“You know how you’re an idiot?” says my inside voice. “Please don’t try and keep up with him.”

“There’s no chance of that,” laughs common sense. “He’s a professional mountain biker and you eat Doritos for breakfast”.

“That was once,” I snap back. Though I know that doesn’t make it any better.

We stop to snap a few photographs before stepping on the pedals. The view over Innsbruck is mesmerising; the river Inn twisting and turning through the historic city streets below, walled-in on every side by enormous mountains.

The bike park itself is still a recent addition to the city. There are not a whole lot of trails there just yet, but what is there is fun – and one look at the surrounding area tells you that if they’re able to get the permission, there are no end to the trail network they could build.

We headed up to the aforementioned Bikepark Innsbruck after lunch for the full uplift experience though. After lunch, and a beer or two, being exactly the time when an uplift is particularly appreciated, of course.

The second trail we rode in the bike park was almost entirely manmade. They’d grabbed some forests, a big clearing, kept the rooty connecting sections and added in a whole heap of switchbacks and a jump line. It flowed real nice.

We dove into more switchbacks, bermy corners and dusty fun before being thrown again into steep, loose forest. A few members of the riding crew ended up picking their bikes out of bushes here on the steep corners, but each of them with a smile on their face.

Innsbruck had some tasty riding. Add in the history of the town centre and extensive nightlife (almost one fifth of the population are students), and it was starting to look like the complete package.

Connor MacFarlane was having fun. “I’ve ridden all of the trails up here,” he said of the bike park. “There isn’t heaps but it’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of potential.

“I love coming to places like this where there’s a lot of history and you can get up the mountain tops pretty easy. There’s still a bit of work to go on the bike track side of things here but this is an awesome foundation to start upon.”

I ask whether the scenery, a city set in the midst of the mountains feels a little like home for Connor – who is based in the similarly stunning Queenstown in New Zealand.

“Where I’m from is pretty similar,” he says. “We would never have a city this big in the mountains though and our mountains back home are nothing on the size of the mountains you get in Europe.”

On top of the mountain you’ve got endless rigid mountains – complete wilderness – on one side and the entirety of Innsbruck on the other.

If the brutal singletrail isn’t to your tasting though, the bike park will be, and if that’s not your style, the local trail riding at town level is great stuff too.

There’s a lot to get excited about in Innsbruck (not least the fact that you can drink your post-ride beer in an actual bar rather than shacking up in an Alpine hut playing 00’s Euro-Pop). Natural downhill. Man-made fun. Loose steeps. Flowing berms. Rocks, roots and beer spots good enough to match the town ambience.

There’s something for everyone in Innsbruck – and that statement is most certainly not limited to the colder months of the year.

Do It Yourself

We flew from Edinburgh to Munich and then grabbed a train to Innsbruck, which took roughly two hours. We stayed in Hotel Seppl in Mutters, and later at the Absteige hotel in Innsbruck, making the most of passes for both Bikepark Innsbruck and a day trip up the Nordkette gondola.

We kept off the sweat by wearing Mons Royale merino wool riding gear, as well as a Giro Montaro helmet and Giro Grynd shoes.

Check out the rest of our ‘Back to School’ issue now on the Mpora Homepage

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