Sojourn7ers
New Member
I have been inspired by several others to start my own travel log as I put some time and miles in on my new RipCurrent S. This will be primarily serve as a reference for my own records, but if it helps anyone else, then all the better!
March 12, 2020
700 Mile/1 Month Update
Since I dropped the ball and didn't do a good job of continuing with the daily updates to the log, I have decided to check back in with an update now that I've put over 700 miles on my RCS and have been riding almost daily for 1 month.
March 12, 2020
- Bike delivered as scheduled and in great shape. Very minimal damage to the box, nothing upon examination that raised any concern.
- Bike was well wrapped and nothing was missing from the order.
- Assembly was a breeze. I did not experience any of the issues with the installation of the rear rack or fenders that some others have mentioned on the forum. Tires came inflated, only a very slight rub on the front brake but nothing serious.
- Had the bike fully assembled, battery charged and riding in under 2 hours. Took out for 10 miles around country roads and had a blast. Easily reaching 30mph in R mode.
- First commute to work! Beautiful Indiana morning with 40 degree temperature and 16mph winds out of the northwest with 32mph gusts which happens to be the direction I am driving. Guess we will see how the RCS does with some serious headwinds.
- Morning commute: 17.95 miles in 54 minutes. With moderate-high effort while pedaling, I was able to sustain around 22-25mph in R mode with the headwind coming on full steam. Commute took only 20 extra minutes compared to my time driving a mix of country roads/interstate/and city streets. I kept the RCS in R mode for the first 12.5 miles to combat the strong headwinds, then took it down a notch to S when I turned onto a road that wasn't quite as straight into the wind. Once I got to the pedestrian trails that will take me the rest of the way to my place of employment I cut it down to level 2 assist for the last 3-4 miles. Arrived at work with 3 battery bars remaining.
- I am really looking forward to the return commute when that headwind becomes a tailwind!
- Afternoon Commute:
- Distance: 17.82 miles
- Average Moving Speed: 22.4 mph
- Max Speed: 31.9 mph
- Total Moving Time: 47:39
- Great ride! Bike performed flawlessly and had no issues at all. Afternoon commute definitely involves dealing with a lot more traffic, but nothing too crazy.
- Morning Commute:
- Temperature: 33 degrees F
- Wind: 3 mph out of the northeast with 8 mph gusts
- Distance: 18.08 miles
- Average Moving Speed: 23.8 mph
- Max Speed: 31.5 mph
- Total Moving Time: 45:31
- Nice morning ride in. It is amazing what a difference it makes when you aren't fighting strong headwinds the entire ride in. Nice relaxed ride at a moderate effort on my part. Arrived at work with 3 bars remaining on the battery readout. I was in R mode for about 90% of the commute and left with the battery charged at 100%. I know they say to only charge to around 85% for battery longevity but given the distance and speed I am traveling every day, I don't want to deal with "range anxiety" even though I am sure I could still make it even starting at 85% battery.
- Afternoon Commute:
- Temperature: 45 degrees F
- Wind: 10 mph out of the southeast
- Distance: 18.01 miles
- Average Moving Speed: 23.0 mph
- Max Speed 30.1 mph
- Total Moving Time: 46:58
- Got pooped on! I wish I could say this was the first time a bird had pooped on me. It is actually the third time that I can remember. Traffic lights and intersections play a much bigger role in the commute at 3:30pm than they do at 4:50am. Wind is also a factor, but definitely not as much as it would be with an "acoustic" bike. While my moving time was 46:58, my actual commute was closer to 55 minutes.
- Morning Commute:
- Temperature: 39 degrees F
- Wind: 7 mph out of the northwest
- Distance: 19.01 miles
- Average Moving Speed: 20.3 mph
- Max Speed: 29.8 mph
- Total Moving Time: 56:20
- Another morning commute of fighting the headwind. Put less effort in on my part this morning than I have the past couple commutes, but did add an extra 1 mile detour because I frankly wasn't ready to go to work yet. Had plenty of time to get in this morning so didn't push too hard and just tried to enjoy the quiet of the morning. Today will probably be my last day commuting via RCS as we have several days of rain on the forecast and I have nothing to prove by riding in miserable weather!
- Afternoon Commute:
- Temp: 50 degrees F
- Wind: 7 mph out of the northwest
- Distance: 18.02
- Average Moving Speed: 23.0 mph
- Max Speed: 31.1 mph
- Total Moving Time: 46:55
- Nice easy commute home. Didn't push too hard and let the bike do a lot of the work. Still managed to make the commute with around 30% battery remaining by the time I got home. If the weather forecast holds true this will be my last bike commute for the week.
- Took the bike out for a trip around my city and do a little geocaching.
- Temp: 32 degrees F
- Wind: 9 mph out of the northeast
- Distance: 18.04
- Average Moving Speed: 14.0 mph
- Max Speed: 29.5 mph
- Total Moving Time: 1:17:09
- Morning Commute:
- Temperature: 39 degrees F
- Wind: 5 mph out of the southwest
- Distance: 18.36 miles
- Average Moving Speed: 20.4 mph
- Max Speed: 29.4 mph
- Total Moving Time: 54:04
- Glad to finally be able to commute in again. Weather was less than ideal with a lot of "mist" but no actual rain drops. Made great time getting downtown and didn't feel like being an hour early to work, so I took a nice slow ride through the city and took my time covering the last ~3 miles.
700 Mile/1 Month Update
Since I dropped the ball and didn't do a good job of continuing with the daily updates to the log, I have decided to check back in with an update now that I've put over 700 miles on my RCS and have been riding almost daily for 1 month.
- I have dialed my tire pressure preference into the popular 20 psi that many other riders have mentioned they utilized for riding roads. This provides good stability as well as a little cushion over some of the rougher sections of road and still provides ease of rolling over or off of curbs if the situation calls for it.
- At 765 miles this morning, the only maintenance I have performed has been cleaning and lubing the chain once, airing up tires a handful of times, and very minor brake adjustments.
- I have added a milk crate to the rear rack with a bungee net over the top for securing my commuting materials and have been pleased with the ease of use and convenience of just being able to throw things in there.
- Added 8oz of tube slime to each wheel to help prevent the possibility of trying to fix a flat on the side of the road at 5am on my way to work.
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