Groundbreaking

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest post from your favourite blogging Méribel ski instructor. I'm planted back in the UK again after having a fabulous time in Méribel last month, it really was another great summer holiday in the high mountains. Regular readers will know I love my hiking in the summer, messing about with my big camera, and also whizzing around on two wheels (ie cycling not motorbiking!) The last few years I've taken both my road bike and mountain bike, two very different riding experiences. Without going into too many details, this summer I decided to only take a mountain bike.

It's quite common amongst ski instructors for many of us to enjoy cycling. It's a subject that we talk about, and share experiences, and it obviously helps with our skiing fitness. Some are more lycra clad, ie road cyclists, and others wear baggy clothes for mountain biking. However for the baggy-clothed clan, there's definitely been an evolution thing going on over the last few years......

And that's been the growth of e-biking, ie propulsion by an electric motor. I'm not talking about those guys and girls you see sitting on e-bikes (without pedalling), wearing hoodies and mitten gloves, and ignoring most rules in the Highway Code around towns and cities!?! No, I'm talking about observing an increase in numbers of electric mountain bikes. When they first came out, it appealed to a certain market. Many cyclists were openly sniffy about these bikes, saying using them was a form of cheating! I tried to not latch onto this, and kept an open mind. I could see how e-bikes gave some people who wouldn't normally ride, go out (on an e-bike) and experience the thrill and enjoyment of cycling especially in the mountains.

Then year on year I really noticed the popularity grow, some would say explode. More and more shops in Méribel, and around the world of course, were offering electric mountain bikes for rental. I know of many people who wouldn't normally ride, but on a rented e-bike and rode up to the top of the Col de la Loze. The Loze is one of two ways in winter to ski across from Méribel into Courchevel, and back again later in the day. In fact the Col de la Loze has featured three times in the Tour de France since 2020, it's becoming an iconic climb for good reason. Non cyclists would barely be able to ride up there non-assisted, but now they can have this amazing experience (albeit it is still a hell of a work out).

One of my best mates, Slippers Jackson, is a ski instructor over in Morzine and Avoriaz. He is heavily involved in the bike industry in the summer and owns a rental business for road and mountain bikes in Morzine. He was an early adopter of an e-bike and has owned different models over recent years. He has taken great delight in telling me how awesome they are. Also I noticed other friends and colleagues in Méribel starting buying them, and riding them with a massive smile on their face. Can you see where I'm going with this blog post yet?

You know how when sometimes you first think about buying new skis, you can't get them out of your mind? Or is that just me? Or how about thinking about upgrading your car and have something specific in mind. You then see the model you want everywhere, and you can't ignore the urge. Well the final straw for me came in April at the end of last ski season. There's an instructor I'm good friends with and have been for over twenty years, and he explained that last summer in Méribel he rented an e-bike for a day, and got hooked immediately. The thing is, my mate doesn't like wasting money, and these bikes cost a very pretty penny. He went online and bought one straight away. What did that tell me?

And then finally, I caught up with Slippers Jackson at the end of last winter, and mentioned I was toying with the idea of treating myself. Well. It didn't take him long to tell me which make and model to get, and say that I won't regret buying one, it'll change my mountain biking life!?! But the thing is, they are (very) expensive. Someone else put it to me that if I bought one and didn't like it (highly unlikely I know), then I could always sell it on and recoup most of the money that had already been spent. That was the moment........

A couple of weeks before going on holiday this summer, I popped into a renowned bike shop in Daventry. And guess what greets you as soon as you walk through the door? A massive bank of nice swanky, shiny electric mountain bikes. I chatted away to the friendly staff, who mentioned that most of their mountain bikes sales were now e-bikes. Before leaving the shop I paid an excited, and nervous, deposit. The next day I went to my local mountain bike stomping ground at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, and noticed that the majority of mountain bikers were riding, guess what, electric bikes!

So after whizzing around on 'The Starship Enterprise' up and down the mountain, what do I think about it? I can think about using many adjectives, but game changing seems the best. It is a very serious bit of kit. Oh my goodness, it has totally opened up the mountain to me. And what I mean by this is that yes I still use the summer ski lifts for uplift, but the electric motor enables me to head further afield than what before. Plus, using the electric propulsion means I can be out riding for a longer period of time before getting exhausted. It is truly groundbreaking.

It was really great fun wearing baggy mountain biking clothes this summer, other than in the horrendous heat of course. At least I wasn't wearing a hoodie and mittens and ignoring the Highway Code. I hope you are all having fantastic summer holidays wherever you are going or have been. I'll be back again soon with some of my favourite photos from last month. Right, it's credo time, don't forget to Live With Passion. Martin.