Jura mountain bike holiday in France and Switzerland

Weaving through pine forests and across open pastures, this trip offers the thrill of mountain biking in rolling alpine scenery, as premier locations around the Swiss border are explored.

The first four days will be spent in Foncine, a small village nestled in a tranquil part of the rural Franche-Comte. The accommodation here is a family run hotel that is a real home from home, where you will sample the delights of the region's wine and cuisine.

From here you will discover the array of trails that wind through the surrounding valleys and pine forested mountains. You will cycle to Metabief and Mont d’Or at an elevation of 1,420m, affording some fun biking as you whizz in and out of forests, across pastures and down speedy tracks, to a backdrop of the impressive snowcapped Alps.

Midway through the trip you will bike across the French-Swiss border to the beautiful Lac de Joux to explore some more exhilarating singletrack. Riding through sleepy lakeside villages, and grassy meadows you'll reach the summit of Mt Tendre (1700m). You'll conclude the week in style - as it's all downhill to the lake! Here the accommodation is a lovely Gite run by Mme Rochard and with breakfasts taken on the tranquil veranda, with only the sound of Swiss cow bells interrupting the silence, it really doesn't get much better.

Taking under 7 hours by train to Geneva from London, there has never been a better time to embark on this trip in the Jura.

Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1
Arrival at Geneva airport mid-afternoon, is followed by transportation by minibus to our hotel accommodation in France. After settling into this lovely small family run hotel, we prepare for the next day’s riding. This includes an informal talk about the events of the week before enjoying a ‘Juran’ dinner at the hotel.

Day 2
Waking to the beautiful lush green pastures and the sound of cowbells we enjoy our first breakfast. Riding from the accommodation we head out on a glorious circuit that will bring us back to our accommodation and give us a real taste of the beautiful surrounding countryside. Following one of the numerous valleys we enjoy a day of trails and single-track through wonderful forests with superb views along the valley. Stopping en route to enjoy ‘le picnic’, a tasty feast of local cheeses, meats and other delights with the obligatory freshly baked bread from the boulangerie. Returning to the accommodation we end the day enjoying a hearty dinner at the hotel.

Day 3
Another day another valley! Again riding directly from accommodation we head north to the Le Foret de la Haute Joux. Yes, you’ve guessed it from the name – it involves some climbing. This is great fun packed riding as we twist and weave our way through the tranquil countryside with beautiful forests of oaks and tiny hamlets dotting the landscape, before ending with a fabulous singletrack downhill back to the accommodation. Lunch en route with some more cheeses and wonderful local produce to try. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 4
Following breakfast, a short transfer by the support vehicle starts our day. All the fun begins at Metabief, home to past stages of the World Cup Downhill series. From here we take the chairlift, with the bikes, to the top of Le Morond at a height of 1099 metres. The wonderful vistas of the snow capped Alps and Switzerland which just get better as we ride to Mont d’Or at 1481 metres. Enjoying the fantastic riding we head towards Switzerland. Having negotiated the border crossing, with more success than Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, we head towards the Lac du Jaux, riding down thrilling routes through dense forests. Home for the next few days is the delighful B&B run by Mme Rochat, only a short walk away from the lakes. It’s time to change as we head out for dinner at one of the local restaurants.

Days 5 & 6
We start the day in a leisurely way as we sit down to Mme Rochat's well famous breakfast, relaxing on the outside veranda, overlooking green pastures and pine forests. Over the next two days of biking we’ll be exploring the magnificent Mont Tendre range (32 km), riding parts of the Grand Traversee du Jura on open as well as single-track trails whilst passing mountain huts and grazing cattle in this idyllic part of Switzerland. Alone, the view of Lake Geneva and the Alps to the south is breathtaking. With fine Swiss chocolate to fuel us, more rolling single-track await as we ride along the rugged shore of Lac de Joux (21 km), offering yet another different landscape to what you have experienced so far. The evening meals will be taken at a local restaurant, trying out the variety of dishes from this remote Swiss region.

Day 7
Following another delightful breakfast of freshly baked bread and home made jams, we prepare for our departure, our support vehicle taking us to Geneva airport for our flight connections.

Equipment
We provide everything except a bike (although we are able to hire these, see booking form for details), personal equipment and clothing. If you are taking your own bike it should be a mountain bike possessing a minimum of 21 gears, with front suspension forks. Please contact us if you are unsure whether your bike will be suitable. If bringing you own bike, it is imperative that it is in good mechanical order. If you are not mechanically minded, we advise you to take your bike to a local bicycle dealer for a service. Our guide(s) will of course be taking a full tool kit and a selection of spares, which we will provide should the need arise. Details of which spares you should take will be included in the Information Pack sent with your booking confirmation.

What the price doesn't include
A) Personal clothing and equipment.
B) Meals and drinks whilst traveling to and from the Jura
C) Three evening meals in Switzerland
D) Travel insurance
E) Bar bills, telephone calls, souvenirs, etc.
F) Bike hire (if required )
G) Entrance fees to archaeological/historical sites.