# Moving to Geneva, Switzerland from USA... Need Advice!



## ChadiMac22 (Mar 9, 2008)

I'm moving to Geneva from the USA next month. I don't know anyone in the region, nor have I ever been to Switzerland. I'm hoping to link up with some people and learn the trails and terrain. 

I've ridden the Lake Garda area before as well as the German Alps. But like I said, I'm totally new to Switzerland. I'm grateful for any info I can get whether it be group rides, best bike shops, trails, events, XC, Enduro, All-Mountain, etc... Lift assisted or not. 

Thanks in advance! Cheers.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

The trails immediately around the Geneva area are not bad but nothing in comparison to what's available only a short train or car ride away. Your not far at all from PDS (Morzine/Chatel/Les Gets/Champery) the Whistler of Europe. If your more into natural single trails vs park trails then you MUST have a Garmin. These Alps are riddled with trails and some trails may have 2-8 variations so having a Garmin keeps you on the right track. A good source for GPS info is GPS-Tracks.com, Ride.ch, and Trail.ch. Good luck and enjoy. This is the best place in the world to ride a MTB. Bring a good Enduro rig. We used to have a saying that goes "our trail bikes are what most people call Freeride bikes". Lifts are everywhere and cheap. So is the public transport through Swiss Post which can drop you and you bike off at the top of some pass for about 9CHF ($10).


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Here is our shuttle service.


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## ChadiMac22 (Mar 9, 2008)

Swissam said:


> The trails immediately around the Geneva area are not bad but nothing in comparison to what's available only a short train or car ride away. Your not far at all from PDS (Morzine/Chatel/Les Gets/Champery) the Whistler of Europe. If your more into natural single trails vs park trails then you MUST have a Garmin. These Alps are riddled with trails and some trails may have 2-8 variations so having a Garmin keeps you on the right track. A good source for GPS info is GPS-Tracks.com, Ride.ch, and Trail.ch. Good luck and enjoy. This is the best place in the world to ride a MTB. Bring a good Enduro rig. We used to have a saying that goes "our trail bikes are what most people call Freeride bikes". Lifts are everywhere and cheap. So is the public transport through Swiss Post which can drop you and you bike off at the top of some pass for about 9CHF ($10).


That is excellent info! I do have a Garmin 800 so I plan on loading some base maps to get me started. As far as the bike goes, I plan on riding my Specialized Enduro 29 most of the time... I think that should be enough bike, right? I'm looking forward to arriving and hope to link up at some point. Cheers!


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

E29 will be perfect. Get used to the Euro Turn on super sharp switchbacks and leave anything less than Ardents at home. You can even leave the Ardents at home too. Traction and brakng performance trumps rolling resistence 90% of the time.


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