She Was Right; It Was a Game Changer

In my last blog post, I had mentioned that I was thinking about buying an ebike. This came about from a conversation with a woman on a day we had ridden our tandem from our house to the Elwha River Bridge. The woman basically said, "Just go buy one - it's a game changer!" She reiterated what I'd heard before - they make the hills easier, they are comfortable, and they are fun. My husband had ridden a friend's ebike a few times, so he knew that he would be purchasing one this summer. While W ran into the bike shop one day, the ebike guy, who knew I was waiting in the car, came out - on his bike - to give me a sales pitch! I was a captive audience. Then, a friend who had just purchased one stopped by the house, and he let me take a test ride around the block. Talk about a series of coincidences - we headed to the bike shop.

I took a test ride consisting of a couple of miles. One of the things I really wanted to test the climbing ability on hills. If you have avoided cycling because of hilly routes, you know that hills can be tough to get up, and are sometimes you just have to dismount and walk to the top when you run out of gears. One of the popular trails locally goes along the Port Angeles waterfront, and Francis Street has a little park and connects to the trail - it's short but steep; in other words, the perfect test area. I messed up a little on the gears, but with the power assist, I made it up the hill fairly easily. We rode back to the shop, and I bought the bike on the spot. It was the right size, the seat was comfortable, and I was sitting upright. We had to go home and put the bike rack on the car, but we took a ride that very afternoon, right back to the Elwha Bridge. I have never come up the hill so easily, and did manage at one point to leave W in the dust! I kicked it up, and made it almost up to 20 MPH - and on a slight uphill grade, too! 

   

I've ridden at least once a week since I brought the bike home. We did a nice ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail from Seibert Creek to the Railroad Bridge and back, and this week we rode from the top of Fairholm Hill west of Lake Crescent to the Camp Creek Trailhead in the Cooper Ranch area. This ride was also on the ODT. We had great weather on both rides, and the ride west of the lake was really nice. The trail was pretty much ours, and the few folks we saw were all on bikes. There were two new sections of trail we hadn't been on since the last time we rode out that way. The Olympic Discovery Trail is an excellent way to explore the Olympic Peninsula, and we are looking forward to riding other sections in the future. The trail is paved, and it is for non-motorized use; walking, riding, and equestrian. 

1st Ride - Siebert Creek east to the Railroad Bridge Park

The Dungeness River

Ride # 2 - Fairholm to Camp Creek

The Sol Duc River

I'm looking forward to riding more this year. I have fenders, and a mirror (bifocals are not the best for checking for cars and other riders behind), and I've already gotten much better at shifting. I know that probably seems a little silly, but on the tandem, all I do is pedal - no steering, shifting, or braking. I need to remember to not grab the front brake so hard, though; my Specialized Como is heavy, and I don't need it landing on top of me! Will I ride on dirt? That remains to be seen, although we have an event coming up on the Adventure Route, the OAT Summer Challenge - 22.7 miles of Adventure Route that can be explored on foot, on bike, or on a horse. With 8 weeks to complete the course, and some nice swag upon completion, I may get my chance. 

This was a good purchase, and the woman on the bridge was 100% correct - total game changer.

536.03/365