I enjoy riding my ebike to work. While there is some effort, when I’m in a hurry and just want to “get there” I let the ebike assist me much more. When I’m on my way home and it’s not in the 100s, I use the maximum power assist on the mile of surface streets. Once I get to the isolated bike trail I cut the power to the lowest setting and push hard for about 15 minutes.
I’m very blessed to live rather close to my employer. There were definitely some specific choices that went into this. One was to reject a daily commute to the Bay Area, Sacramento, or Fresno; each about 90 miles or more away. The second was an unexpected blessing when I was let go from a consulting firm that traveled to those areas, or further, regularly. I’d literally been down in the Bakersfield area for a number of days just before this happened. On the one side, losing a job was scary, but on the other side God was and will always be my Provider, not my employer. By the next day I was doing contract work for what would become my employer, just over 5 miles away.
Another factor about my commute has to do with where I chose to live. About two decades ago my oldest son was invited to a preschool classmates four year birthday party celebration. They lived in a part of town I’d never been to before, and I was impressed at the entrance to the neighborhood with a long curved street with a tree canopy and bushes lining the sides. When it came time some years later to house shop and there were listings in the area, this neighborhood, now my neighborhood, was the top of mine and Angela’s lists.
Years later I started to bike to work via the Dry Creek Bike Trail. One difficulty in that is that I swing back and forth from being in great bike riding shape at the end of summer to not-so-great shape at the beginning of spring. I ride less when it’s dark early/late, cold, and especially when it is raining. One alternative was to catch the bus from time to time, but it’s a hassle and slower than just riding on my bike.
The best thing ever for my bike commute, and bike riding in general, was when I picked up a Stromer ebike from Crazy Lenny’s during a end-of-the-year sale. I believe it was half off, but then adding shipping and a bike rack kit, it was a bit more than $2K. Yes, that’s steep for “a bike” but it has been solid and well worth it verse units half the cost or even in the $1,500 range. Much like dirt bikes and a motorcycle I’ve owned in the past, I’m physically hard and like to push things. This has ended in a number of self-induced repairs being needed and a handful of scratches, but otherwise the bike still performs excellently.
Beyond commuting, such as on Saturdays when I want to go for a bike ride, I can make it just as difficult as a regular bike by just cutting the power altogether. But, the difference here is that I can ride for 20-30 miles stringing together three different bike trails, well beyond my normal comfort zone. I know that I’ve a 40+ mile power-assisted ebike range.
Not that I can’t get myself into trouble. One ride out to Fox Grove was pretty rough for about two-thirds of the way back home. It’s only about an 8 mile ride there mostly along canals, but once I arrived I decided to explore some foot paths along the Tuolumne River. These paths were sandy and not really great for any kind of bike, but excellent for some exploring. When I found a the proverbial “end of the trail” (at least without a kayak), I paused for a water and snack break before returning home. It was just enough to let my body slow down and start to do whatever it does that causes me trouble. Once I hit the bumpy canal path back home, I started to feel the muscle aches in my legs. For the 5+ miles back home, with maximum ebike power assist, I was in some pretty uncomfortable leg cramping pain. One downside of a power-assist only ebike is that it only works when peddling; it does not have a throttle like on a motorcycle that will just propel the ebike without pumping the peddles.
Reflecting back now, I’m fairly certain that hydration is a big factor here. I know to keep hydrated when I’m hiking and always have a water backpack which provides easy access to water; I need to do the same for long bike rides even on cool days. Just bringing a couple of water bottles just isn’t enough.
While they do make such ebikes with throttles that don’t require peddling, they’re often not allowed on many or most bike trails. Those throttle-based ebikes are typically allowed on the bike lanes shared next to cars or divided bikeways next to the road.