Hello Mati
Who am I and why ALLEGRA?
Hello, my name is Matias Gonzalez, born in Patagonia, 50 years old. I have lived in Pontresina, Engadin for 20 years and 11 years ago I started maintaining and renovating trails and hiking paths. Why ALLEGRA? My lifestyle is that of a ski instructor: winter has been my life for many, many years. Since my son started school, we as a family decided to stay in Engadin and that's when I first came into contact with ALLEGRA. And I always look forward to this special time of construction on the mountain in summer. ALLEGRA was the main reason for me to get into the bike business. I also work with the construction crew on new projects, but my main focus is on renovating and maintaining things that already exist. This work is so special and extraordinary: some of the paths have been there for 800 years and make me think about how special the work we do here is - almost historic, and I love that. For several years now, we at ALLEGRA have also been working on the concept of coexistence, which gives me the opportunity to develop myself personally. I see the user groups at the different altitudes of the trails and am beginning to understand the need more and more: who is on the trail, cows, people, water, who else?
My favorite product at ALLEGRA?
Well, what do I like doing most? Definitely renovation. Let's take an old forest road as an example, there is so much potential here! Historically, it was built to be flat and therefore over a long distance with lots of curves in order to transport wood. Today, we can build trails from these partially unused paths with fewer permits but a lot of creativity - because we are working with an existing corridor. My favorite place is also Churwalden: I have been able to work on the development of trails for 5 years. And that is my laboratory, so to speak. Normally, evolution takes a very long time, here you can observe it in a very short time, because the trails are heavily frequented by bikers. You can learn a lot from that and use it as an example. But you also have to be particularly careful here, because every stone, every rock, everything you change can mean a change in water management in a few months. It's fun to notice the changes to the trail and to respond to them sustainably.
| Area | Trail specialist |
| Team | Switzerland |
| Specialty | Co-existence, rehabilitation of trails and hikes, |
| Languages | CLOSELY |
| base | Pontresina, Switzerland |
