On Yer Bike!

As a micro generator of electricity I have hankered for a while now for one of the new electric cars so that we can really begin to eat in to our farm fuel bills. However I cannot afford to be an early adopter this time and the battery technology is not quite there yet to produce a vehicle that will get the wife to work at the hospital in Truro and back on a single charge.

However, what we can afford and have been reading about with interest over the last twelve months is the quiet revolution in cycling that is the e-bike. Basically an ordinary bike with a lithium battery and very small motor attached to the crank which can give you a boost as and when you need it.

Cheating! I hear you cry (which to be fair is the reaction I get from nearly everyone). But what can I say? - as an unfit farmer the wrong side of 50 and living in one of England’s unspoiled uplands, I find that whilst I do enjoy riding a bike around I tend to spend most of the time walking as I push it up hills that would test the stamina of even a dope fuelled tour rider.

For those yet to catch up with these wonderful machines, they do not cruise you up hill and down dale at the flick of a button, but merely use the battery to give your aching limbs a boost when they need it most. The result is nothing short of amazing and once you have tried one out you will be converted. They put the fun back into casual cycling and allow you to carry on arguing with your nearest and dearest in spite of any inclines the road may throw at you.

We have now become confirmed bike anoraks and spend many happy hours boosting the profits of Halfords browsing for bits and pieces for our new machines. So much so that tomorrow we are putting our bikes on the train at Bodmin Parkway and taking them off two hours later at Tiverton Parkway with the intention of cycling most of the way home over four days.

We will be following Sustrans route three over the wilderness of Exmoor and have booked ourselves in at B&B’s every 25 or so miles. A true adventure for us oldies and the kids think we are nuts. The weather looks set fair (if that what you can call the bitingly cold Easterly wind that will follow us) and barring a snowstorm we should be ready to be picked up at Okehampton on Sunday. Let the Tour De Devon begin!