Profile: Julia Hobson Mountain Bike Guide
Endless Trails…
Some people feel at home surrounded by mountains, they feel the rhythm of the seasons, know where to find the sweet trails, how to trace their way over high passes and down hidden valleys – and they reach mountain refuges just at the right moment before the clouds roll in…
This is Julia Hobson. She’s one of a few British guides holding the highly esteemed French Carte Professionnelle as well as the highest level UK Mountain Bike Leader qualification. She’s as at home in the high Alps as the Scottish Highlands, pathfinding, watching the weather and keeping her group of mountain bikers in the zone.
Photo: Graham Pinkerton
“I'm proud to have built a life around sharing incredible riding experiences, and creating adventures on bikes in stunning places so that others can hopefully feel the same joy I do when riding my bike!”
Julia Hobson
Julia is there for those of us who are more tentative, knowing that we’re guests in a terrain that can turn rapidly from sun to storm, a few degrees of error can be compounded and all too easily become a trip in entirely the wrong direction with disastrous consequences.
Remoteness and isolation are beautiful - but must be respected and treated with care.
We need guides to keep a weather eye on the horizon and steer a true course - people who know the ins and outs of valleys and cols, when to push on and when to bail.
Endless smiles!
I’ve been following Julia Hobson’s mountain bike adventures for a while now, and I love seeing the pictures she posts (and whilst I love seeing the stunning views and happy faces, I’m also touched that her Fold+Rºll makes an occasional appearance).
A guide for over a decade, Julia Hobson has been running her guiding company, Endless Trails since 2017.
Photo: Graham Pinkerton
Endless Trails mountain bike trips touch popular Alpine resorts and iconic passes but take the singletrack less travelled.
They create multi-day adventures that trace their way over scree slopes, swoop through high heathland, skirt scrubby treelines and traverse rocky saddles, balancing challenging climbs with exhilarating descents framed by the vast spectacular upturned rock formations and jagged peaks of the Alps which, in their enormity, dwarf the tiny tendril trails that are barely scratched onto their flanks.
Photo: Graham Pinkerton
They’re super enticing, these plans, with their promises of adventure, cameraderie, good food and a warm bed after a long day.
Particularly when they move over the channel and tackle the Highlands of Scotland, where rain and cloud embellish the landscape, burnish the rocks and soften the glens. .
In an age where digital trail maps make everything appear accessible, these are worryingly overlooked arts. The realistic route that takes exposure, altitude and elements into account. The schedule that plots in the food that fuels each pedal stroke and means you’ll be able to string together long days in the saddle and make the distance. The leadership that keeps the balance between carefree fun and respect for the hills, that lets us lose ourselves in the sea of blue-hazed peaks that stretches as far as the eye can see - without being lost.
“Bikes have been an incredibly important part of my life, helping me through tough times, bringing me great friendships, taking me to new and beautiful places, teaching me valuable lessons, connecting me with nature and the outdoors, and enriching my life immeasurably.”
Julia Hobson
I love seeing Julia’s Fold+Rºll in her guide packing…
“when I’m literally living out of a bag for months at a time, in a different hotel every night, it's easy for the bag to increasingly resemble a cluttered drawer of junk in which you can never find the thing you are looking for. So amongst the mess of bike shorts, socks and other riding kit, it's so nice to have a few uncrumpled smart tops and items that I can keep tidily in the Fold+Roll and wear in an evening to remind myself there's another side to me than just a bike guide!” (Julia Hobson)
A life long adventurer, Julia shares her experience and her sense of adventure with those of us less sure-footed in the mountains. Each trip pulls together a small group of riders and shepherds them through planned routes – whether in the Swiss, Italian or French Alps or through the highlands of Scotland – with food and quality accommodation (this is a holiday after all). There’s a balance between the riding, the glory of the landscape and the appreciation of food and hospitality. This is the beauty of Endless Trails, adventures to remember and memories that last a life time.
Follow Julia on instagram @julialikesbikes for a bit of Alpine and Highland magic in your life - and check out Endless Trails if you’re ready for an adventure.
Julia’s Fold+Rºll clothes for the après-ride
