It’s part of Spain, has incredible trails, yet it’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean next to Africa. It has to be La Palma in the Canary Islands.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY CÉDRIC TASSAN

I love to travel, discovering new countries, new cultures, riding different trails, and each year I plan several trips. I’d found some interesting information about this island in the Canaries named La Palma. Lost in Atlantic Ocean, this Spanish territory is a very famous mountain bike destination.

My friend, Jenssy came with me. Usually he rides an e-bike, but unfortunately it’s still totally impossible to fly with that kind of bike due to transport regulations - the battery is forbidden on a plane, even in carry-on baggage. So he found a regular bike for this trip.

‘Yep, it’ll go…’

Arrive and drive

We arrive at La Palma’s airport. As we leave the building, we quickly get a sense of the island’s climate; the temperature here is perfect for riding - let’s get the bikes together!

We quickly assemble the bikes, pick up our rental cars and climb into the mountains. For this trip, we have two vehicles so that we can be our own shuttle service. We leave a car not far from the ocean, jump in the other one with the bikes and head for the sky along a narrow and winding road. You can’t accuse me of wasting time - we have the afternoon to ride so let’s do it!