Learning to E-Bike in Ischgl
While we may never forget to ride a bike, transitioning from self-powered to electric bike may require some practise. With the price of these bikes starting at around £1200 it's a good idea to try someone else's before you commit to buying your own. There are few better places to give E-Biking in the mountains a go than in Ischgl, Austria.
Words and photography by Olly Beckett
There's much to recommend about E-Biking in Ischgl. Firstly, there's the large number of bike hire shops available in this Tyrolean town. Bründl Sports will rent you a top-quality E-Bike for €52/day (30% discount if you collect after 1pm). I took out a Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 500, other makes and models are available too and the staff will help find the right one for you. The bike felt heavier than my un-motorised bike back home, but it was not in any way unmanageable. After a brief explanation about the simple controls, I rolled down the street and towards a spa.
This wasn't just any spa, and I wasn't about to give up E-Biking before I'd even begun. Ischgl's Therme spa has a large rooftop area which, in winter, becomes an ice rink and, in warmer months, is transformed into an E-Biking training centre - the first of its kind in the world. It's on the edge of town and costs just €5 per session. With staff on hand you can take your bike over bumps, along narrow paths, around steep corners and even through the type of gate you may encounter out there in the mountains. The course is designed to give riders confidence and, sure enough, after spending an hour there, I felt ready for the real thing.
Luckily, around Ischgl, the 'real thing' can be as tame or extreme as you want, such is the large amount of choice in this area. I started off tame, following a wide gravel track up the Paznaun Valley to the village of Galtür. It was while cycling along this route that I realised something: I was able to look up and around me at the stunning mountain scenery. Although I can do this while on an unmotorised bike, I usually find myself staring at the track directly in front when panting up a steep slope. With a motor assisting my (very little) efforts I could just enjoy the ride, with minimal risk of increasing my fitness.
The trail passed through peaceful villages and the occasional field. At one point the land was carpeted with bright blue enzian flowers, which are used in the valley for everything from schnapps to body lotions. Galtür sits at 1,600 metres and the air around the village is reputedly so good that asthmatics come here to breath easy. Having easily ascended 318 metres my lungs were indeed untroubled. Here, at the end of the valley, there is a small downhill trail for mountain bikers to practise on before riding on the Alpkogelbahn cable car to 1,974 metres.
Being a welcoming place for mountain bikers, Galtür's cable cars can accommodate cycles, whether or not they're motorised. At that 1,974-metre top you can follow yet more wide tracks to Stausee Kops reservoir, dramatically located in a steep valley. To get back down to the valley floor there's either a sedately-sloped road or a "family-friendly" mountain bike trail. It seemed very steep and twisty to be family friendly but, sure enough, there were children happily hurtling down the narrow paths and boardwalks.
It was at this point that I became a bit too distracted by the view. The narrow trail veered sharply right and, realising too late, I overcompensated and flung myself over the handlebars. Luckily I managed to land on the trail in front and only sustained minor injuries, if I'd gone off to one side then it wouldn't have been much further to fall anyway. Maybe that's why they call it family friendly. About halfway down is an excellent restaurant where I steadied my nerves (and borrowed a first aid kit) before eagerly continuing on.
After all that adrenaline it was a relief to follow the second half of the Galtür Valley Ride back to Ischgl. Now on the other side of the valley, the trail traced the rushing Trisanna River (in theory the Galtür Valley Ride operates as a one-way system). Again, it was a spacious track with benches and bins and a well-designed underpass for the one time it had to dip under the road.
Back in Ischgl and time to return my trusty bike. I'd been liberal with the motor and, after many hours of use, its power had depleted to just under 70%. I hadn't tackled particularly steep or sustained slopes, but I was nonetheless impressed with the distance covered for just 30% of battery use. An enjoyable day out for €52 of bike hire, €5 of training facility and €33 of unlimited cable car use. But, after all that easy adventure, I still felt I'd earned a return visit to that luxurious spa - only an extra €35 for 4 hours of heated bliss in full view of the mountains I'd ridden through/fallen down earlier.
