E-bike convention?

[knightmb]

I thought I would ask since a lot of people are stopping by to post here, does anyone know if they have yearly e-bike convention or get together for the e-bikers out there? Seems like it would be cool to get everyone in one place with their e-bike creation to take pictures, share stories, go out for a ride, etc. I figured it would be in a weather friendly place like Florida or maybe California along the flat areas near the beach for example.

Where I live in Tennessee there are a ton of activities for the cyclist but I have yet to see anything that says "bring your e-bike" events, hehe.

[Elmweaver]

I did not find anything doing a quick search so I say go for it.

What: The 2007 Endless Sphere Technology Ebike Convention

Where: Endless Sphere Convention Center, Franklin Tennessee

When: Fall of 2007

Who: Anyone that rides an ebike or wants to. Bring your bike!

Why: Fun, Comradely, Learning, Experience, Enjoy the rides through the countryside and view the turning of the leafs with new friends.

Cost: TBA

Then again where I live would be a great place for something like that. Hmm, have to ask the city fathers, you can never tell they might go for that idea.

[knightmb]

I could always talk to my city leaders about the idea and see what they think. Tennessee is land locked so no oceans to ride along, but we have a lot of great scenery to see on the rides

[Elmweaver]

Yes, the Franklin area is very pretty and would be a nice change for those of us that live in the flat lands.

You might be surprised at how many people would make the trip. I was trying to put together a gathering (different purpose) a few years back and Tennessee kept coming up as an place easy for everyone to get to.

About a 12 hour drive or less from anywhere except the west coast states.

[knightmb]

Natchez Trace is an excellent riding experience on bicycle. It's like a national park with a nice smooth road paved through the middle. Plus it has low speed limits and police enforcement of those speeds and very little traffic. It would be ideal for a large group of e-bike riders. It's already a favorite for bike clubs around TN to ride anyway, so I'll have to break out the maps and see what areas one could get everyone together at.

[Elmweaver]

If I can get there that would work for me. I have relatives in both Jackson on one side and Dickson on the other.

[knightmb]

What would be some fun events to have at such a convention? Here some ideas off the top of my head

• Drag Race with certain classes (like 24 volt, 36 volt, 48 volt, 72 volt, etc)
• Distance Race with voltage classes
• Awards for custom bike design (sleek, powerful, bling, design, speed, torque, etc)
• Team Relay Race, each team has a rider from different classes of voltage for example and has to pass along an item to complete the race. Gives riders of many types of e-bikes a chance to participate.
• Group Rides, get everyone together for some massive traffic jamming e-bike rides up and down certain roads and areas.
• Food? What do e-bikers eat?
• Drawings and Prizes, a new 36 volt Li-ion battery pack or dual-hub front/rear motor kit with 60A power controller
• Burn Out, who can do the best burn out on the e-bike in an allotted amount of time
• E-bike Jousting!

[Reid Welch]

Great fun.

I'd aim to do that; dunno that I could go, but I can dream along that line.
SO, press it onward.
What's for lodging thereabouts?

City fathers should like the idea.
__________

Michael, I hope you don't mind that I like to cross pollinate
http://visforvoltage.org/forum-topic/94 ... gether-usa

[knightmb]

Great fun.

I'd aim to do that; dunno that I could go, but I can dream along that line.
SO, press it onward.
What's for lodging thereabouts?

City fathers should like the idea.
__________

Michael, I hope you don't mind that I like to cross pollinate
http://visforvoltage.org/forum-topic/94 ... gether-usa

Plenty of places to stay, both cheap and expensive (Holiday Inn or Marriott for example). I'm going to try to get some appointment or something going next week with some city officials to get all the details about what has to be done legally, etc. I've seen stranger things happen in this city, so this shouldn't be too out there for them to grasp.

Don't mind at all, my registration at the temporary voltage forums was approved so I can post there now

[knightmb]

I went out today to look for some "potential" sites along the Natchez Trace, thought I would snap these pictures from the "famous" bridge. I have found a site about 1 mile from this bridge. It's basically a 1 mile dead end road that has a lot of parking areas to overlook "scenic" areas. The 1 mile road would be great for e-bike related activities because it would mean no car traffic to worry about. I'm trying to get in contact with the managing body of this area of the Natchez Trace to see what all I can reserve and what they will allow us to do. So far it's looking good, so hopefully I'll have more to report back here with in the near future.

Enjoy the pictures!

[knightmb]

Update to this, I've put in an application to the park services to reserve a rest stop area (nice big area) for an "special event". If all goes well, my next step will be to pay the registration fee and figure out how to get $1,000,000 in insurance for the event (required by the park service to hold a special event like this). The event was submitted for May 19-20, 2007 (no holidays on that weekend) So the temperature should be warm (but not blazing hot) and hopefully at about the end of the rainy season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

[knightmb]

I've attached an aerial "google maps" picture of the area that I'm submitting an application for. Basically, that road has 3 parking areas and it's a 1 mile stretch of road off of the main trace. If I can get this area, the end can be blocked off from traffic and then we have a 1 mile stretch of road that we can play with

[Elmweaver]

Looks good to me.

Thats not Spermazoid Rd. is it by any chance.

Just thought of something, perhaps a company like Soneil would sponsor the event and donate some charging stations for the weekend so we could have on site charging.

[knightmb]

Looks good to me.

Thats not Spermazoid Rd. is it by any chance.

Just thought of something, perhaps a company like Soneil would sponsor the event and donate some charging stations for the weekend so we could have on site charging.

Oh even better, I have (2) 6.5K Diesel Generators at my disposal that have been modified to run off of vegetable oil. How's that for being a "green" event when all the power is completely bio-fuel powered?

[knightmb]

And for those that are curious, here is how I power my house.

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post ... id=1330974