February 1, 2021

I have been thinking about riding this blog for a couple of years now.  First to define what is an ebike. In Ontario “the definitions of an e-bike vary a little by province, but, generally, an e-bike has to have working pedals, an electric motor of 500 watts or less, and a maximum speed of 32 km/h”.

There are a lot of opinions on what an ebike looks like. Does it look like an electric motor scooter or does it look like a bicycle with a battery. For this blog I am referring to a bicycle with a battery often referred to as e-assist bikes.

In 2014 Ralf and I were on the two-year Grand Adventure. We were in New Zealand struggling up a hill and battling a head wind, when Ralf shouted there was a “roadie” (road cyclist) coming up behind us and moving fast. She passed us like we were standing still. An older person riding not a sleek road bike but a cruiser bike, she wore a yellow hat and rubber boots. I think she had a motor on the bike, Ralf said. That’s cheating I muttered, as I struggled to get my breath.

Fast forward 18 months and we met a couple at a Tim Horton’s in Ontario. We chatted to them about our trip and cycling in general. They were both in their late 70’s and cycled about 50 – 60 kms. She confessed that she rode an e-bike. She told us that it helped her up the hills and against the wind. She told us she had been reluctant to get one – as she considered it cheating. She was willing to give up cycling, her husband suggested she give it a try and she is so pleased that she did. She is continuing to enjoy her cycling and getting out for regular exercise.

So what is cheating – Oxford defines cheat as “to deceive or practise deceit especially for one’s own gain, to obtain unfair advantage by trickery.”  Does this mean that riding an e-assist bike is deception or trickery. The battery is there for all to see, hardly deception.

However, if you are Alberto Contador and had a small motor secreted on your high-end road bike and blasted past the Schleck brothers without even breathing heavily – that would be trickery or cheating.

Most riders of e-assist bikes are not in a race, they are like most cyclists out to enjoy their ride and perhaps make it easier for them to do so.

Janet and Steph two cyclists we met on our Grand Adventure in Texas in 2015 have migrated to ebikes. When we met them in 2015 they were circumnavigating the United States on regular bikes, Janet had recently retired.

Last year 2019 they circumnavigated the States again only this time on ebikes. They have cycled over 24,000 miles on their ebikes.

In 2018 when we were cycling in Europe we were amazed at how popular e-bikes were. It was hard to find a road bike or touring bike that didn’t have a motor.

Part of the reason for the success of ebikes, in Germany specifically, are the tax breaks  on ebikes and the assistance that companies provide to help their employees purchase ebikes. Some German employers lease company bikes to their employer through Deutsche Dienstrad, a firm specializing in workplace bicycle leases. The company retains 25 euros of the monthly salary, and when the contract expires after two years, the employee can buy the 3,000 euro bike outright for just 300 euros.  This was all done in an effort to get more people to cycle to work and have less cars on the road. Younger people are using ebikes for their daily commute. Older people are using them as touring bikes.

My eldest brother has had an ebike for years. He rides to the local pub on it. I teased him mercilessly, because that is what little sisters do to big brothers – \”Get A real bike, you need the exercise\”. He tried to explain he was getting more exercise riding his bike to the pub than driving. That is true.

Back to the question is riding an ebike cheating. Initially, yes I thought riding an ebike was “cheating”. Now I see it as a means to an end.  If it helps a person continue to cycle as they age, if it gets more cars off the road and less pollution, if it gets one more person cycling instead of taking a car then all power to them.

I personally am not ready for an ebike yet, but if it keeps me cycling for a few more years I will consider getting an ebike.

January 10, 2021

What can one say about 2020 that hasn’t already been said. The lack of posts in 2020 should have indicated to you that it wasn\’t a good year for memorable cycling adventures.

This blog isn\’t about our cycling adventures because there wasn’t any in 2020, although I did have a lot planned.

I had planned cycling in Quebec – the Blueberry route and Petit Nord Train, New York State and Ottawa/Kingston and our local area. Obviously, this did not come to fruition due to Covid-19 and the high numbers of infections in Quebec and Ottawa.

I mistakenly thought that 2020 was going to be a great year. 2020, it just rolled of the tongue, 2020 a year to remember, to enjoy, to have fun, to look back on.

It certainly was a year to remember, never to forget.

However, the start of the year was good for us.  We had plans. We renovated our en-suite bathroom and it is fabulous. Ralf became a bit of a handy person and renovated the powder room. He also replaced all our out dated hinges and handles with brushed nickel and they look great.

In February I got a new part-time job and was learning about wealth management from the other side of the fence. I was classed as an essential worker and was able to continue with my new job throughout the lock-down. It was nice to be able to walk to work every day, only a 15 minute walk.

By March Covid-19 had begun to spread around the world and lock-downs were happening. Schools were closed after the March break, first for a month then longer until it was decided the children would not go back to school until the fall (autumn) semester. At that time Ralf decided not to go back to school bus driving. He was laid off from the City Transit job for two months as the City decided that they could reduce the transit runs. As the Covid-19 numbers dropped during the summer months, the lock-down was reviewed and stores were reopened. Ralf was back at work for the City. In our Region the Covid-19 numbers were low and life seemed to be going back to some semblance of normality. Although the new normal was social distancing and wearing masks. We were able to celebrate our 35^th wedding anniversary with a meal out at our favourite Brockville Restaurant – the Buell Street Bistro. We ate on their patio on a lovely warm August evening and laughed and reminisced about our life together. It has been good.

I decided to create a vegetable garden and a flower bed that would attract bees and butterflies. We enjoyed the fruits of my labour throughout the summer – it was lovely to eat fresh lettuce, onions, radishes and tomatoes.  I planted garlic in September which we will be able to enjoy next summer, if the squirrels haven’t stolen them and replanted them somewhere else.

We had our first outdoor bike ride in the middle of March and the weather gradually improved getting warmer and warmer as each month passed. I got out fairly regularly in April and May riding to Lynn and along the Parkway. By the time June, July and August came around we had a scorcher of a summer. The average temperatures were in the high 80’s, thank goodness for air conditioning. Unfortunately, for me this meant that when I came home from work at 1:30 it was too hot for me to ride, my riding was restricted to the week-ends when we could get out earlier in cooler temperatures and be home before noon.

Ralf was able to get out more as his schedule allowed. He was just short of his 5,000 km goal (4,500 kms).

As the weather turned cooler in September and October I did go out for some rides after finishing work. It is always nice to see the leaves changing colour and feel the crisp air and still have some warm days to ride.

November, I brought my road bike in and was determined to motivate myself to work out on the trainer. That lasted for about two weeks! However, my last outdoor ride was December 11 on MrsSweetCheeks, just a short City ride with my new Garmin firmly attached and recording 20 kms.

2020 was a huge let down for cycling, I only managed to cycle 1,800 kms this year, Ralf and I survived the lock-downs, the restricted movement and financially we did well.

I am planning rides for 2021. I don’t think we will go into Quebec. Our summer plans will be to cycle in Ontario, possibly rent a cottage somewhere or week-ends away and live vicariously through other cycling blogs.

Last year we only hosted one cyclist in May. Jessie was cycling from Toronto to Montreal. We were able to social-distance and she had a Covid test prior to starting her cycling trip, which reassured us that she was sensible and would not put us or herself at unnecessary risk. However, we decided not to host anyone for the remainder of the summer. We certainly missed meeting people and hosting, although we didn’t see as many touring cyclists this year as in previous summers. We will see what this year brings.

As the Covid-19 numbers move back up again throughout December and January, and lock-downs are back in place Ralf and I continue to manage our fitness and mental health. We have committed to getting out every Sunday either for snow-shoeing, skiing or a walk. Mentally it recharges us we get some fresh air, we talk and enjoy being with each other.

The Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out around the world and I will have it when it is available, which for me will probably be later this year. I believe it will be a requirement to travel anywhere in the world, no different from all the jabs we got when we embarked on our two year Grand Adventure.

I am not going to say 2021 is going to be a great year as I was so wrong with 2020. However, I am an optimist and I think together we can make it a good year.