Exercise and what the electric bike taught me about riding a regular bicycle.
I’m four years into electric bike ownership and it has really been a pleasing experience. Electric bikes are in many ways a new transportation medium. Like the moped, the electric bike is as little as an augmentation to the experience one has with conventional bicycling-with just some help for the hills and fatigue. The electric bike is also very much like the moped though, where there can be enough power and range for the rider to convey themselves without effort. And for many electric bike owners this isn’t a disparate situation as most electric bikes allow the adjustment of augmentation.
“Why then the world is your oyster when it comes to the electric bike.”
I would say the electric bike affected my driving as much as bicycling. In the instance of ebike vs car, local and short trips were more achievable on the ebike, mostly cause of time. On a conventional bicycle vs a moderately ridden ebike (an instance where you’re still achieving cardiovascular benefits), your ride time is cut in half. A analog powered ride is thirty minute, on the ebike it would be more like fifteen. It can be less time even, but the question is do you ride your ebike amongst the cars, where your peril is still very much equivilant of analog bike riding, though you will spend less time amongst the cars, so there is that. Or do you ride your ebike amongst the analog bikes and walkers, often times on paths and trails which weren’t originally conceived of for higher sustained riding speeds. For these four years of ownership I was able to eliminate the car from short distance errands.
As it relates to the analog bicycle, the ebike is a somewhat different experience. Years in now, I would say the analog bike is better for the reflective ride. There is less “I’m certain my bike will be stolen while I run an errand inside the store” feelings. There is less “This anxiety level is the same as when I rode a motorcycle.” There is much more “My heart rate is very high, will I die on this hill.” That said, as I am more analog than e of late My conditioning has vastly improved riding analog and on some level I do attribute it to the ebike in large part, along with continued improvement in my health and stamina.
Mostly ebikes just reinforce the experience of bicycling. I wondered after I got the ebike if I would just divest of my electric bikes and it has not been the case, i’ve come to love them more.
With electric vehicles you must remember you purchase your fuel in advance. For my bike four years of assisted energy has been great, though my battery has finally failed and it is now in the category of “future projects to circle back to” I think there is a chance to fix what is more a processor issue and less a dead battery issue, but servicing a batter is servicing electricity and it is a different world than working on a computer and replacing a part. So we shall see.
Behavior
Lately i’ve been working on getting back up to speed with thinking. My mom died, we had a global pandemic, work got shitty. It all took the wind out of my sails and I took a break.
There is something to be said about what one does when they step back from their best self. This is harder still when you’re in the midst of an aforementioned global event, but you don’t always schedule your fuckery.
I find myself at a crossroad of thinking though about what I want to do with my life. I understand that my interest in expatriating is just wanting a life where what i’ve accumulated is enough that I don’t have to work every day of my life just to survice. If I really want to realize this though I have to stop spending all the money. I have to truly take a vow of poverty and my pleasure must be in experiences that are humble, not consumptive.
I am reminded of Walden pond and Thoreau’s impact on this entire journey i’ve taken.
In the mornings now I start with work for while (not my regularly perused web sites), I then write (what i’m doing now), I exercise, then maybe I review some stuff.
If I want to change…
If you want to change…
To change we can’t do the same thing and expect different results.
