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Back Country
One of the reasons I love being on a bike is the pace. I’m never in a hurry on a bike as it’s already a step up from walking and I really do enjoy experiencing the environment I’m in. Slow is fine with me! My current route is really two parts. The blacktop has me riding at about 14 to 17mph and it’s a nice ride. But my favorite part of the ride, by far, is the gravel portion which is a narrow road with trees right up to the edges.
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Peddling Fool
2/28 31.3 miles 2/29 40.5 miles 3/1 38.7 miles 3/2 35.3 miles 3/3 34.1 miles 3/4 34.2 miles 3/5 34.2 miles 3/6 7.4 miles Rest day! 3/7 35.6 miles 3/8 33.2 miles 3/9 Rain and rest! So much fun on the bike these past few weeks! I forced myself to take a rest day on the 6th because I’d had 8 days straight riding 30 miles and it was a really windy day so I figured if I was due to give my legs a break best to do it on a day when riding wasn’t going to be as enjoyable.
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Rover Rides and more on Local Cycling Project
First a few updates on the Rover! Lots of riding. February is at about 511 miles of riding with two more days left. I’ve ridden 1000+ miles since my first ride on the Lectric XP on December 22. Woot!
2/20 15.8 miles 2/21 33.7 miles 2/22 33 miles 2/23 32.5 miles 2/24 16.8 miles 2/25 25.5 miles 2/27 32 miles
I’m generally finding 30 mile rides pretty comfortable now. My butt get’s a little sore but not too bad.
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Roving with the Rad Rover
This bike is so much fun. That’s not to say that the other bike wasn’t fun. Just that the Rover, with the greater range, the front shocks and larger diameter tires provides a comfort that the Lectric did not. For example, today’s 27 mile ride, a new exploration on county gravel roads starting in Madison County and crossing over into Perry County. No problem. I don’t have to worry at all about the range on a ride of this distance.
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Ride Updates
Ride Updates!
2/7 16.1 2/8 21.8 2/9 6.3 2/10 4 - First Rad Rover test ride 2/11 24.5 2/14 24 2/15 31.3
We’ve had some very wet winter weather which has kept me off the bike for a 5 days thus far this month. I snuck in a short couple of rides on some other rain days but they were brief. Still, 200 miles for the month! Knees are great! I have to remind myself to take it easy.
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Rad Rover First Impressions Mini Review
(Note: As I wrote this first impression it occurred to me that I’d like to also write a follow-up digging into what makes electric bikes so fantastic as a form of transportation in terms of enjoyment and efficiency. That will be next on the list.)
The new bike came on Monday. I had just enough time to get it assembled and out for a short, four mile ride. But the battery was at less than a 40% charge so I brought it home before giving it a real test run.
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400
Ha! In my last post I was expecting bad weather for a few days. As it turned out, mostly not, so I was able to get out and ride everyday and I’ve had some great ones! I did miss 1/17 due to weather but then had 5 straight days of riding. Then we did get some actual winter weather, two days of snow, rain and freezing rain.
1/18: 9.5 miles 1/19: 11.
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Next Stop, 400 Miles!
1/13: 12 miles 1/14: 20 miles 1/15 23.4 miles 1/16: 4.5 miles
I took off a few days between the 9th and the 13th due to rain. A lot of rain. But I’ve had some great rides the past 4 days. Well, yesterday’s ride was a very short one due to the day being taken up with errands, family visits and a few work related tasks.
The forecast for the next 2 days is snow, freezing rain and rain so I’m doubtful I’ll get any ride time.
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One Hour Adventure
Today’s ride was a pretty fantastic one hour adventure. 1 hour and 11 minutes to be exact. I’d mentioned to my friend Russ a week or so ago that I was thinking of exploring County Rd 219 but was a bit reluctant. My primary concern with this particular route would just be lack of cell service and the unknown dog factor. Being the great friend that he is he offered to ride along on his motorcycle and it was an excellent ride.
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20x4 Fat Tires
As I start this post I’m in the middle of my continuing e-bike/cycling obsession. Funny, a couple nights ago I actually dreamt about the bike shop I worked at in Memphis in the late 90s. Been having little flashbacks of that time period during my waking hours too. Was such a great time in my life, daily emersion in bicycles and bike culture.
Anyhooooooo, back to the point of this post!
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240 miles
Apparently I’m making up for lost time!
1/6: 20 miles 1/7: 19 miles 1/8: 21 miles 1/9: 6.5 miles (rain!)
So, that’s about 240 miles in the three weeks of having a bike again. That’s all pedal assisted, mostly in pedal assist mode 2, some 3. Average ride time in January is 69 minutes. I know this because I have a spreadsheet. I have a spreadsheet because I am a nerd.
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14 Days of E-Bike Fun
I’ve had the bike for two weeks and I’ve ridden almost everyday. It’s been fantastic. Since my last ride update on 12/26 here’s a list of rides: 12/31: 14 miles 1/1: 13 miles 1/2: 12 miles 1/3: 19 miles 1/5: 13 miles
180 miles in the first two weeks. That’s all pedal assisted, mostly in pedal assist mode 2, some 3. Average ride time in January is 67 minutes. I missed a few days due to heavy rain and some work I needed to attend to.
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Rides 12-25 to 12-26
My butt’s been just a wee bit sore so slightly shorter rides the past two days! Taking a break on Friday. I don’t really want to take a break but my rear end demands it.
12-25 Just a ride up to Scoops and back, 13 miles on peddle assist 2 for most of the ride. Battery at about 75%.
12-26 Same ride up to Scoops and back, 13 miles. Again, peddle assist 2 for most of the ride.
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E-bike Ride Journal 12-24-19
Tuesday 12-24-19
Started at 10:30 am, finished at 12pm. Sunny and 50 degrees.
I took the same route into town that I’ve been using, County Road 217 but then did a loop heading east of town then south then west. I did a couple small rectangles going from street to street then turned north and headed pretty much straight up towards Court Square and back past the grocery store and Scoops before heading home.
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E-bike Ride Journal
I’m hoping to be doing several rides a week but many of them will be the same or a very similar route so I’m not sure how often I’ll post once it starts getting repetitive. But as an extension of my initial review when I do post notes about rides I’ll tag the post as Lectric Ride Journal.
And, here’s another!
Monday 12/23/2019 I got on the bike around 11:30, 50°F and sunny.
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Lectric XP E-Bike Review
I mentioned the other day in my post on rural micromobility that I had ordered my first e-bike, the Lectric XP which is also the first bike I’ve owned since I sold my bikes in Memphis in 2000 after a knee injury made riding too painful.
A bit of context before I dig in to the experience of riding the Lectric. Up until 2000 I was a regular daily cyclist for recreation and commuting when I lived in Memphis.