Living the Happily Ever After

So a few weeks ago I got my electric Bike.

 https://www.amazon.com/Vilano-Pulse-Womens-Electric-Commuter/dp/B01DAIOB1M/ref=pd_bxgy_468_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01DAIOB1M&pd_rd_r=6D2A7D91KMPSYTFS8XBQ&pd_rd_w=Vx0cc&pd_rd_wg=yBeuf&psc=1&refRID=6D2A7D91KMPSYTFS8XBQ

I got it for my commute. It's about 13 miles from home to work. On the express bus I give myself 50 minutes to get in, so my goal was to be able to do that by bike. I know that many cyclist can do this without the electric assist, but I'm not one of them. Hopefully this will help me get there. I'm still not quite there, but I'm much closer than I was the last time I was doing this on a purely pedal powered bike.

This is only a pedal assist bike, so if you're not pedaling the motor isn't pushing either. The motor is in the hub, and most of the wiring is inside the frame of the bike.

I've been really enjoying the commute. I've been learning, and getting healthier, and enjoying the alone time.

The bike is a good fit for me. 

The good:

• It's a comfortable ride. I'm not getting as much saddle soreness as I did on my road bike. It's more upright which makes wearing a backpack more comfortable.
• Also on comfort I like the easy step over. I've had to remind myself that I don't have to kick over the back of the bike. It's much more convenient.
• I like the bright built in headlight.
• The cargo rack is handy, and works with the saddle bag that I already had.
• The fenders are really appreciated this time of year.
• The controls are simple and easy to operate even with gloves on.
• The designers seem to have thought about making sure riders can fix some problems easily.

The less good:

• The connection to the headlight has come out twice, it's really easy to reconnect, but it wasn't clear that it was an easy fix on the morning ride in the dark and fog.
• This may be the assembler, but the screws that held the battery pack in place all came out (the last 2 Sunday) after less than 2 weeks of riding. On the plus side the cage of the cargo rack it didn't fall of or have to dangle. Groblek had the right screws to replace them, and now I know to check tightness periodically.
• It comes with a headlight, but not a taillight. There's a big tail reflector which looked like a light when I was shopping (not a major issue the bike shop that assembled it had a usb rechargeable one that wasn't expensive.
• I misunderstood the speed information. It's billed as 20 mph. I'm sure it gets there with a better cyclist than me, but I probably averaged 15 mph today, and that's better than last week. (this includes traffic interactions on bike only straightaways I was between 16 and 17 mph)
• The breaks are less responsive than I would like. Even if I pull them all the way back it takes quite a while to stop. This hasn't involved any issues or close calls, but I'd be happier if they stopped a bit faster.

Overall I'm really enjoying the ride. I like the built in exercise of commuting by bike. The pocket book appreciates the cancellation of my gym membership and bus pass (It'll pay for the bike in 8 or 9 months maybe a bit more if I punt to bus too often once February is over). Also it's just a fun ride.

Not really part of the review, but things I've learned:

• Things bounce out of the bike basket. I should really set up a cover. (I keep my water bottle in the basket, so I want to be able to get in, but a partial cover could help a lot.
• I need a good rain shell. People have also suggested rain pants (Which I actually have), but I'm disinclined to have to change pants/remove a layer of pants when I get to work.
• I need to work on my spinning.
• My glasses fog up. For many days defogger helps, but when it's really foggy the best solution is to just remove the glasses. I'm lucky enough to be able to do this while seeing well enough.
• Bundling for biking is different from bundling for taking the bus.

So back on the bike this morning.  Groblek did a bout of intervals over the weekend, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It totally kicked my butt.

Some time last week my wrist started getting twingey, but I figured it would go away.

We had an busy weekend.

Saturday had the game I'm not in hosted at our place, and while gamers were busy I took Kosh shoppies.  He's just about out grown his shoes, so we hit R&R and SPCA.  We found a good pair of boots that will be good for when it's wet, but we want to keep him in soft soles as much as possible, and no luck there, so we need to order some see Kai run's online.  I'll have to delegate that since their page is blocked at work.  We found a couple of new toys and books, and I found a new shirt.

The 1st ed game happened Sunday, and Bormina (my character) helped convince the surviving females of the party to drag all the dead males to town, to get those who wished it brought back.

Monday we met up with the Rock Star Baby and her parents to go to the Railroad museum.  That makes 3 weeks in a row for Josh.

Sprinkled between these activities we acquired a roommate.  Since Alurodragon and IOU9 moved out we enjoyed having the house to ourselves, but the budget encourages us not to leave a room empty.  Luckily one of our friends is delighted to move to a more socially convenient location.  My inner toddler had decided to call him Truck DRIVer.  I have a good feeling about this working well.

The wrist is still twingey.  I stopped in at the doctor yesterday.  She thinks it's likely to be something work related, so I've started the process to see if I can do something more ergonomic there.  We'll see.