Is it time for an e-bike?

 

My mom used to sing me a made-up song: “Mike the tyke will ride a bike, when he gets old enough.” I guess I was old enough when I became an avid cyclist at age 58, commuting six miles each way in Washington past famous monuments and riding 20 to 30 miles on weekends.

 

But at age 81, ten miles has become a stretch, even on flat roads. So I decided to move to the dark side: I bought an electric bike. I had always resisted the idea: “It’s cheating.” “It’s really a motorcycle.” 
“E-bikers are wimps!” I could remember an e-cyclist leading us on a group ride up a steep hill, leaving the rest of us gasping for breath.

 

Now a convert, I had my heart set on a Trek e-bike at a shop in Chapel Hill, when Pickett came across an article showing that a number of e-bikes have caught fire while being charged. Only the few batteries with certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) ere guaranteed safe. I am still skeptical, but what would I do if the battery exploded, the house burned down and our bed & breakfast was caput?  “Oops, my bad,” just doesn’t cut it!

 

So I listened to a couple of friends who got Veloctric e-bikes, a brand that does have UL approval. They assembled their own bikes, purchased online, but that didn’t appeal to me. First of all, I would want to test ride a bike. Second, I don’t assemble or fix anything. In Washington, if I got a flat tire, I would just call a taxi to take me to a bike store!

 

So I drove 100 miles to Winston-Salem, and bought one at Piedmont e-bikes for $1,500. The owner, Frank Guido,  even road alongside me as I tested it. Without electricity turned on, you can ride it like a normal bike, though its weight makes hill climbing almost impossible without turning on one of the three power levels.

 

I brought it home and tried it on our three miles of trails. So cool! The fat tires handled the tree roots and some swampy areas quite well. Climbing a hill was a real thrill. On the open road, the bike soars when you turn on the power, up to 20 mph. Of course, you are still exposed to dogs and cars, but somehow it seems safer because of its potential speed and its highly visible size and yellow color and lights. (I have to admit my knee hurt some anyway after riding too far—maybe you don’t apply much pressure, but you still spin the wheels. Another drawback: at low speeds the bike wanted to go faster.)

 

So now I hope to return to the cool places where I used to ride: the neighborhoods between River Road and Mountain Road, Melon Road near the Dan River, the Hyco Lake region and Bethel Hill Road into North Carolina.

 

Mike the tyke is old enough!