Ebikes, baby!

Note:  Auto-correct is NOT happy about the word "ebike" and is fiercely fighting me each time I type it.  If you are also unfamiliar with it, it means electric bikes.  And we got some!  

In our previous life, Husband and I both rode regular bikes and had some glorious biking adventures.  We rode tandems and single bikes, hybrids and road bikes.  That all abruptly ended about 7-8 years ago with the acquisition of a motorcycle .... truly a happy event as far as the legs and Tush were concerned.   

Then, with the advance of lithium batteries, e b i k e s (take THAT, auto-correct!) exploded onto the scene with a plethora of different makes and models.  Back in the day (dang, that sounds old)  there used to be a manageable number of bike manufacturers .... Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, etc., and local shops sold many of them.  However, over months of researching e b i k e s, I kept encountering more and more brands.  And I'm talking dozens!  Test-riding them all was impossible.  Heck, without criss-crossing the USA and Canada, it was impossible to even SEE most of them before purchasing.  

About a year ago, a friend loaned us his Rad bike for a while, which is probably the most widely-known brand, and are only sold online.  But in the end, Husband chose the high-quality components of a Tern, and I wanted a lighter, low-step (think of the old girl-style bikes) and got a Magnum.  (I'll bet you never heard of either name.  See what I mean??)  We purchased both at local shops and both fold in half for easier packing into ..... you guessed it .... our van.  

In fact, the van was our main reason for getting e b i k e s.  We can travel to wherever, park, set up camp, and then ride the bikes to ... say ... go eat or explore, without having to undo all that setting up to drive somewhere.  Flawless plan, right?  

We figure it's best to carry them inside our vehicle, rather than on a rack, to avoid the sad possibility of them disappearing into the night.  And, as a nod to one of my previous posts about my delight in van mods, I installed straps in the van "garage" to keep the two folded bikes upright and separated, so they don't attack each other during transit.  

Speaking of mods ... on my bike I've added a front basket, different seat, and a mirror.  Husband tries to hold onto a semblance of his former youthful-biking-coolness but alas, I'm afraid, due to the big basket attached to his rear fender (for holding either groceries or dog) he will probably fall short of that goal.  I don't care how I look because, for me, this bike is not about appearances, it's about utility.   (Wouldn't matter anyway .....)  At least there are no more dreaded clip-in shoes (the cause of my two minor, previous-life bike crashes) nor any padded spandex whatsoever. 

My e b i k e (as do most) has two amazing features.  The first one is a throttle which I seldom use because the second feature -- "Peddle Assist" -- pretty much does it all.  I have the option of riding without engaging either of those features (nobody does that), or push a button and WHOOSH .... hills become a non-issue.  I still do enough peddling to get a respectable workout without rendering myself useless for the rest of the day.  (For those of you who know and care-- most of the time I'm in PA levels 1 or 2.)  The downside of this operation is that the battery must be recharged now and then, and for that, one must have the presence of mind to remember to do it.  Supposedly I should be able get well over 50 miles per charge, depending on how much peddling I do, but that remains to be tested.  One thing's for sure, you do NOT want to be caught mid-ride with a depleted battery because that would leave you with nothing but some seriously heavy slogging* to get home.  (*Impromptu term for manually pedaling an over 50-lb bike.)

My way of mentally dealing with the sticker-shock of a new bike is to ride it.  And that I have.  Well ... some.  The countryside where I live is decidedly dull and colorless and almost everywhere looks the same except for an occasional (and sometimes startlingly) massive canyon.  Not to mention, this time of year it's usually too hot to ride after nine a.m.  So far the Tush's limit is about 18 miles, but I have hopes that'll improve because there's a Dairy Queen in town that would entail a 30 mile round trip, give or take.  

This is at the Alvord Desert in SE Oregon which was on our Must Return list.  We first went there five years ago and I wrote about it here.  It was the perfect place (for me) to get used to a new type of bike because there is literally nothing (NOTHING!) you can run into.  The larger of those two specks in the distance is Husband on his bike, and the tiny speck is our dog in hot pursuit.  (Didn't have the basket yet.)

So time will tell.  All our former-life bikes are gone except for one (not mine) that hosts a thick layer of dust.   And hopefully this blasted heat wave will JUST STOP IT!  

STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!!

......... (See previous semi-grumpy post.)