#98: In which she buys an ebike and rolls along

I love my bike!

I still have my 12-speed Motobecane from the early 80s. I guess it is considered vintage…or nearly so…like me. In my late 20s to early 40s I ride a lot and pride myself on being able to ride all the way up the California Street hill from Alki Beach in West Seattle. If you know it, it’s darn steep. Back then my bike helps to keep me in shape so when friends say “Hey, let’s take a quick hike up Mount Si,” I don’t hesitate to put on my boots and head out the door to join them, but over the years I let the riding go and do more walking.

Earlier this spring, friends ask if I would like to try riding one of their ebikes. “You bet!,” I say. We make a date and I head over to their home for a short neighborhood ride. Before it’s over I’m hooked. I love being back on wheels!

Over the next few months I research classes, brands and models. I learn about Pedal-Assist, which is a motor system on an electric bike that makes it so you don’t have to work so hard when riding, and that there are different classes of eBikes.

• Class 1: Has Pedal-Assist up to 20mph but you have to pedal to have the motor kick in.

• Class 2: Has a maximum Pedal-Assist up to 20mph but also has the option to include assistance without the need for pedaling.

• Class 3: Has a maximum Pedal-Assist speed up to 28mph and comes with a speedometer, too.

• Class 4: Has pedal assistance of 28mph with some going up to 50mph

Class 1 and 2 can go on trails; Class 3 cannot; and Class 4 ebikes are only permitted to be used off-road.

Class 1 is what I am interested in and with the help and advice of my friends, I narrow it down to just one. Before I make the big commitment to buy, I check in with my physical therapist. (Yup, I’ve been in PT since the bad fall I had back in early December.) Although there have been a setback or two over these months, I have been making very steady progress and my PT says, “If you can mow, you can go,” and I have been mowing…a lot.

#45: Walk

I want to test the bike out first and so I search for a dealer within two to six hours of me that carries it. This is harder than it sounds as there is a big demand for ebikes these days and the one I am interested in is hard to keep in stock. I find one at a bike store in Portland, OR

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and decide to take a quick overnight road trip to check it out.

Before I can go, I need a bike rack and a 2” trailer hitch for it to fit into. I head to the local bike fix-it shop for expert suggestions, and order up the bike rack which arrives quickly, but finding the trailer hitch is another story. It must be specific to my 2007 Prius. More research. I find the right hitch in stock in the mid-west, place the order, make an appointment for it to be installed, and set the date to do my test ride in Portland figuring that if I love the bike as much as I hope I will, I’ll be strapping it onto the rack and heading home with it. Then comes the waiting for it to arrive.

The shipping date changes three times so I place a call to customer service to find out what’s going on. The rep checks and sees that the hitch is in the warehouse and even though I ordered it ten days previously it hasn’t been shipped yet. He says he’ll see what he can do. By that evening, I have notification of a new expected delivery date. The next morning, I call the installation shop with this update and they tell me that shipping delays are not unusual at all now and just to call and let them know when it arrives which I do a few days later. With an installation date now set, I confirm my test ride date with the Portland shop and also with a pie-friend who will graciously be putting me up for a night so I don’t have to do the entire trip in one day.

The day arrives and I head to the shop bringing some freshly baked scones, too. My friends who started me out on this journey kindly pick me up and we go to their home for elevenses with fresh picked strawberries, cream, and more scones while I wait. When it’s ready, they take me back to the shop, and off to Portland I go.

My new bike rack installed on the trailer hitch ready to roll to Portland.

It’s nearly suppertime when I arrive in Portland and I am treated to a home-cooked Thai meal that is absolutely spectacular. I even get a lesson in how to make spring rolls.

Making my first spring roll.

In exchange, the next morning I do a little dough tutorial. Then it’s off to the bike store.

If you watch Jeopardy, you may recognize Veronica from the Tournament of Champions!

I walk in the shop and there’s my bike sitting front and center. “Go ahead and head out on a test ride,” says Marlainna who greets me with a smile. But, first I want to make sure that I can lift this fifty-four pounder because if I can’t get it onto the rack by myself I’ll need to revise my plan. I give it a try and yes, I can!

“OK, head on out and try it out,” Marlainna says. I confess to her that I am “directionally challenged”

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, not from Portland, and could easily get lost. “Would it be possible for you to go out with me?” We strap on our helmets and off we go, Marlainna leading the way.

I can’t believe how smooth the ride is. We pedal around the neighborhood where the shop is while I learn how to utilize the pedal assist. I ask if there might be a hill close by as that is more like the terrain I will be riding and I want to make sure I can make it up and down. No problem. My bike…yes, by this time I’m thinking of her as mine…rolls along as easy as pie…(Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself to at least one pie pun)…and when we get back to the shop, I tell Marlainna that this one is mine.

My new bike.

While one of the techs does a final check over of my bike, I head out to have a little lunch nearby. When I return, he very kindly helps install it securely on my new rack. I head back into the store to thank everyone who has helped me that day, tell them I will bring them pie the next time I’m in Portland, that there’s usually a pie on my kitchen counter, and to stop by for a piece. Marlainna gives me a big hug and I start the drive back home.

On my first ride out to the Elwah River on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

While writing this today, I decided that I’m going to name my bike Arrow.

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Song for Today:
Me and My Arrow

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What I’m Reading:
Every Good Boy Does Fine by Jeremy Denk
For those who have ever taken piano lessons and for serious classical music lovers, this autobiography by pianist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Jeremy Denk is one you will want to check out. Jeremy will be perfoming in my town at Music on the Strait Festival this August and I make pies for their rehearsals, too. 🥧

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1. Oregon has no sales tax.

2. I used to not be “directionally” challenged but that is a story for another time.