I have always loved riding my bike. I grew up with a bicycle as my primary way of getting someplace, even after I was able to drive. I rode for pleasure, I rode for transportation, and I rode with my friends and family as group activities.
Flash forward to my married life, and I couldn't wait to get a couple of bikes and start riding with my husband. Reality check - he's bigger than me, had a better bike than me, and suddenly it wasn't fun. Trying to keep up with his casual pedaling, and I was dripping in sweat and out of breath after just a mile. He wasn't being a jerk, he was trying to match my pace, but his bike would fly. Mine......not so much. We tried, but after a while we just didn't bike together any more.
So, one day he came to me and said "I want to open an e-bike dealership". OK, I'm game. So we did. We got our first bikes, and adopted 2 of them for personal use. Suddenly, I'm back in the game! We hopped on and took our first ride together, and I fell in love with biking again! See, you can choose how hard (or little) you work. Want a pure workout? Turn off the pedal assist, and use your bike as a standard 7-speed bicycle. Want a nice ride together? Now my short little legs can keep up with his longer legs by bumping up the pedal assist to a level one or two, and just enough juice kicks in to keep us riding together. Tired and really don't feel like biking up that hill? Throttle all the way!
We live in an area where there are several small waterfront bar/restaurants within biking distance. Now we can bike down to the Mexican restaurant, enjoy a nice meal, and pedal off the guilt on the way home. Or, bike down to the boaters bar, enjoy an evening with friends, and get home responsibly.
It's not all about fun and leisure, though. I volunteer when I can to help people locate and capture their missing dogs. Sometimes that means going out with a box-trap into the middle of the woods, along with cameras, food, water, and other equipment. Now I can hook all of that equipment up to my e-bike, and easily get to the right place to safely bring a dog home. Once I catch that dog, I have to keep the dog in that crate until they are in a safe, secure place. So the e-bike also helps me get that crate back to that safe place. It helps me compensate when muscle power just isn't enough. Now I can act when the dog needs me, not just when someone is around to help me. Added benefit, the quiet motor doesn't scare the dogs.
At the end of the day, I've got my love for my wheels back. My e-bike let's me enjoy riding, and help bring dogs home. It's a great equalizer.
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