Petzen Flow Country Trail: Can You Count The Berms?

Mow

9 years ago

The Longest Mountainbike Flow Trail in the World?

When a new mountain bike trail opens in the area it’s always a big deal. If it is the longest one in whole Europe, then the deal so big we had to check it out. Petzen Flow Country Trail lies on the Petzen mountain which lies on the Austria-Slovenia border. Mountain has a small ski resort that is not doing really well at the moment, but this is not why we went there. We didn’t want snow, we wanted dirt.

Well…we didn’t really get that much dirt, but we sure did get enough gravel. The gondola takes you and your mountainbike to approximately 1.700m above sea level and in front of you lies 11-12 kilometers of sand&gravel berms and tables. And by 11-12 kilometers of berms and tables I mean table followed by a table or a berm followed by a berm or a table, bump, double followed by another berm or table or…the whole trail is constructed anew from nothing and the action is non stop. Maybe there is 100m on the whole trail where you can sit down and relax.

The trail was designed by MTB gurus Diddie Schneider and Hans Rey. Photo:SimonP

Petzen Flow Country Trail

The sand/gravel material from which the trail is constructed does evoke some trust issues in the first run. I mean, I hate sand under my tires. I have a constant feeling that the tires will slip in the turns. But then you get used to it and you find out that it grips really really well. Besides – the main line that everybody takes right in the middle of the trail is pretty much clean. And there is another benefit – no mud! You can ride right after rainfall.

The trail is constructed in such a way that it can be driven by complete beginners or more experienced bikers. Most of the table jumps are made rounder. So that an unsuspecting beginner won’t even make a credit card air when he hits the table. But with more speed and a little help you can jump wherever and whatever you want.

The trail is smoooooth, you don’t need a DH bike, you could ride it with a hardtail if you wanted. But do wear some protection. The surface is like sandpaper and not very skin friendly if you happen to fall. The ride takes from around 20 minutes without stopping and the whole loop together with gondola ride takes about 40-50 minutes. Is it worth a visit? Yp! Thumbs up.