- twilight mountain biking -
Mountain biking in the late afternoon can be fantastic. The trails are eerily quiet, even the cows have settled down for the day. Depending on where exactly you are cycling, the sun can play an important factor. Dusk can appear to come an hour earlier in some part of the Wilder Kaiser compared to others.
We rode one of our favourite routes today. Forest road climbs, tight technical singletrack, fast meadow descents. 
All this and a cheeky beer at a mountain hut after a well earned climb. So how does this differ to riding at other times of the day? Well, as mentioned before the complete quietness was amazing. We only met two other people. Local hunters chatting about all things hunting and the 70 year old waitress at the mountain hut. No, the hunters weren’t talking about the waitress – damn my English is bad!
The climbs in the sun were pleasant with sunglasses. However, with sunglasses at dusk, as soon as you get into the woods things are a bit exciting. Clear glasses are definitely the way to go at this time of the day. By the time we made it back down into the valley, the village of Ellmau was getting busier with holiday makers heading out for their evening meals and drinks in the local bars.
If you ever get the chance try out your local routes at different times of the day or night. Maybe during the week or in different weather. It will give your favourite mountain bike routes that new lease of life.
