E-Biking Mt. Erie

They were the best of mimes; they were the worst of mimes. Having seen enough, we decided to leave the Arts Festival and go on a bike ride.

My wife, Cheryl, and I had just purchased E-bikes — Aventon bikes to be exact. Since having recently retired, we were using every opportunity possible to ride 15-to-35-mile day trips. Out of Anacortes, Washington we had taken ferries to ride Guemes, San Juan, and Lopez Islands. These were all nice day-rides capable of being done without exhausting the batteries.

The bikes came with racks on the back which can be used with saddle bags or a box to carry extra supplies. For our bikes, I found two milk crates which are just the right size for backpacks or bags of groceries. The style of the bike frames is step-through, and though the high school boys razz me by calling it a girl’s bike, I am unfazed because I can no longer swing my right leg over the back wheel to mount or dismount without difficulty. Mounting the milk crate on the back rack made dismounting that way impossible for both of us. The technique then is to apply the brakes and step forward with both feet to the ground, up close to the front wheel, then step through the frame.

Having ridden street and mountain bikes since I was a boy, it is instinct for me to swing my right leg over the back wheel to dismount. With the e-bike and the milk crate, I have spectacularly crashed no less than four times because my foot gets stuck in the milk crate causing me to lose my balance. This has the tendency to draw crowds in front of Safeway.

Today’s ride, though not long, involved riding from the center of Anacortes to Mount Erie, just 5.3 miles away.

Mt Erie’s 1273-foot summit can be accessed two ways. You can rock climb up the face from the base (which I have done many times) or drive up a steep winding road which has burned out many an automobile clutch. Today we would be testing the battery, assist motor and gearing of the Aventon bikes on the mountain road using two seniors in their late 60s as test riders.

The 5.3-mile ride going south out of Anacortes was relatively simple. We made it to the base of the mountain road in roughly 20 minutes.

The Aventon has five power assists modes and eight gears on the back axle for shifting. Power assist #1 is the least amount of help and #5 is the greatest, but it also uses the most battery. We started up the hill in #2 assist and third gear on the back axle.

It was not long before the hairpin turns became steep. The assist modes went to three, four, and five with the back axle in the lowest first gear. The battery indicator showed the power draining rapidly and we were still only halfway to the top. Finally, the road was so steep that the power assist was of no help so we were forced to stop the bikes, dismount, and push them up the remainder of the road.

This brings me to one of the negative aspects of most E-bikes. They weigh close to 70 pounds. It was like pushing a wheelbarrow of bricks uphill. Cheryl, who was ahead of me, stopped twice to ask if I could hear elk bugling. Obviously, she cannot recognize the sound of an old man gasping for air.

With much strain, and many stops, we made it to the top to enjoy the view and after a substantial rest, it was time to return to Anacortes. I mounted my bike and turning to my wife, I winked and said, “shall we?” And I pushed off down the hill.

Now here is something interesting. I was just doing some simple math in my head, and I added my 220 pounds to the 70 pounds of the bike, plus the contents in the milk crate, and got close to 300 pounds going down a steep grade which I do not believe the disc brakes were designed to be capable of slowing.

It was evident immediately that my bike was not slowing down and was picking up speed as we were starting into the hairpin turns. In a desperate panic, I decided to dismount — not the correct way but the old habit way of my youth. I swung my right leg over the back wheel only to get my foot stuck.  Now I was roaring down Mt. Erie standing with my left foot on the pedal and my right foot in the milk crate. I am sure that this impressed the passengers in the cars coming up the grade. It must have appeared to be an event in the “Ultimate Senior Olympics.” We must also remember that my wife was following behind me on her bike.

A flash of fluorescent yellow vest shot past me like a bolt of lightning followed three seconds later by a loud scream. This was proof to me that the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.

I found her at the bottom of the mountain, and I laid my smoking bike next to her still smoking bike. She was lying on a patch of grass, eyes bugged out and hair matted around the base of her helmet. We were both twitching uncontrollably.

I asked her, “Mif snork flaw-flaw?”

She answered, “Guinny poo krunk.”

After a half hour, the bike brakes cooled to the point that we could ride the 5.3 miles back to town.

I have recently purchased two Sena bike helmets for our rides. These new helmets allow Cheryl and I to talk to each other via a radio signals as we ride. I am glad that we didn’t have them at the time of the Mt. Erie ride. We both would have heard all sorts of new words we didn’t know the other person knew.

(Title Photo Credit- Barry Brower- Anacortes, Washington)

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