Val Gardena is a fantastic place for mountain biking and in this mountainous region an E-MTB really comes into its own. I planned a substantial ride to incorporate the climb first and the downhill on the return, as I could only guess how well the battery would last. From Ortisei I went up the valley trail to Santa Christina then up the zig zag road to the base of the Monte Pana ski area. Then up a fairly new winding forest track to Mont de Seura at 2025m. From here an undulating path & piste to Rifugio Comici for a lunch break. Afterwards on to the Sellajoch before starting the long descent into Selva. Sometimes the trail was on the piste, one had to watch our for drainage ditches, loose stones and gravel. On the way down there was a pleasant surprise – a section of flowing single track built into the forest. To make the retun journey more interesting I took the detour, involving some climbing, via St Jacob church on the north side of the valley. The single track path through the forest was delightful. I climbed over 1500 metres altogether, starting around 1200m and reaching the highest point around 2250m. Even with the motor I had to work hard at times especially with the thinner air. It was a memorable ride, I would have stood no chance without the assistance of the motor. When I got back to the start I had less than 10% battery left – but that was impressive for the amount of work the bike had done. I sacrificed the camera for extra water in my fully loaded backpack so no pictures unfortunately.

Ride profile

Ride statistics