I have long speculated the idea of riding a bicycle to work. Not only it saves money, it is also an excellent way to force yourself to exercise in the morning. I can’t stand the boredom of a treadmill and morning ride to work looks like an appealing alternative.
Some of my friends do use bikes but I have not done so for several reasons. One of them is the distance. My office is around 14 miles from my house which is a little too far for a bike ride. At some point I considered driving half way, dropping the car, and then riding the second half, but that never worked out. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my car on a shopping parking lot, and there was no other alternatives.
I recently stumbled upon this inexpensive hybrid electric bike which seem to address some of my concerns. It looks like a regular bike but has a 450Watt rear rack mounted electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery which gives it a boost as you ride. The battery can be detached so you can charge it in the office, or you can get a spare one to swap batteries between home and work.
The guys at TreeHugger have recently reviewed this model and the only significant complain was the weight of the lead-acid battery (yeah, it is an entry level bike) and the fact that it will only last a year (this fact was mentioned in the manual).
If you use this bike for a commute that is 20 miles or less, you could definitely arrive at the office without breaking a sweat. I was pleased by the power of the motor. It was easy to achieve speeds of 25 mph while pedaling lightly.
I hope at this speed I can get to work in about half an hour and still not need a shower to recover from the ride. What do you think, should I get it? Also, if you have a “sit whole day at the desk” kind of work like myself, tell me how you manage to balance it with exercise and stay fit?
I’m not sure where you live, but in Ohio you’d be sweating balls 25% of the year regardless of easy pedaling… freezing to death another 25%… and getting rained on for the remaining 50%.
:P
I think you’d be sweating balls regardless of your location. :)