UP PICO DO FOGO ON AN E-BIKE: HOW TO CONQUER THE VOLCANO AND MAKE IT BACK AGAIN
What you do doesn’t always have to make sense. It might even look like pure madness. What truly matters is whether people will remember it. Only time will tell how Gaspi’s climb up the active volcano Pico do Fogo will go down in memory. But one thing is already certain – it came very close to never happening at all.
He pushes upward. Turning back is not an option. He pedals, breathes deeply, lungs filling with hot air that feels like molten asphalt. The equatorial sun scorches his skin, but the wind plays tricks on his senses. He doesn’t yet realize the sun has licked away his sunscreen or that his lips are beginning to blister. If he’d asked the locals why they hide beneath wide-brimmed hats, they would have told him. But all he can see is his goal. With each exhale, he gets closer. The summit of Pico do Fogo is in sight. There’s no going back now.
THE LOGISTICS BEHIND ONE EPIC RIDE
Not after everything it took just to get his e-bike to Cape Verde a machine no airline or ferry would touch because of its lithium battery. There was only one way forward: find a logistics company willing to shoulder the load and carve out their own path to get the bike, battery and all, to the islands.
It took effort, time, and no small amount of money. “In the end, Rangel Logistic Solutions took on the challenge, and I tip my hat to them,” Gaspi says. “Their effort was as tough as riding up and down the volcano itself.” The entire operation was pulled off with the help of Mustafa Kerim Eren, whom Gaspi had reached out to via social media before departure. “I believe there are good people everywhere -you just need to keep your eyes open and really look,” he adds.
Mustafa, a professional mountaineer from the Karakoram range in Pakistan, met his wife Marisa 18 years ago and settled with her on the island of Fogo. Alongside his elite climbing career-he’s competed with legends like Adam Ondra-he now runs the Casa Marisa guesthouse. He climbs or boulders every day, constantly setting new routes on the cliff face behind his house, a wall so demanding it rivals El Capitan in Yosemite.
“Musti was kind enough to pick up our bike at the airport,” Gaspi recalls. That turned out to be a bureaucratic odyssey in four acts, ending with customs officials slapping an eye-watering 85% import tax on the bike-sharply contrasting with electric cars and motorbikes, which are tax-exempt for environmental reasons.
“Our pioneering e-bike import-apparently the first ever on the islands-might actually trigger a change in the law,” Gaspi hopes. “It would be a beautiful bonus if our journey leads to lifting the tax on them as well.” After all the hurdles, he finally set foot on the beach-the starting point for a ride toward the island’s highest peak, rising nearly 3,000 meters above sea level.
CHASING THE SUMMIT UNDER AN EQUATORIAL SUN
“Climbing from sea level is brutal. Mornings are cold and windy. The Atlantic is freezing. Then the sun rises, and for a few minutes, it’s pleasant-before it starts to scorch like fire. One question keeps looping in my head like a mantra: will the battery last all the way to the top? No one knows. No one’s ever tried.”
The ascent snakes through rocky hills and patches of dry grass, where jagged volcanic stones jut out like broken teeth. Locals watch with curiosity. Children chase after him, drawn by the sight of something they’ve never seen-an e-biker heading for the slopes of a feared and shadowy mountain. “They run behind me for a bit, then turn back,” Gaspi says with a smile.
The first 1,000 meters of vertical gain can take an hour and a half-or four-depending on strength and sheer nerve. The volcanic cone is steep, and like many volcanoes, it only gets steeper the higher you go.
“You start in the brush, and then it’s just lava. Lava crunches beneath your wheels, and sometimes the back tire sinks in. Then it’s just gravel and ash,” Gaspi describes.
Up to 2,100 meters, he can still pedal now and then. But more and more, he’s forced to dismount, relying on the walk-assist mode to help push the bike uphill. Eventually, he slings the bike over his shoulders and scrambles forward on foot.
He watches his feet like an astronaut stepping onto another planet.
The iron-rich soil oxidizes, staining the stones red and yellow.
What keeps him going is the water in his hydration pack. Each sip feels like a lifeline in a black, lifeless desert.
THE DESCENT OF A LIFETIME
When he finally reaches the summit, he gives in to temptation and drops into the crater. “Who could resist, right?” he grins.
“After a short breather, I had to climb back out and over the rim, ready for the final descent.”
What had been boulders turned into powder, and then the surf began-carving lines down lava dust at up to 80 km/h. Head pounding, body braced, dancing with gravity from one side to the other-like falling through an endless black void. “The best descent of my life,” Gaspi recalls.
The strain on his bike shows just how brutal the ride was. His brake rotors were toast-overheated and unusable. “Both front and rear were completely cooked,” he adds.
“Plenty of people thought I was crazy. But after navigating airtight logistics, and seeing how this trip is now influencing local legislation-putting e-bikes on par with EVs, electric scooters, solar panels and batteries, all of which are tax-free-it might have had a purpose after all. Maybe it wasn’t such a foolish idea,” Gaspi concludes.
FROM VOLCANIC DUST TO ART THAT GIVES BACK
Along with unforgettable memories, Gaspi returned from the journey with an unusual souvenir — a bag of volcanic ash. Cast from the earth, this raw testimony of ancient eruptions became both the inspiration and foundation for a new work of art. The volcanic ash ultimately found its way into the hands of Czech artist Martin Hirth, better known under his pseudonym Kafes33. A visual artist, writer, and painter, Kafes33 is one of the pioneers of Prague’s graffiti scene. “He has his own signature style — the curves, the brushstrokes — it’s a completely different world. Whenever I want something to truly shine, I entrust it to him,” Richard says of working with his longtime friend and collaborator.
The piece created from volcanic ash is now going up for auction, with all proceeds supporting children living in tough conditions in the shadow of Pico do Fogo. In doing so, the circle closes, giving the blend of athletic performance and art a new and deeper meaning.
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Team Pico do Fogo
Rider – Richard GASPI Gasperotti
Camera/Edit – Márty Smolík aka Muffin Movie
Photographer – Miloš Štáfek
Sport in Art – Jan Dvořák
A big thank you goes to our partners – without you, this journey wouldn’t have been possible… Thanks a hell of a lot!
Mondraker Bikes
FUNN MTB
Ace Pac
BOSCH ebike system
Casa Marisa 2.0
žíro/sósed
Rangel Logistic Solutions
