True Story! How I Fell in Love with an Electric Bike

This is a guest post from Andy Franklin.  He is an electric bike enthusiast and is in the process of opening his own electric bike store.

I live southwest of Denver Colorado in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was a beautiful fall day and I decided it had been too long since I had taken out my bike. So after cleaning it up I hopped on and went for a ride. As the streets rushed by between the mountain backdrop and the turning leaves I had relaxed and found myself asking the question “why don’t I do this more often?”.

As I stopped for some water and to take a little rest I realized I had only gone about 5 miles but it was mostly all downhill. Uh Oh. I still had to get back home at some point. Well I continued on and the ride was less enjoyable as I kept flashing on the ride home.

In the end I had a beautiful day but no way could I get home without stopping and resting and huffing and puffing. A beautiful day and a great ride had turned into a combination of work and a workout. It was no longer fun or reasonable for me to do this again. So my search for an electric bike began.

I went online and used all the tools we have all become used to having at our fingertips. In the end it was my wife who heard an ad on a local radio station about a store in Colorado advertising its electric powered bikes. She called me as I was in the car and I headed straight to Longmont.

I met with the owner and took almost every bike for a test ride. I did this a few times and eventually I brought my wife with me on the hour ride and we bought two bikes. We are the proud owners of a Hebb and an Ultra Motor A2B Metro. Both bikes now have gone about 1000 miles and we ride regularly and I try and use it as much for work as for pleasure.

With a 500 watt motor, 36 volts, 16 amps and my legs I can go a long way. The old hills that stopped me on my first ride with my old bike are just part of the ride now and with a pannier I can turn a chore like a ride to the grocery store into an adventure.

So put a smile on your face and feel like a kid again, go get an electric bike. Bring out your inner Bilbo Baggins and do as much as you can by bike, not car.

I am now in an agreement with the owner of that first store and expect to be in business with an electric bike store in the near future. Thanks Pete for the opportunity to tell my story and through Electric Bike Report.  I will keep you posted on my e-bike adventures!

End of guest post by Andy Franklin

Do you have a story of how you fell in love with electric bikes?  What adventures have you taken on your e-bike?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thanks!

-Pete

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