Solar Ebike Touring
Why bike touring? Why solar ebike?
Lots of people have bike toured across the country and around the world. Everyone we've met agrees that it changes your perspective on travel and enables you to experience the world in a new way. We think it boils down to 3 main things.
- By traveling slowly, you are immersed in the ecosystem (either natural or city), instead of our usual mode of just whizzing through to reach a predetermined destination. On a bike you notice all be beauty in between places, all the flowers and small creeks and every meadow, hearing the birds. And you stop more often, because something catches your eye and it doesn't matter if there isn't designated parking, your bike fits anywhere. You get to know a place more deeply because you take a week instead of a few days.
- It's sustainable. You feel great that your travel used no fossil fuels and has an extremely low carbon footprint. Travel is wonderful, but as the planet warms and dries up and burns and we consider just what we are leaving our grandchildren, we need to embrace new ways to travel lightly. Bike touring is a solution to this, but its also just a more fun way to travel.
- You meet wonderful people and experience the kindness of humanity. Never before have I gotten to know so many new people as on a bike trip. Everyone is excited about your trip and has stoies to share, plus help to offer, should you need it. Staying at campsites with other cyclists and hosting/being hosted through Warm Showers is an amazing part of the experience.
But why a solar ebike?
Having the boost from a motor makes bike touring more accessible to eveyone. You don't need to train at all! Hills aren't a pain and you can carry a bit more stuff (you'll appreciate the coffee supplies and extra change of cloths). Or if you are a cyclist, you can spend less time in the saddle and more time sight-seeing. But the bike battery needs to be charged, and most power from the grid is not yet from renewable sources (in some places it is, but not consistently, especially if you are charging at night). Thus solar-charging the battery keeps the carbon footprints of an ebike almost as low as a regular bike.
Plus, you can adventure into the wilderness, where there won't be outlets, for as long as you want! This is our favorite part, being off-grid in the woods for days, and we even have enough charge to power phones and bike lights, and even our laptop.
