I just got mine!
Info on Trek e-bikes, here.
I'm looking forward to keeping up with Meade, not needing to hold him back, not being the person everyone else passes, not having to brood about the hills I know loom up ahead, not having to wonder if I have what it takes to make it all the way around the Capital City Trail on any given day. I'm game! On to Spring 2018.
I know I said I want to plateau, and for a while I was saying I shouldn't get the e-bike, because it would keep me from pushing myself to maintain my skill level. But I changed my mind. I know what I'm like, holding back, thinking I'm not quite up to it today, maybe tomorrow. So, here it is!
Posts
66 comments:
Ann has biker imposter syndrome
My sister loves hers.
I've had one for two years (its one of the fast ones that's illegal in most countries) and its great. People are always surprised when you ask them to guess how many e-bicycles are on road in China. About 200 million. It makes a one way commute of 10 miles very easy and cheap.
Won't replace the DWIcycle.
Does Meade call you his "ol'lady"?
Nice! Congrats! I have a Copenhagen wheel that I got last year. I like it a lot. You still have to put some effort into it but it makes life much easier.
https://content.superpedestrian.com
e no longer means i.
Have fun on the bike!
This morning on my way into work a lady in her 50s on her e-bike blew by me as if I was standing still. At least I hope she was on her e-bike. If not, I don't think my ego will recover.
"Does Meade call you his "ol'lady"?"
I would, if I had a Harley.
Something tells me I'm going to get some major workouts this summer, trying to keep up with her.
Made in Wisconsin.
Hey, what happened?!
Well, designed in Wisconsin. Pretty sure they're manufactured in Taiwan.
No! That's terrible! How defeatist! Take it back right away! You might as well also buy an electric wheelchair -- and an elevator for your house! And if you insist on keeping it and riding it, you need to wear a shirt when you ride with the equivalent of the scarlet letter emblazoned on it -- perhaps "L" for lazy. Did you not consider just tying a rope to Meade's bike and let him tow you? Or maybe just an adult-sized bike trailer you can ride in behind Meade? The ignominy would be the same. Don't you know what respectable people will think of you?
And by the way, you need to get some nice, classy looking radiator covers. They do NOT impede the effectiveness of the radiators in any way. If you google "radiator covers Chicago" two good places will pop up, one considerably more expensive because they make them out of wood.
Mostly what I want to talk about is the "So Many Splendid Sundays" book in the background. You're the only other person I know that has it.
What a talent McCay had in drawing. It's hard to imagine the scale of a turn of the century newspaper today.
They're also good for making door-to-door food deliveries, in case you need a fallback if the Amazon thing doesn't work out.
Trek also makes tandems. If you can't keep up with someone on a tandem, then you've got real problems.
Is that from Crazy Lenny? Did you meet him? Is he really insane?
Cheater
Electric bikes are not as cheap as one might think. I've had a big Pedado commuter bike now for five years. When you figure in depreciation and the cost of a new 48 volt 10 amp battery ($825), I figure my operating costs are about 11 cents a mile. And this doesn't include the electricity for recharging, which I read somewhere is 25 cents per charge (good for 20 to 25 miles using pedal assist).
One good thing about electric bikes is that you don't need to register or license them and pay liability insurance. Theft insurance would be a good thing but my insurance company (USAA) wouldn't let me put it on personal effects policy.
They really need to change this policy as someone came onto my patio last summer and stole both my Pedago electric and my Trek manual. I found my Pedago locked to a pole outside a homeless encampment just a couple weeks ago. I ran home, got a bolt cutter, cut the lock and brought the bike back home. Now I keep it locked to a tree on my patio so that if someone jumps my fence again it won't be so easy just to wheel it away. I bet that homeless guy was pissed when he discovered that someone re-stole "his" bike.
I think I'm about ready for one. I don't know about the Trek brand. I've been happily riding Specialized bikes for years; I'll have to start doing my research. Thanks for the link.
e-z rider!
Crazy “TV” Lenny. Still going strong!
Capital L Lame. Capital P pathetic. j/k you do you, Ann.
A buddy of mine was surprised to find out how his e-bike encouraged him to get more exercise by the way it rewarded his effort. The harder he pedaled the more the e-bike kicked in. I don't think you're going to have to worry about not getting enough exercise.
Oh my gosh. The former Frenchie and I used to get into arguments about these bikes, ages ago.
Enjoy the technology, and please keep folks posted on it. This is wonderful.
“Mostly what I want to talk about is the "So Many Splendid Sundays" book in the background. You're the only other person I know that has it.”
Yes, it’s a fantastic book. I’m in complete awe.
“A buddy of mine was surprised to find out how his e-bike encouraged him to get more exercise by the way it rewarded his effort. The harder he pedaled the more the e-bike kicked in. I don't think you're going to have to worry about not getting enough exercise.”
Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. The key is to get out there and not wimp out on any given day. The mental elemo.
I found my Pedago locked to a pole outside a homeless encampment just a couple weeks ago.
Thieves can't be too careful these days!
$2,500 to $5,000 for a bicycle? I don't think so!
The stuffed animal looks unstuffed.
I was looking at them at my Trek dealer about three weeks ago when I had my bike in for an overhaul. I am still inclined to stay on my non-powered bicycle for now for the exercise factor. I may buy one just to tease one of my riding buddies who rides a $4,000 bike that is super fast and light. Ann, I think this might be a great thing to go the distances that may happen when riding with Meade. You can always ride out unassisted, and ride back with assist.
I did about 1600 miles in 2017 over 90 rides, but Minnesota is a hostile environment about 5 or 6 months of every year. This year I spent January in the Florida panhandle and got eleven rides in during one of the coldest Januaries that have come in years.
You should move to Seattle. The streets are littered with bicycles for rent. You pay a dollar to rent a bike for an hour. Of course, this wasn't good enough, and now we will have electric bikes littering the streets.
Progress!!
“Elemo” = element
Incomplere supervision of autocomplete
Mike D. wrote, $2,500 to $5,000 for a bicycle? I don't think so!
For some people, that's a wheel.
I'm personally a fan of folding bikes. I've been riding and maintaining a Dahon for years, but there are some startups designing some (potentially) amazing new concepts.
The Helix is one I've been following for a while. I'm not sure they're going to actually reach retail-level output, but I hope so.
"For some people, that's a wheel." And that's only a slight exaggeration. There are lots and lots of non-motorized mountain bikes on the market for $8,000+.
Good on ya. And I'm glad it's a red bike!
John Kerry bicycle pants!
The bike is morally neutral; it is but a tool. Used wisely, as we know Ann will do, it can do good.
Used by frigging idiots riding OFF the bike path, ON the pedestrian path, whizzing by as fast as a car, but worse because there isn't engine noise as a warning, it is a @)$(#$ danger and should be banned.
Yes, as a matter of fact I _am_ bitter.
The problem isn't the motor. It's the kickstand, Fred.
We're twins!
Mine is that same red.
Except it's not a bike, it's an F-150.
And it'n not electric. It has a 2.7l twin turbo V-6.
Not sure why I love this joke, but I do:
This is Armenian [communist] Radio; our listeners asked us: “Is it true that Akopian had won last Sunday hundred thousand rubles in the state lottery?”
We’re answering: “Yes, it is true. Only it was not last Sunday but Monday. And it was not Akopian but Vagramian. And not in the state lottery but in checkers. And not hundred thousand but one hundred rubles. And not won but lost.”
Suddenly I see my recumbent bike project reviving. Hmmm.
Yes another good thing about living in Madison the many bike trails and now you and Mead could ride the Badger all the way to Illinois or the covered bridge but at any rate you do it, it’s a beautiful ride.
Incomplere supervision of autocomplete
LOL
brood about the hills
I remember riding one-handed to push a gf up the hills of Honolulu, in the mid 70s.
Does an electric bike disqualify you from wearing those special Tour de France bike clothes ? If so, what's the point ?
@Tom in Vermont
“And lastly, it was not true but false.”
"Trek also makes tandems. If you can't keep up with someone on a tandem, then you've got real problems."
One of my favorite things on the bike paths around Chicago was to yell "She's not pedaling!" when I blew by the tandem bikes. I don't think they thought it was funny, though.
I used to tow a hundred pound Doberman in a bike trailer. You coast twice as far up the next hill, is the good point.
On the other hand, every slope is twice as steep, so you find you're going uphill twice as often as you used to.
A tandem with a girl on back is the same way, I'd imagine.
I just bought a radrover. The hills around here are too much for me on my old bike.
rhhardin said...
A tandem with a girl on back is the same way, I'd imagine.
a girl on the back?!? You're doing it wrong.
If you want to get a donkey to move, you tie a carrot to a stick, then dangle it in front of the donkey. It would do no good to dangle the carrot behind the donkey where he can't see it nor move toward it.
If you want the tandem bike to move, you put the girl in the front.
Perhaps the purchase was a sort of attack on you...you won't be able to slack on your rides now.
"Used by frigging idiots riding OFF the bike path, ON the pedestrian path, whizzing by as fast as a car, but worse because there isn't engine noise as a warning, it is a @)$(#$ danger and should be banned."
The problem is speed, not where the energy is generated. Many jerks bike too quickly on the shared path, just on their own power. These are road bike guys who should be out on the road. I am the person who, when left to my own power, needs to be passed by other people, which doesn't help the shared use functioning. I want the electric motor assist to put me at the same level as regular riders, to keep up with the normal pace (and to stay with Meade, who is always a respectful user of the shared path).
So the issue is trail etiquette, not the source of the power. By allowing the e-bike (and they are allowed on the trails here, the Trek salesman told me), you make it possible for older people and other weaker or slightly disabled people to participate in this rewarding, healthful activity. It's therefore a matter of fairness in using the shared resources. The rules should relate to what matters: speed and recklessness.
"but worse because there isn't engine noise as a warning, it is a @)$(#$ danger and should be banned."
The etiquette is to use a bell or to vocalize ("on your left") as you approach from behind. The problem is there whether the quiet bike has a motor or not.
Lisa and I have e-bikes, too. If we ride too far for our endurance strength, we have an assist to get back home. Unless the battery dies. Had that happen, too.
If you want the tandem bike to move, you put the girl in the front.
It improves the view, although you'll never catch up with her.
a girl on the back?!? You're doing it wrong.
You're going to let her steer? Have you lost your mind?
"You're going to let her steer? Have you lost your mind?"
Of course not. I'd put my little woman out front. Under my thumb.
"Perhaps the purchase was a sort of attack on you...you won't be able to slack on your rides now."
That's not the way it works around here. If I don't want to do something, for whatever reason, including just because I prefer to walk down to the Terrace to get ice cream, I don't do it. And Meade loves his difficult mountain bike things that I'm never going to be able to do, so he doesn't "attack" me. Anyway, he knows that trying to force me to do something is counterproductive and I know the same thing about him. So the bike is a way to sweeten one choice, and all you can do from there is sweeten even more.
If I don't want to do something, for whatever reason, including just because I prefer to walk down to the Terrace to get ice cream, I don't do it. And Meade loves his difficult...
...wife.
FIFY
David Blaska said...
"Lisa and I have e-bikes, too. "
Keeping up with the Blaskas. Hey, it could be a blog reality show!
"The etiquette is to use a bell or to vocalize ("on your left") as you approach from behind. The problem is there whether the quiet bike has a motor or not."
True, and I ring my bell on Madison paths sometimes. The weird thing is that in Madison almost no one uses their bell, so then when I'm approaching someone from behind and I ring my bell I almost feel rude.
When I rode in Waukesha people rung their bells or called out all the time. I think that the difference is that there are a lot more people out on the paths in Madison, so during peak commute hours you might be ringing your bell incessantly.
Well, you seem from afar to have a great relationship, so I doubt there is any forcing going on. Off topic, but my girlfriend is getting a Peloton and that is the diametric opposite of an E bike
Post a Comment