The Hautes-Pyrénées has mountain biking to suit all experience levels and riding disciplines, from gentle riding on gravel roads and tracks between villages, cross country trails through undulating pastures and woodland to all-day high mountain riding.
There are many way marked mountain bike routes in the area ranging from greens all the way up to the challenging blacks, approved and labeled by the Fédération Française de Cyclisme.
GREEN | Easy width and surface, climbing < 150m |
BLUE | Not difficult but some harder passages, climbing < 300m |
RED | Difficult, physically and technically, climbing < 450m |
BLACK | Very difficult, for riders with strong technical skills and good fitness levels. |
For the downhillers among us looking for the uplift, many of the ski station lift operators are catching onto the idea of running the lifts in the summer for bikers although currently there is more of an attitude of ‘earning’ your descent than in the Alps.
Currently there are uplift options at Cauterets, Lourdes, Pic du Midi and Luchon.