Italy and surrounds - Where should I go, what bike should I bring etc

cameron_15

Eats Squid
Hi all,

I'm heading to Italy (specifically Venice) for about 6 weeks in June and am toying with the idea of doing some riding whilst over there. I understand there is a lot of great riding in Italy/France/Switzerland and surrounds which I'd like to see a portion of either before or after my stint in Venice.

At the moment I have a bunch of questions, starting with the all important which bike should I look at bringing/hiring? Downhill would be my preference, but as I'll be solo I'll be reliant on bike parks and/or shuttles to get my fix. How reasonable would it be to link up a few bike parks or good riding spots over a couple of weeks without a car?

The other option is to bring my all mountain bike. This might allow me to expand on riding opportunities and possibly ride some longer singletrack which could take me to some more unique/awesome/beautiful landscape? Plus, I could ride anywhere without needing to organize shuttles/uplifts.

The next thing I need to consider is riding accessible from Venice. As I'll be there for a while, I think it'd be good to head out and get some riding in, maybe 1 or 2 weekends of the 6 or so I'll be there. What sort of riding is available that's accessible from Venice?

Yes, this is a lot of questions and I'll be searching for answers myself. But if anyone has any info/advice/suggestions or can point me in the direction of a good resource of European downhill trails that'd be great!
 
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