E-MTB readers' tour Giro dei Laghi - the lake tour in Ticino
In mid-August, when the Swiss summer holidays are over, it gets quiet on the hiking trails. We don't want to miss this opportunity! We discover the most beautiful corners of Ticino by e-bike. Shortly after our start in Lugano, we turn off onto the first forest trails. A stone here, a root there - even with the help of the motor, we work up a sweat! Our run-in lap is peppered with a few technical passages. Just right to warm us up.
On the second day of our journey, we crank up to the Rifugio Monte Bar at a steady pace. We take a break in the ultra-modern mountain hut, because the polenta here is unrivalled. Finally, we swing over the long high-altitude trail to the San Lucio chapel. Masses of happiness hormones are pumped directly into our nervous system. The view of Lake Lugano is fantastic! This stage is a classic in Ticino and a must for every e-biker. "Goodbye Switzerland, hello Italy", we say that same evening. We reach the shores of Lake Como and take the ferry across to Bellagio. The fashionable tourist resort is a holiday destination for many Italians at this time of year.
We enjoy the hustle and bustle... With fully charged batteries, we continue over hills and mountains. Again and again we cycle through chestnut forests, find lonely natural roads and silky smooth trails. We even have time for a shopping tour in the stage town of Como. As soon as we enter Italy, we cross the Italian-Swiss border again. Geography wimps have long since lost their bearings. Never mind. Our guide has the route under control! A mix of easier and more difficult single trails spits us out again on the last day just before Lugano. A worthy end to a wonderful tour!
DATE: 15-20 MAY 2022; 07-12 AUGUST 2022; 25-30 SEPTEMBER 2022
CONDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Medium-difficulty bike tour between 25 and 50 kilometres and 500-1500 metres in altitude per day.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Intermediate off-road biking technique required (S0-S1). Gravel, field and meadow paths with partly loose ground. Single trails with small obstacles, roots and small steps.
SERVICES INCLUDED: 5 nights in a double room (single supplement Euro 300.-), full board (packed lunch at midday), guide from mountainbikereisen.ch, all transfers during the trip, ferry, support vehicle for boarding, luggage transport, comprehensive toolbox.
EXCLUSIVE SERVICES: Travel to Lugano, return journey from Lugano, insurance, drinks at the table.
SPECIAL PRICE FOR EMTB READERS: 1300 euros instead of 1550 euros.
Circumnavigation of Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc is the boss! Except that it's clear from the start... Even with a motor, it remains a challenge to circumnavigate the highest mountain in the Alps. One highlight follows the next. From time to time we take the shuttle or a railway to get to the upper floors more quickly.
We meet early in the morning in Bad Ragaz to travel by coach to Martigny in Valais. Getting to know each other has some advantages. It leaves us more time for the first afternoon tour. After the first few hundred metres, the going gets technical. This tour is not for hot showers. We don't take the shortest route around the boss of the Alps, but the most exciting!
There's no doubt about it: this seven-day tour is bursting with magnificent panoramas and technical challenges. Along the way are Mt Dolent, the Aiguille de Triolet and the Grandes Jorasses with its famous north face, the Peutery Ridge and many other rugged granite pillars. Mont Blanc is not only the highest, but also the most vainglorious of them all. Its summit is often shrouded in a band of cloud. It is said that only good bikers get to see it in its full glory!
The climbs are steep and challenging. Again and again we have to step on the pedals, keep our balance, slow down briefly, shift our weight, look ahead... Exactly the stuff we love! At the top of the passes, breathtaking panoramic views take our breath away. Now it's time to "release the brakes"! Like high-spirited children, we dash over hard-packed tracks. Chapieux - wake up from the dream.
We are down. The brakes are boiling. "That was the best singletrail of my life," says one of the front riders. Others are glad to be at the bottom. We are all happy and slightly exhausted.
DATE: 17-22.07.2022; 14-19.08.2022
CONDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Difficult bike tour between 25 and 50 kilometres and 600-1500 metres in altitude per day.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Good to very good off-road biking technique required (S1-S2, S3 in places). Rough gravel paths, steep single trails with roots and ledges, rough gravel paths. Short exposed sections, some pushing sections. Good bike control required.
SERVICES INCLUDED: Return journey from Bad Ragaz to Martigny, 5 nights in a double room (single supplement 320 euros), full board (packed lunch at midday), guide from mountainbikereisen.ch, all transfers and bus shuttles during the trip, support vehicle for boarding, luggage transport, comprehensive toolbox.
EXCLUSIVE SERVICES: Travel to Bad Ragaz, return journey from Bad Ragaz, optional mountain railway journeys, insurance, drinks at the table.
SPECIAL PRICE FOR EMTB READERS: 1340 euros instead of 1590 euros.
INFORMATION AND DETAILED PROGRAMME:
Mountainbikereisen.ch GmbH
Elestrastrasse 16A,
CH - 7310 Bad Ragaz,
Tel. +41 81 842 01 01,
info@mountainbikereisen.ch
BOOKING:
www.mountainbikereisen.ch
Select trip "E-Giro dei Laghi E-MTB-Magazin", enter the booking code in the comments field "GIRO2022EMTB" enter.
Select the "E-Mont Blanc E-MTB Magazine" trip. Enter the booking code in the comments field "MONTBLANC2022EMTB" enter.
Further information: e-mountainbikereisen.ch