When I brought up the idea of getting an ebike to ride to work, my wife thought it was a great idea. Why not? You get to be outside more, get some exercise during what would normally be a commute by car, nice scenery, and save on the little gas I use now. She was one of only a few of those who thought it was a great idea.
An ebike is a bike with a small electric motor that offers a variable amounting of pedal assistance. This is where people said that that is cheating and it’s lazy. This is also where they were and are wrong. Even in maximum assistance mode, you are still pedaling, and can put as much energy into it as you want. You will just be rewarded with more speed. The whole idea is that with the same energy output, you can travel farther, faster.
My house is 25 miles from my worksite, each way. I do have some experience riding bikes, mostly as a kid, but I also have ridden in about five MS bike tour with my wife which were 150 miles over two days on hilly terrain.
Some people said it was the stupidest idea they had ever heard and that it was going to be so dangerous that it didn’t make sense. “What are you going to do in the Winter?”
It is insulting to think that these people feel like that in the seconds after I delivered the idea, they had thought of all if these obsticals that I had been mulling over for months, as though they had never occurred to me. Gee, I don’t hadn’t thought of any of those things! Come on! It’s not like they were coming from a truly inquizative place either. It was just your standard negativity coming from those who just do what they think they are supposed to in life.
It seems much more logical to me than sitting in a car like a slug everyday. Dangerous? Nearly the entire way is on bike paths and even if it wasn’t, I have personally been involved in a fatal car crash, so…not sure what makes it more dangerous than driving. The winter? Oh no. Cold temperatures. I used to ride my motorcycle the second the roads were clear of snow in February, in the 20*s. People who think things through realize that there are winter sports and dressing appropriately for the conditions is all that’s needed.
I literally can’t think of any downsides to it.
I did ride in two weeks ago and totally survived it. Easily in fact. It took me exactly one hour from the trail I stared at. It was awesome! Nobody was around. I went through the woods for most of the trip, right by the lower falls of the Genesee river. I saw cool parts of the city I’ve never seen before. Rochester NY is actually pretty bike friendly and has recently added something like 25 miles of bike lanes. When I wasn’t on a path, I was usually in a lane.
Today I brought my bike on the back of my car and will ride home, then back in tomorrow, while leaving my car in the lot overnight.
This is the first time riding to work in a couple of weeks because we have had a stupid amount of rain and my in laws watch our kids three days a week and I want to get right home to relieve them.
I am going to take some pictures on my way to show some of the scenes that I see on the bike rather than through my car windows on the expressway.
I was literally smiling was I rode through a park and rang my bell at a bunch of deer that were hanging out by the river.
I won’t ride in the rain, but that’s it. This is the way to go.
Why not go to the gym for a workout? Because the gym sucks. Why not do something fun and get the workout? The gym would also require extra time out of my already busy schedule when this is worked right into time I already have planned for anyway. It is only 15-30 minutes more than my regular commute and in some cases it will be shorter, depending on traffic.
If you live 10 miles or less from your destination, then this should be a no brainer.
Do it.
Pickled Pennies 