lesdit
100 W
I have done this ride twice before on a pedal bike, but this time it was going to be electric !
The ride is billed as a 'fun ride' , and not a race. Goes from Rosarito ( just south of the border ) to Ensenada, 50 miles away. Total elevation gain something like 2000 ft.
My bike is a Cannondale silk path road bike, it is nice for these types of roads because it has 25mm of 'head shock' on it to take out the bumps. I arrived a bit late, as I unpack the car were riders are off. Thousands of them. Finally I get my pass, and I'm away.
The bike is a 1000 Watt direct drive, and I brought two battery systems, two panniers containing my custom a123 16 cell 20AH prismatics, and a spare 48v20AH ping 2.0 in my back pack. I knew the ride would be more than 20ah, and there is a hill at the end of the ride that I wanted to have fun on, so I packed the extra 20Ah. Heavy !. Because I started late, I was weaving through the masses for much of the ride. Occasionally I heard a 'crack' sound like a lady finger fire cracker, it was the thin tires of the race bikes popping. I was glat I had slime in my 700C tires, running at 85psi. The bike goes 32 MPH on flat roads, drawing 32 amps. After an hour, I was free of most of the crowd. There is an 800 ft hill near the end of the ride. I made it much of the way up before having to switch power sources to the Ping. I arrived at the finish line with the elite riders on their $5000 carbon race bikes. Here I am, passing these guys in my Crocs, old gym shorts, a tee shirt and to top it off, a plastic basket on the front of the bike
I knew I didn't deserve all the cheers, but I had a grin on non the less!
I was disappointed that I was the only e-bike out of the thousands. It's not a race, and nobody cared I was 'cheating'. Most comments were more like ' That's the bike I need '.
I did about 25 mph average, and used 27 AH.
I recommend this ride, it has great scenery and is a blast. The $1 fish tacos and $2 beer at the end were nice too.
Anyhow, it was this bikes maiden voyage.
Cheers,
-Les
The ride is billed as a 'fun ride' , and not a race. Goes from Rosarito ( just south of the border ) to Ensenada, 50 miles away. Total elevation gain something like 2000 ft.
My bike is a Cannondale silk path road bike, it is nice for these types of roads because it has 25mm of 'head shock' on it to take out the bumps. I arrived a bit late, as I unpack the car were riders are off. Thousands of them. Finally I get my pass, and I'm away.
The bike is a 1000 Watt direct drive, and I brought two battery systems, two panniers containing my custom a123 16 cell 20AH prismatics, and a spare 48v20AH ping 2.0 in my back pack. I knew the ride would be more than 20ah, and there is a hill at the end of the ride that I wanted to have fun on, so I packed the extra 20Ah. Heavy !. Because I started late, I was weaving through the masses for much of the ride. Occasionally I heard a 'crack' sound like a lady finger fire cracker, it was the thin tires of the race bikes popping. I was glat I had slime in my 700C tires, running at 85psi. The bike goes 32 MPH on flat roads, drawing 32 amps. After an hour, I was free of most of the crowd. There is an 800 ft hill near the end of the ride. I made it much of the way up before having to switch power sources to the Ping. I arrived at the finish line with the elite riders on their $5000 carbon race bikes. Here I am, passing these guys in my Crocs, old gym shorts, a tee shirt and to top it off, a plastic basket on the front of the bike
I knew I didn't deserve all the cheers, but I had a grin on non the less! I was disappointed that I was the only e-bike out of the thousands. It's not a race, and nobody cared I was 'cheating'. Most comments were more like ' That's the bike I need '.
I did about 25 mph average, and used 27 AH.
I recommend this ride, it has great scenery and is a blast. The $1 fish tacos and $2 beer at the end were nice too.
Anyhow, it was this bikes maiden voyage.
Cheers,
-Les
