I got an ebike – and discovered a secret side of France
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Free to explore my hilly corner of the countryside, I found hidden paths to sacred springs, prehistoric monoliths, empty swimming holes …. When I moved from London to a hilly area of rural France in 2017, I brought my bike with me. A faithful secondhand racer, it had served me well over the years to commute from south to central London. On day two in France, I took it out on the road and was completely exhausted by the time I got to the next village, 2km and four big hills away. I put the bike in the shed and forgot about it.
But I didn’t forget about cycling. With its empty roads and miles of meandering logging paths through ancient woodland, the area around my home is perfect for the adventurous cyclist. If only I could overcome the exhaustion problem. I needed to extend the range I could cycle safely, while still getting a respectable amount of exercise.
Five or six years ago I heard about ebikes, and took the plunge on an electrically assisted, low-cost Chinese mountain bike. It was a revelation. Suddenly, all the little byways that I’d drive past on my way to the supermarket opened up to me. I found secret paths to sacred springs that were weirdly adorned with old, mouldering clothing, I came across prehistoric monoliths, clear streams, and river bathing sites where no one else was bathing.
In this landscape, far from the places I had grown up and worked, ecycling made me feel as if I belonged, like part of the chain of humanity that had graced these lands for millennia. And with the wind in my face as I whiz down a hillside track or hollow-way pilgrim route I find the corners of my mouth turning up into an involuntary grin. I don’t think the ecycling is making me much healthier physically – in fact, thanks to French cheese, wines and bread, I’m fatter than I have ever been – but it makes me feel better: about being here, about existing, about enjoying the moment.
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