Whoa, some great rides posted here! I won't be traveling for a while, so it's great to see all these photos from all over the world. And I'll have to look into some of these apps, I'm just using a basic speedometer and Google Maps.
New member introducing myself, just dipping my foot in the water...
This is one of my typical 70-90 minute rides near my house. The 14-mile distance is unremarkable... except that the battery is rated 12-miles and this route-- and the many variations of it that I do-- has about 1,200 feet of vertical. Average speeds are around 10 MPH, top speeds are usually just north of 30 MPH, range anxiety is significant and choosing the right route is critical. I have been known to run out of juice at the crest of the very last hill on the way home, or halfway up it. One day, my battery was not locked-in properly, and the battery died 9 miles out and three miles (and 400 vertical feet) from home. The bike is a heavily modified Trek 920 with a '90s Girvin Flexstem (which actually works, to a degree, way more comfortable than a regular stem), suspension seat post, as some of these roads are in very bad condition-- broken asphalt, deep potholes, and gravel-- and the powerplant is a CleanRepublic Hilltopper Sprinter. Total weight is 40 pounds, motor rated for 16 MPH on flat ground, but does a little better, can hit 18. The armored jacket is kind of overkill, but I'm on blood thinners, so I'll do anything I can to reduce the possibility of internal bleeding in case of an accident.
The back side of Griffith Park in Hollywood is not well traveled; parts of it are still wild, and like the San Gabriels, where I used to ski. Windswept deciduous trees grow at a 60 degree angle, and the area has ruins of strange outbuildings whose original purpose I couldn't guess, picnic tables smashed by falling trees, a wonderful but lonely sense of nature reclaiming whatever mankind ignores for 10, 20 years or longer. This ride in particular is really crazy, because I ride past multi-million dollar homes in the Hollywood Hills and a major homeless encampment, cruise through both idyllic natural scenes and crumbling concrete.
I'm obviously at the point where I need more range and probably a bit more speed, I'm just hammering this battery! I like a good workout, but I'd like to cover even more territory. I can't deal with much over 45 pounds, because some routes involve portaging the bike down short flights of stairs or pushing it up dirt inclines greater than 15%. (This bike can manage 15% on asphalt.) I wonder if rear-wheel drive will handle as well... with the tiny front-wheel drive motor, I can take some tight hairpin curves faster than I can in my MX5, love the way it pulls through the back end of a turn.
I look forward to browsing this thread at greater length! Great to find this cool community.
to Starbucks and then to Royal Farms for some delicious fried chicken for supper, mmm mmm good!
