When I built and rode my first China Girl bike, I was amazed at how much more I interacted with the world around me. Slowing form 40 mph to 16 to 25 mph changed how I saw the world. The guy on the corner wasn't just a man but he was a real person. I could see the color of his hair and the pattern on his shirt. And yes I could tell a woman from a man and not just by the hairstyle.
After a while the gasoline bikes bored me. I wanted to experience the world not constantly adjust the bike. Also they were just too easy sometimes. So I began working on a DIY ebike. I didn't want to pay 500 or so for a store bike. I might easily get bored with as well. I'm not a rich man just an old retired coot. Plus I just like to build them. Building is at least half the fun of owning a bike for me.
As I began to ride the test bikes I noticed a new phenomena. Not only was I closer to the environment in which I rode. I was more a part of it. I didn't turn heads as the sexy, but noisy, China Girl roared into the neighborhood, I was pretty much ignored. Which meant I didn't just see the guy on the corner staring at me, I saw what he was doing. The man was raking his yard not standing there holding the rake and looking at me. The world took on motion. I began to see how the things fitted together. How the universe turned if I can be so dramatic.
I was going slow enough, and the bike was quiet enough, so that I could say good morning to the ladies and how's it going to the men without skipping a beat. Yes I do have to pedal but that was why I built the PP/E bike. I need to pedal, I'm getting fat again.
I'm looking forward to the bike trail again. To go as far as I can on the PP (people power) then turn on the motor to get me home. I finally feel like I have an engine that will do all that, so today I test ride it to see if it will in fact get me home, without the chrome.
If the PP/E bike works well enough to ride daily, you will probably hear from me now and then when I feel the need to tell someone abut how things feel.
After a while the gasoline bikes bored me. I wanted to experience the world not constantly adjust the bike. Also they were just too easy sometimes. So I began working on a DIY ebike. I didn't want to pay 500 or so for a store bike. I might easily get bored with as well. I'm not a rich man just an old retired coot. Plus I just like to build them. Building is at least half the fun of owning a bike for me.
As I began to ride the test bikes I noticed a new phenomena. Not only was I closer to the environment in which I rode. I was more a part of it. I didn't turn heads as the sexy, but noisy, China Girl roared into the neighborhood, I was pretty much ignored. Which meant I didn't just see the guy on the corner staring at me, I saw what he was doing. The man was raking his yard not standing there holding the rake and looking at me. The world took on motion. I began to see how the things fitted together. How the universe turned if I can be so dramatic.
I was going slow enough, and the bike was quiet enough, so that I could say good morning to the ladies and how's it going to the men without skipping a beat. Yes I do have to pedal but that was why I built the PP/E bike. I need to pedal, I'm getting fat again.
I'm looking forward to the bike trail again. To go as far as I can on the PP (people power) then turn on the motor to get me home. I finally feel like I have an engine that will do all that, so today I test ride it to see if it will in fact get me home, without the chrome.
If the PP/E bike works well enough to ride daily, you will probably hear from me now and then when I feel the need to tell someone abut how things feel.
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