Unpaid Advertisement / Review Travel-Product

Page Contains Affiliate-Links

Reading Time: 10 Minutes

Deutsche Version hier klicken

E-Bike Adventure

Mount Etna Volcano / Sicily

Advertisement / Werbung

Mount Etna. Europe's highest active volcano. Last eruption: Yesterday! But don't worry, the over 3,300 m (10,800 ft) high volcano is not of a particularly explosive nature. There are constantly smaller eruptions at the summit craters - but that's exactly what prevents excessive pressure from building up inside. Etna also announces larger eruptions quite reliably with rumbles and preceding earth tremors. If such an eruption is imminent, the mountain is closed to the public in time. The National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) monitors the volcano in real time. This creates a high level of security.

Mount Etna and the National Park 'Parco dell'Etna' is very well developed for tourism and of course there is a whole crowd of providers offering guided tours on and around the volcano. On foot, by bike, e-bike, quad or Jeep. My dream was to conquer the impressive volcano by e-bike.

Modern shuttle buses take you to the starting point

Etna Summit Tour with E-Bike

I decided to go for the 6 hours day tour of 'Etna Bike Tours' from Milo. Why? Very simple: The boys and girls of 'ETB' are all enthusiastic cyclists. Absolute experts, real athletes and by the way the organizers of the ETNA BIKE MARATHON with more than 1,000 starters. I knew immediately, with them it will be really cool.

The meeting point for this tour is the company headquarters in the mountain village of Milo at the foot of the volcano above Giarre. You can easily reach it by car and there are plenty of parking spaces. You can also make special arrangements with 'EBT' for the pick up and return to your hotel. It is important to clarify these things in advance.

When I arrive at 9:00 a.m. the e-bikes are already waiting in front of the store. Technically tested and with 100% battery capacity. The Giant 'Fathom' e-bikes have the powerful Yamaha PW-X motor and roll on fat 'Plus' tires. Tubeless of course. For the bike tours here on Etna, the bikes have to be especially reliable, because the conditions are really outstanding: heat, cold, stones, dust, wind, rain. Solidly built hardtails are perfect.

Of course the corona pandemic is also causing restrictions and considerable losses in the tourism sector in Sicily. I would like to add here that the people in Sicily are extremely aware of the dangers and meticulously implement the regulations imposed by the authorities. So it goes without saying that we wear masks in the shuttle bus and keep the greatest possible distance. Etna Bike Tours' takes absolutely no risk here. That is very exemplary. I have the great good fortune to be able to ride with the boss personally today. Maurizio is a great cyclist and a great guide. Of course he not only knows the best trails, but he can also tell you a lot about the volcano itself and the flora and fauna here on Etna.

The route leads from the parking lot at 1,800 m / 5,900 ft to Etna Observatory at 2,850 m / 9,350 ft (Pizzi Deneri))

Uphill-Flow Towards the Crater

The 'ETB' shuttle bus takes us from Milo to the 1,800 m / 5,900 ft high starting point of the E-Bike Tour in about 20 minutes. Here at the large parking lot 'Piano Provenzana' the tarred road ends. The bars and souvenir stores up here are of course still closed at half past nine in the morning - but I'm drawn up here anyway. No time. Etna has me. So we start right away. The air is pleasantly fresh.

Shortly after the parking lot we turn right and head north through and over a first lava field. Wow, the trail is nice. It is dry and we make progress without problems. Then the trail leads through the upper foothills of the northwestern forest area, gets steeper and I realize that the deal in this section is simply not to lose grip. Maurizio says that this is the most difficult section today because it's so dry. It's a bit like driving on glass beads. By the way, I should use support level 2 so that I don't run out of energy prematurely - after all, there are over 1,200 vertical meters / 4,000 ft today. That's clear. Press the button on the left three times, pull the trigger on the right four times and the fun begins. I know the Yamaha PW-X motor pretty well and know what it can perform in the mountains. If I don't overdo it, the battery should be able to hold a good 1.000 m / 3,280 ft altitude difference. On level 5 ;-)

The 'most tricky part' is mastered and we turn left to the actual climb over the north face. From now on we have the main summit crater and the Etna Observatory (where we want to go) always right in front of us. The trail can be easily done with a Jeep with four-wheel drive. With only one driven wheel it is of course a bit more difficult. Big stones, small stones, sand. As long as it's only moderately uphill, everything is harmless - but on the steeper passages I have to change line almost constantly in search of grip. Yes, if necessary just stop and push a few meters. No, definitely not. Not with the Commander! I'll ride this volcano every damn meter. Me, Etna, e basta ;-)

Seized by ambition, I don't notice at first that I am gradually setting myself apart from Maurizio. I really get everything out of the PW-X and to be honest I'm not so sure if the motor can stand it. I get the uphill flow. To save at least a little bit of energy I shift to level 4 on the easy passages. Ok that was a lie. I only do this to be able to switch back to extra power mode before the really cool parts and let the volcano rocks fly. Kill the hill / Part 1 - I arrived at the first plateau. Here is also the top station of the ski lift. Yes, in winter you can ski here pretty cool. I have to catch my breath for a moment. Just at the beach in Giarre and now at 2,300 m / 7,500 ft. Where is Maurizio?

After a few minutes I get a bad conscience. Just as I'm about to start my way down again, I see Maurizio coming. His chain had broken. The conditions here on Etna are simply violent. Bikes that normally run in the rental fleet for three years can only be used for one season without any major problems. The super fine volcanic dust finds its way into every bearing. What I find totally casual is that Maurizio rides the tour with a rental bike identical to mine. He is the boss after all. Respect.

The Etna main craters seen from the observatory

After a short break, we continue the remaining 550 meters / 1,800 ft of altitude to the Etna observatory at 2,850 m / 9,350 ft. There I am rewarded with a magnificent view of the main craters. Up here at the summit 'Pizzi Deneri' one is already in the 'moon landscape'. The ground consists exclusively of small and larger chunks of cooled material from the interior of the earth. Awesome. This definitely has something of 'another planet'. I guess there are more rocks here than any number I can imagine. The environment seems hostile to life. There is no water, no plants, no life. No life? I randomly pick up one of the stones. Holy shit, I just found the one inhabited stone on this volcano. Isn't that absolutely crazy? And there is a lucky ladybug living on it. This truly reminds me of 'The Little Prince'.

Downhill Through Four Vegetation Zones

Ready to rumble? It's time. Where we have fought our way up with e-support, we are now going full throttle. Maurizio reminds me again that the volcanic rocks are extremely sharp and a fall is almost always paid with blood. I believe that immediately. But pain fades and fame lasts forever. Brakes released - let's get the party started.

The descent is really fast. What was previously lacking in terms of traction is now missing on the brakes. It is so slippery on the small stones. It's still a lot of fun and thanks to an unsprung rear and a 100 mm fork that has its best days behind it, physical stress on upper arms is extraordinary. Old Swede, luckily I have done a lot of weight training - it just pays off.

Maurizio started at the observatory and did the pace. Right up here, still in the black zone, there is a depression and my guide did that section pretty much full throttle. I think he wanted to show me what downhill speed can be done with the hardtail without taking too much risk. Fits for me. In the next corner I pass him on the inside and take the lead. Yeah guys, this is full throttle gravel drifting at its best. The tricky parts are still in my head from the climb and I use the same lines. I could go even faster, but that would be pretty rough. I can hear Maurizio behind me. His bike is also groaning under the strain. My arms start to burn. Stop now? Never. This downhill goes all the way to the parking lot without a break. In one through with a lot of speed. Shortly before the end Maurizio passes me again. We have arrived at the parking lot. Fist. Maurizio says, that's how he would have enjoyed it. Me too!

We continue along the tarred road down into the woods until we reach the 'Chalet Clan dei Ragazzi' where we have a short break. Beer and chips - yeah. On the way to the 'Chalet' we battled with a racing cyclist down the serpentines. Terrific. The guy put his bike into the curves so hard. We were able to stay in the lead in the narrow turns, also because we could brake much harder, but the further the turns got, the more he could use his big gear ratio and finally passed us with 70+ km/h / 40+ mph.

Freshly strengthened we started the second part of the super long downhill. The last Ampères in the battery push us up the 'Via Mareneve' again a little bit and then we turn right on a forest trail. Maurizio rides ahead. From the upper part he already knows my speed. A crazy descent begins. Light, dark, hairpin bends, stone fields, roots, the smell of wild herbs and tree resin. But above all stone fields, after all we are still on a volcano. I can keep up with Maurizio - but it is quite challenging. At some points I simply blindly rely on his choice of lines. The principle of hope. Both or neither;-)

After half an hour the Etna forest spits us out again. Nobody crashed. Once or twice I was close to it. Now we have to ride a few kilometers on a hard, antique looking volcano road before we reach asphalt again and cruise to Milo with a big smile on our faces. Over 2,000 meters / 6,500 ft of altitude destroyed. Six hours of biking adventure in perfect weather are coming to an end. And at the end Maurizio says that today was no business for him - that was biking with a friend. Well guys, this is Sicily.

Start Your Own Adventure

Wanna start your own Etna adventure? Just have a look at the homepage of 'Etnabiketours'. The summit tour with the E-Bike is only one of many offers. There are more full-day and half-day tours and of course guided bike tours over several days. Sicily and the Etna region are definitely worth a visit. And with 'ETB' it concerns an absolutely respectable and in all interests competent offerer.

Advertisement / Werbung

2021 Etna Bike Tours offers several great new stunning deals: 8-day Gravel Bike Tour in the heart of sicily, a Ladies Only MTB Tour (5 days), the Sicily Mountain Bike Tour (8 days) and The Great Volcanic E-Bike Tour (5 days).

Leave a Comment

Hey, if you liked the report, I would be happy if you

subscribe to steffsworld_on_insta. Thanks & Ride On.