Electric Bicycles

I got an email, today, from a company in Canada that sells Electric bicycles. *crickets*

The question I have is "WHY?".  Does that not defeat the purpose of riding a bicycle in the first place?

Does that not minimize the health benefits of riding?

Why would you ride an Electric bicycle when there are other choices that could be made - for example - if your only motivation for riding is getting from Point A to Point B, wouldn't a scooter of small motorcycle do better?  Or a small car?  In terms of convenience and reliability and speed, aren't those usually better choices?  And possibly even cheaper?

Electric bicycles?  I think I need to be convinced.

Cookin'

Yesterday, my neighbor and I rode 14 miles on the I&M Towpath - from the Rock Run entrance in Joliet, to 1 mile beyond the Lock and Dam at Channahon and back.  We rode it faster than we rode 2 miles the week before.  Our next ride will be 16 miles and we'll do it faster(I hope) than we did 4 yesterday.  I think it will be a while before the pace gets any faster than that.

The I&M is an interesting ride - and easy.  No hills.  Quiet.  Safe and fun.

Try it sometime.

Ndinombethe.

I&M Towpath Ride

There is a trail along the I&M Canal that runs from Southeast of Joliet all the way out to Peru, Illinois - a run of better that 58 miles.  The surface of the trail is crushed limestone over a bed of clay, so almost any bike can safely negotiate the trail - thin tire or wide.

There are a number of entry points to the trail, and there are mile markers along the way to help you keep track of your distance to waypoints, and the distance back to where you started.

Yesterday, my neighbor and I rode the trail from the Rock Run entrance (Houbolt Rd, just South of Interstate 80 in Southwest Joliet) to the State park at Channahon, IL, a distance of 6 miles.  The trail is level and easy to ride, although there are parts where the trail narrows just a bit and there is a road bridge that the trail goes under (just North of the State Park ar Channahon) that gives new meaning to "low bridge".  Novice riders might be well served to dismount and walk the bike under the bridge.

The trail is, essentially, level - so the challenge to riding the I&M is to maintain pace, keeping your revs (pedal rate or rpm) at a constant pace - and that pace needs to be high enough to represent an "effort".  I rode at 40rpm going out, but rode back at 60rpm - keeping the same MPH but riding back in a lower (and, therefore, easier) gear.

Important things when riding a trail:  Water or other hydrating substance.  Mirrors, to see behind you.  Padding for your bottom.  And remembering where you are - and that the trail is to be shared with others.

Ride Aware.  Ride Safe.  Ride Away.

1000 MILES

In the last month I have put 1000 miles on my scoot.  Most of those miles have been in excess of 55 miles per hour - many at 70.  I am averaging 74 miles per gallon overall.  Wow.

This weekend I am going to flush the coolant, again.  Change the engine oil, again.  Check the gear oil level and color - and change it, if necessary, again.  And I plan to take the drive train apart and clean the pulley that the engine drives (it's called a Variator) and check the clutch.

I have been pushing this vehicle hard.  If I'm going to continue pushing like this, I will need to make sure that maintenance is constant and appropriate.  After all, this horse is my ride to work.

By the way - I call my bike "Coot Scoot".

Ndinombethe. 

Ride?

Tomorrow is the 19th of May and I STILL haven't made it to the Tow Path along the I&M Canal for a ride.  Given that it's due to rain on Sunday (boo!), I guess tomorrow MUST be the day.

I HAVE been spending a lot of time on two wheels, lately, but it's two wheels with an engine, and that doesn't count for these purposes.  But it IS fun.

If anyone reads this that might be interested in an easy ride along the canal, leave a comment here and we'll see if we can't get together.  Oh.  And watch craigslist for Bikes for Sale by PL-Lou.  Any and all bikes for sale have been made ride-able by me.

Ndinombethe.  

NEW - including Scooters

I've been giving this some thought - and seeing as how this blog doesn't get much traffic anyway - I think I'm going to include my scooter and related adventures on this blog.

The scoot is new - to me.  And it's not that riding a scoot is all that new - I used to own a Honda VT1100 - a Honda Shadow - and I loved riding it while I owned it - so it's not like riding two wheels and a motor is all that new and/or exciting to me.  It's that whole "been there - done that" thing, you know?

What IS fun and exciting is finding myself with a wrench in my hand fixing something that runs, again.  I used to do that for a living - many years ago.  I'd forgotten how much fun it is to make things work.  I've had my scoot half apart already, and I'm loving it.

My scooter is "Chinese".  That doesn't make it good, bad or ugly.  What it DOES do, however, is put repair and maintenance squarely in my corner.  There is no 'dealer network' supporting the system like there is for Honda, or Yamaha, or Kawasaki.  There's just me.  As I build expertise in my scoot and the way it works, I'll be able to share it here.

I'll be able to answer questions, here.

I'll be able to put together tutorials, here.  Both for bicycles AND scooters.

It's going to be fun.

And if you live in the Chicagoland area, and you've always wanted a scooter (or maybe you haven't ALWAYS wanted a scooter but now you're considering the idea) and you had NO IDEA you could buy a 250cc scooter (does 75-80 MPH, 65-85 MPG and is legal on the highway) for less than $2100 delivered to your door by truck, well, you don't need to be afraid to do that any longer.  I'm here and I can help. 

Ndinombethe.

REMINDER

Tomorrow, Sunday the 19th, all Performance Bike Stores will be having workshops, at Noon, on basic bike maintenance. Furthermore, attendees will be given 10% discounts on Spin Doctor tools - the sorts of things necessary to do that basic bike maintenance.

I will be at the Naperville store at Noon.