Fancy a mountain bike holiday in proper mountains, but without the crowds of France? We’ve teamed up with top holiday operator Mountain Beach to bring you a special trip to the largely undiscovered MTB destination of Slovenia.

Right now you’re probably thinking that it’d never crossed your mind to go to Slovenia, but allow the thought to dwell. Slovenia neighbours Austria and Italy and has more than its fair share of proper mountains. Mountain Beach’s operation is based in the Julien Alps at Bovec, in a recently-built hotel with all the usual comforts plus workshop facilities, bike storage and so on.

The riding ranges from gentle valley trails to technically challenging mountain singletrack. There are trails in the mountains that have never seen a tyre, and the higher you go the steeper and rockier it gets. Typical rides range from 15 to 50km, with plenty of lodges and cafes offering refreshment en route.

It’s a spectacular part of the world and you’ll have it largely to yourself. We’ll be sending BM staffer David Arthur out on the trip to do a report upon his return, so you’ll even get your fifteen minutes of fame. Of a sort.

The dates are 17-24 September 2005 and the trip’ll cost you a very reasonable £330. That includes transfers, half-board hotel accomodation, guiding, access to workshop facilities and so on. You’ll need to sort out your own flights – Ryanair runs several flights a day from Stansted to Trieste, you’re looking at under £100 at the moment. You can either take your own bike or use one of the Mountain Beach fleet – various top-notch hardtails and full sussers are available, contact MB to discuss your requirements.

Want to know more? Visit www.mountain-beach.co.uk, call 01159 215065, or email [email protected]. It should be a cracking trip…