1/26: 22 miles 1/27: 22 miles 1/28 15.5 miles 1/29: 12.4 miles 1/30: 25.2 miles 1/31: 23.7 miles 2/1: 24.5 miles 2/2: 27.5 miles 2/3: 20.3 miles

Lots of riding since my last post! 72 miles in February. My total for January was 406. Total thus far since getting the bike in December is just over 600 miles. What a blast! My longest day of riding was 27.5 miles and I think that’s about the extent of the battery. I could have possibly pushed it to 30 but I’m finding that with three bars left the voltage is at about 43 to 44 which means there’s a lot less juice available for the battery and it really shows. The motor struggles to do much at all at that point. While my knees have been great I would not want to try to pedal this bike the last mile home on our gravel. The hills and softness of the wet winter road would mean I’d be pushing it for much of that. Worth noting that the 27.5 miles on February 27 was a warm 70ish day so no energy loss due to a cold temps. I was riding at PAS 3, about 18mph which seems to be the sweet spot. I could ride on PAS 2 at 13mph with similar terrain and temps and get 30 or more probably.

Loving it. That said, as I mentioned in my previous post, I was considering a new bike for longer range. I actually did end up ordering it but not the one I was thinking. Rather than go with a light road bike I went with another fat tire, but a 26” tire, the Rad Rover, which should be here tomorrow. It’s also a heavy bike at about 70lbs. I debated back and forth. Ultimately went with the Rover because it’s coming from a company with a proven 10 year track record and with progressive work culture (as far as I can tell) and great support. After doing a lot of reading and watching and comparing, it seems there are maybe 5 or so bikes in this category. The Rover is a slightly better deal price wise with very similar specs so it won out. I should be looking at 35 to 40 mile range with the better battery and larger tires. So, not a huge improvement but better. And, should I get to the point where I want to do 60 miles a day I’ll get another battery. This bike has the benefit of a battery that not only has more capacity but is fairly easy to change. A final benefit (which can also be a drawback) are the larger tires. Yeah, heavy compared to the thinner options I was considering but I think ultimately a good choice for the terrain in this area.

More soon. Next post will be a fun update about our local cycling project which is moving along at a good clip now with new support and a new website. I’ll have that up later today or tomorrow.