Around the world on a solar ebike

Thank you Chalo and solarEbike! I was really hoping to not need to constantly swap batteries, and now I see that I won't need to. I'll also look into how I might connect them in series. Any thoughts on good reading for how to do that would be great. I so appreciate the generosity of this group.

As long as this thread is getting bumped to the top, allow me to throw in a YouTube video recommendation. Light Speed is a new documentary about last year's World Solar Challenge in Australia. These solar race cars were the inspiration for my project back in 2006. I thought "sure, these cars have big teams and huge budgets but I bet a lot of what they're doing can be scaled to bicycle size and speed."

Since then, I have met a couple of the teams, got to drive one of the retired cars (at low speed in the parking lot at Google headquarters) and even had custom solar modules assembled and encapsulated for my bike by SunCat Solar, the same company that made the panels for several of the teams in this video series. There are 6 episodes. The first two are free, the rest require a YouTube Premium subscription. I signed up for the 30 day free trial. Totally worth it if available where you live. Don't start watching the first episode at midnight like I did or you may find yourself binge-watching the whole series.

[youtube]XwwlHMLRF-I[/youtube]

PS: If you only watch car races for the crashes and fireballs explosions, you won't be disappointed.

Quick update for anyone who doesn't already follow me on InstaGram or my blog. I'm midway through a 4500 mile (7000 km) shakedown cruise from Vancouver, BC to San Diego, CA. Currently making a pit-stop for some well-timed maintenance and repairs in St. Paul, Minnesota thanks to the generosity of fellow ES member rowbiker.

My route is pieced together from the ACA Northern Tier route and the ACA Bike Route 66 route. Daily-ish updates posted on IG and the blog. I suggest starting with Day 1.

Bike and rider are both holding up quite well. Weather has been better than I had any right to expect. I'm beginning the southbound leg of the trip just in time.



I stopped at Grin Tech headquarters and we shot a new video which went up on the Grin YouTube channel on Oct. 1.

[youtube]a-4JPYHcfxQ[/youtube]

Daily trip stats, solar generation, power consumption, etc. for the data-curious.



Here's the spreadsheet.

How many close calls with vehicles have you had riding?

solarEbike said:

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Does your planned global route pass through Australia?
If it does, hit me up. You would be more than welcome to stay a night and recharge!

Cheers

Cowardlyduck said:

Does your planned global route pass through Australia?
If it does, hit me up.

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It does, thank you! I plan to ride from San Diego to Alaska next spring and then continue on to Japan and Australia in August/September if the Covid situation allows it.

This is awesome! Wish you were coming closer to the Chicago area

thundercamel said:

This is awesome! Wish you were coming closer to the Chicago area

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Thanks! I originally planned to get closer to Chicago before switching to the ACA "Bicycle Route 66" but I got a slightly later start than planned and slightly lower daily mileage so I'll be heading south toward St. Louis after my stop here in St. Paul.

Looking great so far. I hope the weather stays ok for you. It’s raining pretty hard here.

fechter said:

Looking great so far. I hope the weather stays ok for you. It’s raining pretty hard here.

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It’s looking good for Saturday when I head out from St. Paul toward St. Louis but temps are getting down to just above freezing in the mornings.

Contgratulations on getting the trip started and getting so far along!

Too bad you're not going thru Phoenix, I'd love to meet up with you if you were.

Good luck on your trip, stay safe. I will follow the adventure.

Todd

Yes, stay safe is the key.
Gotta be brave and trust those vehicles passing you will not hit you.
Gotta be countless close calls, lots of highways have little to no paved shoulder.

TAPnAR said:

Good luck on your trip, stay safe. I will follow the adventure.

Todd

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will you be riding through Canada?

amberwolf said:

Too bad you're not going thru Phoenix, I'd love to meet up with you if you were.

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Well, nothing is written in stone but it’s just too dang convenient to just follow the ACA route.

TAPnAR said:

Good luck on your trip, stay safe. I will follow the adventure.

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Thank you!

miro13car said:

will you be riding throughff Canada?

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I started this tour in Vancouver, BC and plan to pass through British Columbia and Yukon Territory on my way up to a Alaska next spring.

Currently in British Columbia, heading to Alaska. Stopped at Grin Technologies for a pit stop and to record another update video.


Trip statistics: Trip logs