Just a little feedback from my last couple rides; I managed to get two rides in over the last handful of days. That was because on many of the other days I had to deal with some very unpleasant unseasonal cold and rain that was hanging over the area. Today thankfully the weather turned out to be more seasonal. Still by the time I got home tonight temps did drop just below 60°F.
No problem with that as long as I have the right amount of clothes on. Turned out I was having such a good time tonight that I decided to do an extra loop. Helped that the moon was almost full and peaking through the clouds. Nice to have something scenic to look at when riding at night. Seems to provide some added spice when I'm listening to music as well. ( Note to self: need to down load CCR's, "Bad Moon Arising" from Google play ). Basically I'm a "Classic Rock" type of guy but I do love other forms of music as well. Lately I've downloaded and been listening to some of the songs from New Age artist Shastro. Something about a flute playing in concert with the natural sounds of the forest. Very relaxing and very calming. Nice to have background music because if I had to just listen to the whining of the motor while I'm pedaling I think it would drive me crazy. Not that the motor's really loud....just something about the sound that I find kind of repulsive. As a cyclist, I'm used to the gentle tranquil sound of a human powered drive train. Something almost "Holy" about that sound. Not to hear it when pedaling on a bike is one of the negatives of owning an ebike. Yeah, you can turn off the motor but then it's like pedaling a tank once you start to go uphill. Need I say, having to climb a big hill without the motor would be a major buzz kill. Anyway I only ride with music when on the road and I've only been doing that ( on /off ) for about 6 months. Since getting the ebike I found I almost have to have music going because I just don't want to hear the motor. Need to find my helmet mirror though. I'm getting tired of always turning my head to the side just to find out if a car is approaching ( or not ) ( if I'm playing music I can't hear cars coming up from behind, need to find that mirror.
At least with ear buds in my ears I don't hear the sound of the bike's motor...which if I do say suits me very well.... Anyway, from the last couple rides I've put 35 miles on the current battery charge and the battery is still showing 5 green leds ( although the control module shows four bars. This is when riding in a fairly flat area with only a few moderate hills. Still I find that encouraging and it has me hoping that I can get longer rides in. I'm really looking forward to a dry, seasonal weekend so I can get a good long day ride in. Maybe this weekend if I'm lucky. Forecast is calling for temps in the 80'sF with a 20% chance or rain. Hmmm...if I keep an eye on the radar screens and carry my rain gear along I should be good to go.
Funny, but tonight when I was climbing one of those longer moderate climbs ( in eco-mode ) , just before reaching the top I decided to switch up to the next assist level just to see the difference between the two. Just amazing. On what they call "normal mode" it almost feels like you are not even pedaling it's so easy....too easy for me. No way would I ride in that mode unless for some reason I had completely run out of energy or had some sort of physical melt-down and just needed to get home. So far I've been able to ride even the super steep hills only on eco mode as long as the hill isn't miles long. With that said so far I've only tested the "normal mode" a few times but really only needed it maybe once ( and that for only less than a minute ).