Video - 310 mile ride on Stromer ST2

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi Ravi. Thank you for the tip about water and honey. I tried it the other day. I did not like the aftertaste in my mouth. My wife said to squirt some lemon juice in too. So I tried it that way yesterday , I like it better with the lemon juice, not very much aftertaste . Even with just the 35 miles rides I do in the morrings , I get tired if just plain water all the time . Not going to buy those drinks!
Thank you again for the tip! Keep looking up! Ken.

You're welcome, Ken.
The idea of using honey came to me after reading this article. Also, I used to be a Yoga teacher many years ago and in India, we call honey one of the elixirs of life.
The thing is honey has both simple and complex sugars. Simple sugars can be broken down quickly but some of the complex sugars will take longer and you have steady supply of much needed oxygen-rich glucose for your ride. Endurance drinks often lack complex sugars found in natural honey. But, honey lacks the electrolytes, so I before ride honey works best and after ride, something like Gatorade should do.
I am still admiring your 50+ miles/day schedule and consistency. Great stuff there.

 

[KenM.]

Thank you, Ravi. 50 miles a day here in FLA. is not to hard to, except for the heat,humidity, and wind. Of cource I ride the GenZe in the afternoon when the wind is at its most. E-bike in the wind is the only way to go!! Keep looking up! Ken.

 

[Tara D.]

Amazing Ravi great video!

 

[Rick Huizinga]

That was the challenging thing actually. We did not have any inverter and I had to plan to pit stops in such a way that we had outlets available for charging, close to restaurant and then find some time to rest.

I'm currently planning a trip for the Olympic Discovery Trail, and am currently trying to plan my charging stops. How did you approach your planning for this? Did you just stop at a restaurant, bring your battery in and ask to charge? Did you try to plan in advance to find buildings with exterior plugs? Any guidance would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I'm currently planning a trip for the Olympic Discovery Trail, and am currently trying to plan my charging stops. How did you approach your planning for this? Did you just stop at a restaurant, bring your battery in and ask to charge? Did you try to plan in advance to find buildings with exterior plugs? Any guidance would be helpful.

Thanks!

Hey Rick,
Olympic Discovery trail sounds quite fun.
In my case, I had attempted few 200 milers and knew of the problems w.r.t charging, food, place to rest etc.
So, this time I called the bike shops and restaurants near Shenandoah National Park and told them what it's all about and they were very accommodating. They (Rock Fish Gap outfitters - a Bike shop) let me charge my batteries, GoPro, phone, my photographer friends camera also. On the way back to DC, I had plan A, B and C and stopped at a 7/11 (Plan B) and used their outlet (it was midnight 1.30am!)

Before when I had just one battery, I would stop at restaurants and so far none of them have declined my request to charge the batteries. When you're giving business worth $15-$20, 6 cents worth of electricity is nothing.

My ideal case scenario for 200 miler rides works like this:

1. Start my ride at 5.45am and ride until 8.45am or 9am ( should have covered 65-70 miles easily) and the battery would be close to single digit% by then.
   
   
2. Stop at a restaurant for a really good breakfast and relax until 12ish pm ( battery is close to full). You don't want to ride with full stomach anyway.
   
   
3. Start riding again by 12.30pm and ride until 3.45-4pm (another 65 miles & battery is close to single digits) and wait for a charge ( 7.30pm) and do another 65 miles before midnight.
   
   
4. Anywhere between 150-200 miles is quite easily doable on ST2. More than 200 needs some level of planning.

 

[Rick Huizinga]

Hey Rick,
Olympic Discovery trail sounds quite fun.
In my case, I had attempted few 200 milers and knew of the problems w.r.t charging, food, place to rest etc.
So, this time I called the bike shops and restaurants near Shenandoah National Park and told them what it's all about and they were very accommodating. They (Rock Fish Gap outfitters - a Bike shop) let me charge my batteries, GoPro, phone, my photographer friends camera also. On the way back to DC, I had plan A, B and C and stopped at a 7/11 (Plan B) and used their outlet (it was midnight 1.30am!)

Before when I had just one battery, I would stop at restaurants and so far none of them have declined my request to charge the batteries. When you're giving business worth $15-$20, 6 cents worth of electricity is nothing.

My ideal case scenario for 200 miler rides works like this:

1. Start my ride at 5.45am and ride until 8.45am or 9am ( should have covered 65-70 miles easily) and the battery would be close to single digit% by then.
   
   
2. Stop at a restaurant for a really good breakfast and relax until 12ish pm ( battery is close to full). You don't want to ride with full stomach anyway.
   
   
3. Start riding again by 12.30pm and ride until 3.45-4pm (another 65 miles & battery is close to single digits) and wait for a charge ( 7.30pm) and do another 65 miles before midnight.
   
   
4. Anywhere between 150-200 miles is quite easily doable on ST2. More than 200 needs some level of planning.

Thanks, Ravi.

I'm planning to split the trip up across several days, with the longest day at 115 miles. There's lots to see on the trail so I will probably take my time to stop in some areas. On top of that, I'm not an early morning person!

I've been able to get about 100 miles per charge when primarily biking in power level 1, with the occasional bump up to power level 2 in urban areas to keep up with traffic. I've been able to do this by cruising at the power level 1 speed limiter (~20mph), which minimizes the amount of assist.

I'm figuring that for days (#1, #3 & #5) with < 70 miles travel, I should be able to charge overnight in a hotel. On the 115 mile days (#2 & #4) I will need to top-up during the day. Even on the shorter days, charging up mid-day would still be helpful so I can ride with more assist.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Update:
The 983 Whr battery should arrive by the mid-April time.

Hoping to break the 400 mile barrier sometime this July.
Some other interesting things are in the pipeline. Hoping for the best

 

[JFane]

Update:
The 983 Whr battery should arrive by the mid-April time.

Hoping to break the 400 mile barrier sometime this July.
Some other interesting things are in the pipeline. Hoping for the best

Great job Ravi make us proud!

 

[Jack Tyler]

I'm late to seeing this thread and enjoying the video, Ravi, but no less impressed. I admire the mix of challenges: the strategy of planning, the psychology of accomplishment and the physical challenge of the ride. Congratulations...and thanks for sharing your ride with the Community here.

 

[JoePah]

I'm currently planning a trip for the Olympic Discovery Trail, and am currently trying to plan my charging stops. How did you approach your planning for this? Did you just stop at a restaurant, bring your battery in and ask to charge? Did you try to plan in advance to find buildings with exterior plugs? Any guidance would be helpful.

Thanks!

Hey Rick, don't know if youre still posting on this site, but I wanted to check how it went on your Olympic Discovery Trail trip.. Looks like a great bit.. About 100 miles one way?