I just spent nine February days in the warmth of Florida cycling 45-65 miles per day with 13 other riders and a sag driver and helper from a group called Bike Hope Love (BHL). (They were formerly known as the Pedaling Parsons, and I’ve written previously in RBR about participating in the group’s winter ride.) The ride is a fundraiser for missions, with this year’s money going to Sojourner House in Ohio’s Mahoning County, which helps kids and families displaced from their homes due to violence or drugs.
Nine of the riders rode standard bikes, with lots of carbon fiber in evidence. Three of us, including yours truly, were riding conventional bikes we’d converted to ebikes. I was on my converted Trek 520 , my friend Mike was on a Surly Cross Check, and our friends Dave and Marilyn were on a Santana Noventa tandem. All three bikes were chromoly steel with 750-watt Bafang mid-drive motors added on.
I own a couple of standard bikes — one of them a pretty nice road bike — but for me, there was never any question about which bike I would take to the BHL event. I joined the ranks of ebike riders a little over a year ago, and at the time, I told myself I would still ride my regular road bike sometimes. And I have, occasionally. But the reasons I converted my touring bike to an ebike still apply — aging, wanting to keep up with my friends (part of my […]
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