Journey of an eBiker

Like most people who find their way into electric bikes, or ebikes, for me it's been a continuous journey of fascination with the adventures that are possible on two wheels. If you see me out on the bike and feel like flipping a comment like "ya lazy bugger', bear in mind I've sampled my fair share of two wheel options before settling on my current electric bike preferences.

The Formative Years

We've all come to powered two wheel action and adventures through a wide variety of experiences. Mine kicked off with my first scooter at age 5, as I scooted like a maniac to keep up with my best mate who'd just scored a Xmas Dragster. Before long, I too was dragster bound (a Speedwell, no less), exploring dirt tracks in Condobolin and realising the shortfalls of jumping in thongs and the impact on exposed toes+nails. It was also a great introduction to catheads, a thorny pest that defeated so many efforts at puncture-proofing my tyres.

A family move east gave me a chance to try that dragster in a whole bunch of different terrain, working out the limitations of 3 speed hub gearing in hill climbs and eventually, the limitations of steel welds in one dam wall jump too far. By then, BMX's had been invented, which made the dam wall jumps and long dirt slides just so much more fun than had been possible on the dragster.

I stayed true to my first BMX, hanging onto it through adventure after adventure, breaking and welding the frame, upgrading bars + seats as I grew.

The MTB years
With a move to Sydney at around the same time the first MTBs were hitting Australia, it was a natural choice of transport in the late 80's for dodging cars, guttering, kerbs and obstacles. Morning commutes from Glebe to Parramatta and Canterbury turned into fantastic interval training sessions in an effort to not get mown down - there was no such thing as a cycle lane then.

MTBs were evolving fast at that time, and became my ride of choice over the next two decades, taking me onto national level off-road racing circuits like the Yurtfarm in Goulburn, Majura Pines, Thredbo, Cairns, Killingworth. I used that time in racing to also undertake the first Level 1 MTB Coaching course that ran in Australia, with Damian Grundy and a handful of others. I still have my old school race bikes which get a good dusting off in a 24hr race or club race or two :-)

When not training or racing, I'd be doing long cross country cycling treks, from Wollongong to Albury via the Alps, Sydney to Melbourne, mixing country roads with little used National Park trails. I still reckon there are few better ways of seeing our beautiful country than by bicycle.

Sum total bicycle injuries: Plenty of gravel rash+ bruises, splinters, lacerations, occasional stitches. But no breaks. I've been lucky. Others haven't.

The Motos
There were quite a few, sprinkled in amongst the years of BMX, MTB and general pedalling.
XR75. PW80. DS80. TC125. TY100. TS185. GT250. KDX175. KDX200. XR500.TT600. TT350. RM370. DR650. XR600. NX650. F650GSPD. KTM300. TriZ250 (deadly). GasGas200. TE250. TE610. Zero FX. Not to mention the too-fast mates bikes ridden, such as WR360, KTM380, TE510, GPZ750, CBR900RR. The Trikes and Quads I've tended to avoid, for good reasons.

Now, we just keep a handy DRZ400E in the stable for doing occasional reconnaissance rides.

Sum total moto injuries: 1 broken rib. Plenty of gravel rash+ bruises. I've been lucky. Others haven't.

Then, I went electric. It wasn't an uninformed choice. I still also ride my MTBs every opportunity I get.