The Ontario government has legalized - with certain limits - electric powered, and electric assist bicycles and trikes. What do these e-powered vehicles have to offer?

With worldwide economic hard times, situations vary, but electric bikes may become the "second vehicle of choice" for some. They make sense for short range commutes to work or play.

No longer is it necessary to 'work up a sweat' even if there are hills en route to work. They increase cruising speed while also enabling the use of bike paths as an alternative route to your work or other destination. They cost virtually nothing to run beyond initial price, and in conjunction with a home solar panel charging system, they can even avoid increased home electrical use or environmental damage.

Initially, e-power is novel and fun. Squeezing a throttle and feeling the bike accelerate briskly to a reasonable speed of 25 to 32 km per hour with no pollution and virtually no noise is a thrill. It is then possible to pedal to higher speeds or maintain speed while the motor is idle - consuming no electricity.

Having e-power on a bike or trike does not mean that it has to be used. In normal cycling, the additional 15- 25 pounds does not have a major impact when not in use. The only time this weight is a deficit is on steep climbs or accelerating briskly from a stop. In both of these cases, a blip of the throttle will more than offset the added weight.

Range can vary widely depending upon battery, terrain, and amount of pedal input. Battery life can extend for the whole day. Then it is simply a matter of plugging in the battery charger for 3 or 4 hours to overnight, to bring the battery back to full power.

With very limited cycling experience, my wife rode a moderately hilly 60 mile loop in the Port Severn/Big Chute area of Ontario using electric power to propel her up hills, but pedaling unassisted the remainder of the time. At the end of the ride both she - and the battery - had power to spare!

I am a stronger rider than my wife, but on this ride, during a steep, long uphill, she shocked me by coming up behind and saying: "Can you either speed up or move over so I can get by!"
I moved over :-)

Electric assist allowed her to successfully complete a ride that she normally would have been very apprehensive about, due to its length and to the hills involved. It opened up her world of cycling by allowing her to cycle farther, faster, and without concern about hills she might encounter.

E-power can extend range, compensate for hilly terrain, and generally allow less fit individuals to keep up with stronger riders.

E-POWER ASSIST TO BETTER HEALTH & LIFESTYLE - BREAKING OUT OF THAT UNHEALTHY DOWNWARD SPIRAL

In easing the transition from 'couch potato' to fit individual, electric assist can help provide the great cardiovascular benefits achieved by regular exercise to individuals in the downward spiral of sedentary lifestyle.

That downward spiral is far too familiar to most of us.

It goes like this: for whatever reason you've been eating as usual, or more, but you've been getting less exercise than you used to. Gradually, often without us noticing, our fitness level gets poorer and poorer. It's not until we have a strenuous physical exertion that we realize how much we've degenerated physically. It is now much more difficult than it ever used to be. Because it is difficult, we tend to avoid exercise and perhaps take more solace in eating. The downward spiral becomes increasingly difficult to break out of! Been there, done that :-(

Electric assist bicycles can ease us back into a more active, fit lifestyle! It can get us out riding with others - or alone. It takes the hardest parts out of the ride, but allows us to gradually turn around that downward, degenerative lifestyle and put us back onto the road to health and fitness. This is not just physical, it is mental/emotional as well! Oh, and did I mention it's fun? :-)

TWO TYPES OF ELECTRIC ASSIST - THROTTLE CONTROL & PEDAL-LECTRIC

There are two types of e-power available. First is "pedal assist" or "pedal lectric". This requires that the rider pedal the bike or trike, but as they pedal, it provides boost to their power stroke. For a given effort, the vehicle will accelerate quicker and go to a higher speed.
Second type, is a hand throttle. When used regularly, this option uses electricity at a higher rate. However the rider can simply pedal without squeezing the throttle, and no electricity is used making range infinite.

If you click on "e-power motor comparison" you'll find that light weight, e-Zee motors which have internal gearing, and the most torque of any of the options mentioned, is purely throttle controlled. If no throttle is used, the battery is not drained.

Electric assist can be installed on most existing bicycles and adapted to most recumbent trikes. With tadpole trikes, such as Catrike, rear wheel drive is preferred.

If you will settle for a slower top speed and shorter distances, you might ask to test ride an electric powered bike from Canadian Tire. Price of these sometimes gets down around $449 to $499 for both a bicycle and the installed electric assist. This is an option you might investigate if funds are short.

LONG DISTANCE WITH ELECTRIC BACKUP

This September I planned to cycle about 1200 miles from where I live in Orillia, Ontario, to the Green Party Convention in Nova Scotia. As a 'green statement' I would do this on a 2005 Catrike Speed equipped with a 250 Watt Bionx motor powered by a 24 volt lithium battery..

I hoped to further the 'green statement' by adding solar panels which would feed into the Bionx battery. A check of Internet videos will show that people are beginning to ride e-powered bikes/trikes with solar charging.

Unfortunately Bionx does not - at this time - support such a plan. In fact, a spokesperson said that such an alteration of the system will void the warranty. This is a strong threat since a Bionx 24 volt lithium battery has a retail cost of about $700. I see this as an unfortunate, retrogressive step on their part as well as a loss of an opportunity to show the public the next step on the way to a truely green future.

I did follow their wishes - however retrogressive I felt they were! I used a small, solar panel roof to provide 12 volt power to a GPS navigating system as well as to lighting on the trike but NOT to recharge the BionX battery. I plugged into electrical outlets at parks and campsites and homes along the way to Kingston.

By the time I reached Kingston, Ontario, it was obvious that Mr. Harper was going to call an election. If I continued to Nova Scotia, the Green Convention would have been cancelled - as it was - and party leader, Elizabeth May would be on the west coast, taking a campaign train east.

I phoned home and was picked up, with the trike, in Kingston.

Returning at this time allowed me to meet the Green Party campaign train in Parry Sound. I rode with it to the next stop which was in Washago. Great experience! Met the party leader, Elizabeth May again and experienced a bit of the 'campaign trail train'.

CLICK HERE TO COMPARE ELECTRIC MOTORS AVAILABLE This summer I will be running a high torque eZee motor assist on my 2-wheeled Bacchetta. My aim is to improve hill climbing speed and thus avoid low speed wobble on steep hills, which is the achilles heel - for me - on this otherwise great bike! I also have my 2005 Catrike Speed- that I rode to Kingston - set up with the BionX 250 motor. It will be here for test rides until sold.

E-CYCLING FROM ORILLIA TO KINGSTON - A MIX OF JOYS AND A FEW DOWNS

Initially, during my ride to Kingston I was on generally level roads where I pedalled without assist, or used Bionx's
regeneration in the low settings. This allowed me to stretch out the range I achieved on the 24 volt, 9.5 amp/hr battery. It also meant that the battery assist was availabe when I came upon imposing uphill climbs. This was a treat! On the first day I rode to somewhere south of Lindsay before the battery died. Little did I know that when the battery quits, it changes into high level regeneration, making pedalling extremely heavy! I unplugged the battery to lessen the drag, and pedalled to a campground for the night. At the campground I plugged in the charger and replenished the battery for the next day's ride.

That evening I was invited to join a group of 'motorhome campers' around their campfire. Thanks 'guys'.

Next day I experienced the very hilly section around Omemee. Electric assist was much appreciated on long uphill climbs, while on downhill runs, the natural speed of the Catrike recumbent was a bonus. Often I would put the motor into regen on the downhills to stretch out its range as much as possible.

Late in the hot afternoon, after attempting to cut through some backroads, with many downhill runs, I found myself feeling tired and 'low'. I had "hit the wall" figuratively. It seemed that all roads around me led uphill and were dirt or gravel making uphill pedalling with the load on my trike very difficult! I was feeling down and thinking nasty thoughts about not having installed a solar panel to charge the Bionx battery. If I had that charger, I could have parked the bike in the sunshine and set up camp while it slowly returned to capable charge.

I used my time to have some food and fluids, realizing that was a major cause of my depression. The other source of it was my concern about being in the 'middle of nowhere' at what appeared to be the bottom of a series of long, unpaved hills, with the prospect of totally killing the already low battery if I tried to climb out.

The food brought me back to equilibrium and I took a walk up a nearby hill to check out the area. I found a slightly more main road, still gravel, with a new home on it. The owner saw me walking past and asked if he could help. He ended up inviting me to plug in the trike - which I brought up to the house. Then he and his wife - a former special education teacher, as I had been in earlier years - served me a delicious supper and allowed me to shower, and set up my tent in their front yard for the night... while the battery was being recharged! Hey, aren't people great!!!

Next morning I said goodbye and heartfelt thanks, and set out rejuvinated with a refreshed attitude, fresh battery, and clear directions. I rode that day until I reached the Murray Canal in Prince Edward County as evening began to close in. There was parkland beside the canal which would have served me perfectly IF I had solar charging on the trike. I could have camped anywhere there was sunshine and the bike would have taken care of its own needs - albiet slowly. Unfortunately I didn't so I went in search of a place to plug in for the night.

Riding back a short distance on the road that I had travelled to the Murray Canal, I came to a small variety store. I asked the owner if I might pay to spend the night in his yard and also plug in my trike. He was fine with that. In fact, when I offered to pay, he refused to accept it. Again I was struck by how helpful and nice people can be!

Next day I was 'flying down a long hill' on the way to Bloomfield, in Prince Edward County when a car stopped up ahead. The driver got out with a camera in hand and took pictures of me. As I went by he asked if I could stop and tell him about my trip. Turned out he was a reporter from Belleville and looking for a story. I filled him in on the Green Party mission that I was on and told him my experiences on the trike.

Later in the day I arrived at Bloomfield Bicycle Shop. Cyclists familiar with the area will know K-T and the wonderful cycle shop that she runs there. In her usual, open, no-nonsense but inviting manner, K-T invited me to "Spend the night in the barn... or a week, or a month...."

Rather than move into their 'barn', which was actually converted to a shelter for visiting travellers, I set up my tent in their back yard. I used their phone and with K-T's assistance found a senior's home just outside Bloomfield that would welcome a stranger & his guitar for a sing-a-long. This was one of my objectives for the ride. I grabbed some supper at a local store and headed off to the seniors' home.

It was interesting to watch the expressions on the residents and staff as I cycled in - on a trike the likes of which they had probably never seen before, and removed my guitar from one of the saddlebags. We had a fun singsong and I felt very welcome by the end. Then I cycled back to Bloomfield Bike Shop, chatted briefly with K-T and friends - whom I had just met - and headed off to sleep in my tent. Great! The trike was plugged in and charged up overnight.

I felt so welcome at the bike shop that I hung around later than I had intended the next day. It was with mixed emotions that I left Bloomfield Bicycle Shop with its warm feeling of 1960s type hippy acceptance. I was off through Picton and the free ferry ride, on my way towards Kingston. Because I had left so late, I stopped at a park near a generating station right beside Lake Ontario. The park had a sign up saying "closed" but I decided to take a chance and pushed the trike around the barrier. I put up the tent and had supper on the shore of Lake Ontario. The night was spent with only slight misgivings that I might be found and ejected. No problem.

Next morning I awoke to very high winds off the lake. The tent came down and was packed with minor difficulties due to the winds.
I ate, packed up and rode the rest of the way into Kingston. Because of my late start from Bloomfield, the battery was still strong enough to assist as needed. En route to Kingston I called home to confirm that I would meet my wife at the University of Kingston. The night before I had phoned to arrange to be picked up in Kingston the following day because an election call was imminent and therefore the Green Party Convention in Nova Scotia, which was my intended destination would be cancelled.

When I found the University of Kingston, it was frosh day! I was an entertained 'fly on the wall' watching the fun and unusual antics unfolding while I awaited Rosalind's arrival. When she drove in we put the trike into the van and began the drive home. We went via Belleville stopping at Belleville Intelligencer to purchase a copy of the story. (Click below for story.)

It was a great trip - with frustrating times. I regretted not having solar charging on the trike, which would have given me more freedom to simply camp where I wished and let the sun charge the battery. On the flip side, I had extremely fond memories about the kindness of the people I met along the way... I've mentioned only some of them.
If I had solar charging, I wouldn't have been 'forced' to ask people to allow me to plug in, but I would have missed the gratifying, positive feelings created by all the people I'd met along theway. They were so wonderful and helpful!

A thought on solar panels: I'm considering two possibilities for carrying solar panels. A relatively small solar panel could be mounted on a trike, or bike, as a sunroof over the head of the rider... something like what is shown in the picture above - but with a bigger panel. Another option would be to mount a larger array of panels as the top for a bike trailer. This could remain detached for short rides where battery range would be sufficient. For longer adventures, the trailer could be attached and a wire from the solar panels plugged into the battery. I believe these would work fine but haven't done it yet.

This summer I plan to do more electric-assist cycling - more out of a sense of pioneering a 'green way' of the future rather than out of the need for physical assist. I will make a point of trying to maintain these wonderfully positive human contacts along the way, even if I have solar assist and don't really need to plug-in.
To read story from Belleville newspaper click here.
To enlarge text & picture size click on it. To return to regular size click again.

Special thanks to those who were so pleasant and helpful along the way!

Happy cycling everyone!

.... Murray