is there a route you could try that you’ve never even noticed before? Perhaps you live in a city, so you’ll need to drive a little way first, but maybe you can spot something in a different direction to usual? You never know what gems you might uncover.

By Emily Horridge
Emily has been riding bikes since forever. She used to race on the World Cup DH circuit and in recent years has moved towards enduro racing. She knows her way around bikes and spends her life in Bourg Saint Maurice, France where she runs The Inside Line MTB. Offering unforgettable mountain bike trips on some of the best trails in the French Alps. A writer, tester and guide, but above all a biker; we're stoked whenever Emily sends us over some content as it is always world class!

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