Hop on and take us for a spin.
You won't be alone.

Touring Austria on two wheels is the number one choice of more and more summer visitors.

You've got to admit it's a natural. The mountains, after all, are exactly where mountain bikes belong. And there are 4,000 km of marked bike routes in the countryside on which to let them run.

Nearly every town has a sport shop where expertly serviced top of the range bikes can be hired, along with helmets and anything else you may need. Detailed maps published by the local tourist offices illustrate gradients, required energy and skill levels, and you’re always only a pedal or two away from the next friendly pit stop.

Anyone who's visited Austrian resorts famous for their wintertime downhill pursuits - like Kitzbühel, St.Johann, Zell am See, Ellmau and Neustift - will recognise a surprisingly similar buzz in the air during the summer and autumn.

Congregating at the lift station at the foot of the famous Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel for instance, a group fully kitted out in helmets and lycra slip their lift tickets into the turnstile and hand over their bikes, not skis, to the lift attendant. With their trusty rides hooked securely into specially designed attachments, the bikers ascend hundreds of vertical feet in a matter of moments. Sure they could cycle UP. But no one said even hardcore athletes don't appreciate the good life.

At the top of lift stations, you’ll find the world is spread out beneath your wheels. Kilometres of trails fan out from the peak. Some head across land and meander fairly gently up and over meadows. Others point rather more directly up and peddle past enticing mountain huts. But the most fun routes leads in another direction. Down. Down, down, down - as fast as your heart and your nerves can stomach.

Downhilling on mountain bikes is a wild ride and a trend that attracts thousands of locals and visitors alike with truly great runs guaranteed from heights of the snow-capped peaks down to the green of the valley floor.

For something less strenuous, cycling through the valley is an enjoyable way to take in the splendid Alpine scenery. Perfectly suited to families and those looking for a less gravity-challenged kind of biking, miles of well-marked trails - many of which are paved - weave beneath the peaks through villages, farm pastures and alongside sparkling rivers and babbling brooks.

Whether you're headed up, down or in between, the mountains of Austria are the natural habitat of that mountain bike. So get on your’s!