Electric mountain bike ride Electric mountain bike ride |Office de Tourisme Argelès-sur-Mer argeles-v2

We’re already used to getting around on electric bikes, but this time we’re getting off the cycle paths for a mountain ride on a VTTAE (Vélo Tout Terrain à Assistance Électrique).

To make the most of the experience, we’ve called on Jérôme, a state-certified instructor. He suggested we set off for a half-day discovery ride from the beach to the nearby mountains.

It all starts with getting to grips with our bikes, and what bikes they are!
These full-suspension electric mountain bikes are impressive, and their powerful motors will enable us to negotiate every obstacle effortlessly.

Jérôme hands us helmets and gloves, then briefs us on how to set the assistance levels.
That’s the whole point of electric bikes: we all have different physical abilities, yet we’re all going to set off together at the same pace and on the same course.

Our guide favors small (and sometimes hidden) paths, so we avoid the main roads.

We take it in turns to ride on sand, on tracks shaded by pine trees or between reeds. We pass through a variety of areas, from vegetable gardens to narrow village lanes, and soon arrive at the Château de Valmy, the starting point of many DFCI (fire-fighting) trails.

We choose to take a wide track that climbs up behind the château and winds through the Massif des Albères.

We’re quickly plunged into the heart of nature. Jérôme tells us about the landscape, describes the rocks, explains how the cork rises on the oak trees, shows us the arbouses that make good jam, and the sarsaparilla leaves whose young shoots can be eaten.

We reach the highest point of our walk. We haven’t suffered from the effort, and we’re still fresh to take full advantage of the magnificent view of the Grande Bleue.

After taking a few souvenir shots, we set off again to tackle the part we’d been looking forward to:
the descent!
Jérôme teaches us the technique for tackling the tracks that split the rock in places.
We get our heads and shoulders into the tight bends, play with the lines and our machines make light work of the obstacles.
We’re at the bottom in no time, and our smiles say a lot about what we’ve just experienced. Our knowing glances are like those of children, happy to have shared a great adventure with friends.