Imagine the perfect cross country mountain bike destination:
Hundreds of miles of untouched trails
Rocky climbs and descents on old donkey tracks
Endless downhill blasts from one valley to the next
Coastal peninsulas
Thick alpine forest
Year round sunshine
Awesome scenery
Friendly tavernas to refuel
Ice cold beers at the end of a ride…
Cyprus has all this and so much more, yet most mountain bikers remain ignorant of what the island has to offer. This is probably due to its reputation as a “sun, sea and sand” destination where exercise is definitely not on the agenda, especially in the heat of Summer.
There are, however, some people who DO know about the best kept mountain biking secret in Europe. And they spend all their spare holidays visiting the island in the low season months from October to May. The sun is almost always out but the heat is not too intense, the countryside is not dry and dusty as it is in high Summer and, the flights are always cheaper in the low season.
You can, however, only have a great mountain biking holiday if you know where to go. And that can be a huge problem in Cyprus as there are no decent, detailed maps available (the island has been divided since 1974 and only the military have access to detailed maps).
So the best advice is to contact a specialist mountain bike company who will know all the best trails and can either offer guiding, quality bike hire with route suggestions or even a holiday. They will take all the hassle of route finding away from you and, more importantly, will prevent you from getting lost, especially in the pine forest.
Whatever your experience level, Cyprus has something to offer: inexperienced cyclists have mile after mile of loose surface forest tracks to explore, whereas experienced riders can test themselves on gnarly, rocky climbs and descents. And a cooling dip in the sea followed by an ice cold beer is a just reward after a hard day in the saddle.
So come and discover the best kept mountain bike secret in the Mediterranean, before some of the best trails succumb to the concrete mixer!