For many who live in the mountains, winter means a change of sports, something that will float on top of the snow. For Max Schumann, skiing is only part of his winter, he just can’t seem to stay off of two wheels. This year he trained on this cross bike in frigid conditions and tested his new Carver CCB where it was a lot warmer.

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Winter is a relatively quiet time for me. There are no races and I look forward to a time off and leaving the bike in the garage. This season, I’ve spent a lot of time at home, which is now in the beautiful Allgäu, Germany. We have lot´s of snow in this area, so we are not able to ride from the beginning of the winter season.

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And so I´m glad to train on two boards. Which makes a welcome change to the bike. Some of the skiing basics are similar to biking. Many of the mountains I have cycled up in the summer, I climb now in winter with the skis.

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However, I am sometimes still restless. Then I grab the cross bike or my hardtail and ride over snow-covered roads. Despite the bad weather days, I always feel much better after the rides.

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My bike buddy Tobi wants to go to Laces, Italy. He claims the trails have more flow, the tracks are longer and the wine better, not to mention the sun is always shining.

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In reality the forecast is for rain and 2°C, but we have no choice, the snow is waist deep in the Allgäu. Carver have sent me a first prototype of the ICB ‘s successor.
The Carver Enduro bike will make its first appearance under the name Carver CCB (Carver Community Bike). The prototype will be tested extensively before my departure for New Zealand.

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So on to the South Tyrol. When it snows in the north of the Alps, it will be good weather in the south and yes, at the Fernpass it has already cleared up. Beyond the Reschenpass, it is actually largely free of snow.

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I feel really good on the bike from the very beginning and look forward to dusty corners that can actually compete with the powder snow turns from the last few days of skiing. So I all days happy with my bike on the best trails. Thanks to the cable car and shuttle services there’s more downhill than uphill and only as the sun start to set am I reminded of winter.
The pizza oven is hot and the apple juice freshly squeezed. And once the sun is back on the trail the next day, it’ll be summer again.

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Words: Max Schumann | Pictures: Tobias Woggon


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