When soul and wild nature come together.
by REBELside
Giulia, Alexia and Ramona are three decidedly volcanic souls just returned from their trip and still excited about that.
I met them one afternoon on Skype over a cup of tea and with their enthusiasm they literally dragged me to this small Canary Island.
They met by chance thanks to the common passion, the bike, and decided to leave together although each of them up to now has lived the two wheels in her own way.
Giulia, “rebel” and tenacious, MTB guide, has founded an association (Rebelside) to promote experiential journeys that aim at a rediscovery of nature through bikepacking.
@rebel_giulia
Alexia, a romantic dreamer, solo traveller, with the excuse of visiting her friends all over Europe and savors the freedom of two wheels.
@a____x
Ramona, tireless, when she starts riding she would never stop, loves to challenge and test herself and is passionate about the trails.
@ramonalinzola
The trip to Lanzarote was born from the common desire to have a wild experience, to abandon the asphalt to immerse yourself in nature, from the need to escape and discover or rediscover certain places.
They got ready!
Loaded their bikes with everything they need to enjoy a week of pure bikepacking sleeping under the stars. They traced the tour taking inspiration from the traces of friends and acquaintances but focusing their attention on what most of all animated their curiosity: the Volcanoes.
Silent today, the volcanoes over the centuries have completely redesigned the island of Lanzarote. They made it a surreal, arid and purely desert place, yet extremely varied and alive.
Riding the desire to admire the countless volcanoes that make this land unique, the girls have structured the tour in order to fully explore the different parks that characterize it and get lost in the discovery of their secrets.
The Timanfaya, black as pitch; the Volcanos park, decidedly lunar and studded with gigantic lava projectiles; the Chinijo natural park, made very green by the myriad of succulent plants that populate it, the island of La Graciosa, full of volcanic peaks that are reflected in the ocean.
The volcanoes with their vehemence have completely redesigned the island, covered it with ash, but from this ash new forms of life have originated and numerous crops today have spread, challenging and riding the impetuousness of the ocean winds that whip the territory finding no impediments to their passage.
Vegetation is almost absent, except for succulents.
The girls were entranced by the monumental succulents that populate the island, mostly endemic, and were struck by the cactus garden, a few kilometers from Teguise.
Emotions follow one another. It is still not easy to metabolize the nights in tents, the breaking of the waves, the veiled and ever-changing skies, the silence, the solitude.
Coming from the city, he made all three of them ride for whole days without meeting other people.
When I ask them what struck them most of all, they are torn.
Alexia, who had already driven around the island a few years ago, is incredulous at the vastness that she has discovered thanks to two wheels.
Giulia, passionate about plants, was literally struck by the cultivation techniques conceived thanks to the ingenuity of the Canaries which, despite the wind and dryness, allow them to produce grapes, pumpkins, courgettes and a large variety of vegetables.
Ramona praises “slowness”. This trip allowed her to leave behind the frenzy that accompanies her every day and to fully enjoy every moment.
The reflections follow one another.
Tempers rekindle.
From the stories, the photos, the observations, I realize that each of them has lived their journey, but at the same time, by sharing this experience, they have realized the deepest essence of the bike trip, savoring the charm of getting lost in nature more wild and authentic.
Interview by Simona Flacco – Photo by RebelSide