I picked up an e-bike today for a month's hire totally free of charge. Cycling UK have a #MakingCyclingEasier scheme in #Manchester (and #Sheffield, #Leicester and #Luton), free hire for a month, including a lock, a helmet, charger etc.
First impressions are I love it! Definitely going to get me #cycling further.
I'm going to log my progress here, keep up with which journeys I do, and see what impact, if any, the e-bike has on my car use.
For context, we're a one car family of two adults and two toddlers. I commute via train. Usual car use is nursery drop-offs, supermarket shops etc. Occasionally to rehearsals or gigs. The loan e-bike doesn't have any pannier racks or similar for transporting things.
I also don't cycle much. Once or twice a week, weather dependent.
Day 2 of my #ElectricBikeMonth
- walked to the park and back
- no other travel required, so no vehicles used
Day 3 #ElectricBikeMonth
I had to drop kids at nursery, go to a rehearsal with guitar, amp, pedals and microphones, then pick up 8 bags of kids clothes someone was giving away on a local thrift group before collecting kids from nursery. And it’s raining So…
- used the car
Day 4 #ElectricBikeMonth
Nursery drop-off and pick-up...
- used the car.
And my knee hurts.
Not going brilliantly so far to be honest. Tomorrow is another day though.
Day 5 of #ElectricBikeMonth
- couple of local errands to run so finally got out on the e-bike! I had @sethb in my mind's ear accusing me of cheating when I wasn't out of breath, so I went the long way and tried with the electric bit turned off a bit. Also really struggled to get up a steep hill from a standing start. Need to remember to use gears and not just assume that Turbo mode = easy!
- had a rehearsal/workshop this evening. Drove but gave people lifts, so #carpool at least.
Day 6 #ElectricBikeMonth
- family trip to a park, took the car
- rare date night opportunity, also took the car and fed our friends cats on the way home.
Planning to commute on the e-bike tomorrow though, fingers crossed...
Day 7 #ElectricBikeMonth
Success!! I commuted!! On the e-bike 8.4 miles to work. Felt largely safe, enjoyed the #OxfordRoad cycle lanes, dodged a few pedestrians in Rusholme, got chatting to another dad about his #RadWagon cargo bike (jealous). Only really using top 3-4 gears (out of 9).
And then.
About 5 mins from home... the chain came off uphill. And got wedged in pretty tight next to the gear. No allen keys with me. Unable to fix. 20 min dejected walk home.
- walked to feed cats.
@cathrobots innit.
Also wondering whether this kind of thread reads well on here or not. Maybe I should do standalone toots, and people can follow the hashtag if they want?
Edit: nah, it reads OK I think.
Anton Hunter
Cath Roberts is moving servers