Alpe D’Huez – Taking the little ones on an E-bike tour #2
Alpe D’Huez, internationally known as a winter sports region on the one hand and known as the mountain-top finish of the Tour de France on the other. It is the venue of the legendary Megavalanche Downhill Enduro Race, starting from the peak of the Pic Blanc Glacier at an altitude of 3330 meters.
If a guy thinks he must attend this event, it doesn’t mean his family has to stay at home and twiddle their thumbs. All of us came along! Also in tow was our E-bike together with the kids’ trailer, which caused quite a sensation because this means of transportation was simply the best way to get around in Alpe D’Huez. Leaving the hotel and straight to the lift station, we met a few families, exhausted from pushing their stroller uphill. We also noticed some dads who said things like “Honey! That’s exactly what we need!” when we passed by with our state coach. Highly motivated, we took the lift to the second station at an altitude of 2700 meters. The kids were in a good mood as a gondola ride is far from their daily routine.
Surprisingly, the first part of the descent turned out to be a little too steep. The trailer was pushing hard from behind and braking on loose pebbles was just about useless. But as of the first lift station we enjoyed the comfortable and wide hiking trails towards the valley. Thanks to those trails, there was no need to take the lift so we were able to explore all the paths that were practicable for our extraordinary e-bike-plus-trailer combination. Always at hand was a spare battery. Due to the high ascent and heavy extra weight of the trailer plus kids, we had to change batteries after approximately three hours of biking.
The trails usually run parallel to the single trails of the Megavalanche Race, hence we were lucky to see some live action of the ongoing race.
Our bike hotel Massa Vecchia provided us with a full suspension Flyer E-bike, equipped with 29-inch wheels on DT Swiss tires, which run especially nice on uphills. Thanks to the Shimano XT braking system, a Fox 32 fork, and the Panasonic drive system we had absolutely no trouble.
Pure nature! Beautiful views and a lovely mountain breeze. Riding the E-MTB and tugging along a trailer is simply a pleasure, (almost) without any limits.
Unfortunately, the days went by far too quickly. After four days of uphills, downhills, and cross-country rides, we didn’t manage to explore all the trails on this mountain. But we definitely know our way around the town of Alpe D’Huez, because we didn’t use our car at all – we surely had a far better means of transportation. We will come back for sure! Alpe D’Huez has so much to offer so you’ll never get bored. There are E-bike rentals as well as a moustache test center.
Getting there: It takes about an eight-hour drive from Munich to Alpe D’Huez. The nearest airport is in Grenoble.
Words: Daniela Werner Photos: www.i-mtb.com
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