Meet Bluebell

As some of you will know , I really struggled in some of the headwinds on our last long tour. DH said to me , he thought I should consider getting an e-bike. In the Netherlands and Germany, they are an everyday site. I have always said , not until I am seventy.

When away we met a Dutch couple and the wife had an e-bike so I could talk to them and discuss what it is like really touring. I also looked in a few cycle shops in the Netherlands, so I could get some ideas.

When we got home , I messaged a lady I now who has an e-bike and asked where she got hers and she recommended going to talk to the chap in a local shop. He was very helpful and I got further ideas but realised that the brands he sold while good were not quite the same thing as a touring bicycle.

I was in a bit of a dilemma as I do like Koga but last time I looked they had carbon forks. Not ideal in my opinion but I phoned Cyclesense   to talk to Dave in this family business. It was funny really because he said he had been going to ring me but thought it was cheeky.

So I said I needed advice on an e-bike and he told me that he had just had a delivery and one of them was a Koga World Tourer in my size and an e-bike. I told him of my reservations but he said the new model doesn’t have the carbon forks. So we chatted a bit more until I asked the question “What colour is it? ” Blue . Well that was it. It was meant to be.

In my childhood , I always had blue bikes  from my very first trike made up from bits but painted blue. So now in my second childhood, I have a blue bike.

I got Dave to change the saddle as I do like the one I purchased a couple of months ago and brought he home.

Even the battery has been colour co-ordinated.

During the week, being back to work, I was only able to manage short rides of 10-15 miles and so yesterday , we decided to do a long ride.

So we set off to Northallerton, 23 miles and then decided we would ride back through Darlington and up to Cozy Coffee near Coatham Munderville. I had no idea of the distance but felt good. For the first time ever, I have seen DH with a sweaty face as he rode up the hills behind me. On the flat , mostly I turned off the assist  and just rode  and was doing well. In total by the time we returned home, we had ridden 66 miles and I still had 3 bars of battery charge left. I was so delighted I phoned Dave to tell him.

I have to say that I used the gears in the same way as I usually do and only had it in eco mode except for once turning it up higher accidently when I was approaching a roundabout.

In the park the cygnets seem to have diminished on number and I was only able to take a photo of this one. I do hope the others are just hiding in the rushes.

 

weekly total 123.4 miles YTD 2533.3