All Photos, Artwork and Words: Tito Tomasi
RIDING THE REMOTE 160 AROUND MONT BLANC
Sitting here in front of my computer, it’s a couple of weeks after the trip and I want to put it into words and share the story of this four-day adventure around Mont Blanc.
Do I start with an excuse? Or do I need to justify myself about using an e-bike? Maybe I should just start talking about how much fun it was.
This tour around Mt Blanc is incredible, it’s probably the most interesting ride in Europe. But it comes with a price, first choosing the route is key, then you have to survive the climbs and descents. Taking an eBike was a big deal for me. After doing it by myself, for a video shoot and guiding it many times, I can say I’m a specialist. Knowing the different routes, both ways, 3, 4, or 5 days, I had all the tools for the next task: Designing the best route possible with an eBike.
This task was not easy, it had to combine the charging points, the elevations in between these, the hike-a-bike sections, and places to sleep and charge. It had to be fun up and down, as few logging roads as possible but not too technical so we would not have to carry our heavy rigs. Once I was confident about the route, I opened the registrations for the trip around April and quickly had my group filled up. We will be six in total, including my dad, a hardcore mountain biker that now rides tons of eBike in the mountains. The rest of the group are good riders from the south of France, used to trips and big-mountain riding.
I prepared for the trip the best I could, upgrading the bike with my sponsor’s parts. I tried the bike in many conditions but was a little concerned about the range of the bike. Most of my group were using 630W batteries, I had to find a solution to upgrade the 500W battery installed on my Remote160. The solution found was a spare 250W battery installed on the frame. This saw my range going from 1500 meters elevation gain to 2000!
A lot of things are different on an e-bike and setting it up takes some effort. As the goal is to be able to really ride uphill and downhill the performances are differently oriented, but I enjoyed this process and found the Kona Remote 160 healthy and good on the trail. Happy about the length that helps in the climbs and in the rough sections.
THE FOUR DAYS
This trip was tough, but it was also fun!
Saturday at 8 am in a small village in Switzerland, we meet and checked our bags. This is the start, we are going left here, and if everything goes well we will be back here in four days coming from the right! We start all smiles and excited.
Unfortunately, after two hours of riding my dad crashed on a slippery bridge and he had to leave us. Going back to his van for rest.
We kept going and had a good day, one I would call transfer day as it’s long with more uphill than downhill. We charged our bikes midday in a lodge I know. The first night was in a special place organized by monks, and the atmosphere was good.
Starting the second day with a massive downhill, we looked at the day with excitement as this is the hardest one of the trip. The first pass is endless and requires a short but intense hike-a-bike. Charging the batteries in a hotel around 1pm, we had time for a good pizza, celebrating our entrance to Italy. That same evening we were in France for the second night after 2800 meters of climbing in the day. True happiness, sharing the moments as a guide was a great time, and the eBikes help for that.
The third day is big again, with all the sections in France, technical trails, incredible landscapes, and different valleys to cross. We also charged midday in a restaurant and finished the day entering Chamonix valley. The perfect place to enjoy the local flavors, food, cheese, and beers.
After this last night of the trip, we had a beautiful sky on the Mont Blanc for the first part of the day, before diving into Switzerland trough the alpine, discovering the Wallis region. After one last and long downhill, it was time to split and rest.
The guys were fired up, stoked about the trip and the possibilities of the e-bikes. Everyone felt complete and happy. In the end, this was a 215-kilometer ride with 9000 meters of elevation gain. Quite decent for a four-day ride in a rough environment.
Reflecting on this particular adventure I have the feeling that e-bikes really are a big part of the future of mountain biking. Especially when you look at things from a modest perspective, for the normal rider that wants to experience something special, the bike is a key. It unlocks so many possibilities. I can’t believe how cool the whole thing was, to see the dudes all smiles, to share these moments, and achieve a really cool ride like that. Wow!
Don’t be afraid,
Push boundaries and just look for a power plug sometimes!
Vive la vie
Tito Tomasi
