Very nice condition attitude! I'm also impressed you said you do 13-16 miles per day, ebike or not! I wish I had that time!
Thanks!
To be clear: miles isn't a great gauge for an e-bike. Time and calories are what matters to me, so I should've put it in those terms.
I've allocated an hour per day, from the time I start getting ready to when I'm home with helmet and gloves off, and bike plugged in if I took an e-bike. It just turns out that's usually 13 to 16 miles for me in season on a full power (85Nm or more of torque) e-bike in my area, at around 50 calories/mile average (trying to stay in heart rate zone 2, no long excursions in zone 3 or zone 1 except on my Sunday rides which are longer and more leisurely but with 2 minute bursts in zone 3). Most of my weekday rides are 45 to 60 minutes, and a lot of them involve a stop at a store, intentionally.
The longer story...
Most of my weekday miles are on an 88 pound (!!!) class 3 full-suspension fat tire bike that I've named 'truckster'. Totally unexpected when I bought it. It's the utility that has made it the bike I spend the most time on. I'm not going any faster top-speed wise, and didn't buy a class 3 to go fast. I bought it for the additional torque to carry stuff and get me up the steeper hills at the start of the season without having to go to granny gear and a crawl. And fatty for snow riding (studded CST Toboggans in the winter). It has yielded a faster
average speed (15mph) on the dirt roads, with cargo. It has a rack, a fairly large bag and stowable panniers. I've basically used it to create excuses for rides. 'Forget' to buy milk and other staples (that I know will fit in the bike's bags) when grocery shopping in my vehicle, for example. I've been mocked for driving past the grocery store on my way home, only to bike 7 miles back to the store I passed. Yep, sometimes I need to play tricks on myself to maintain the routine. I'm OK with that. I'm still burning 50 calories/mile, still burning over 500 calories per day on the bike. I've lost 14 pounds this season (178 to 164), and I'm still dropping weight, much of it from riding the 'truckster'. I'm no longer an e-bike skeptic. I can get just as much exercise as I do on my acoustic bikes in the same amount of time, but I can cover more ground (maintain that 15 mph on steep grades) and/or carry more stuff. Which means I can use the bike for more than just riding for the sake of riding. Which in my world is easier to find time for day in and day out. And the fact that it's a full suspension fatty has pretty much erased the "I'm sore" evil thoughts that are mental barriers to
starting a ride. Those always disappear 2 miles into a ride regardless, but something I battled more to
starting a ride with the old hardtail.
Still getting some rides in on the class 1 eMTB, which is a more fun ride. But it's 'truckster' that's been the real factor for me getting 13 to 15 miles in day in and day out, i.e. every day weather permits versus 3 days a week. Small grocery runs, rides to the local dairy farm for milk, take a small package to UPS in the morning, take some food to mom in the evening (9 mile round trip), etc. It's the bike that has allowed me 500 to 1000 calories burned per day for long contiguous stretches this season versus the spottier few days a week. Basically a cargo bike for me, and I didn't expect to put this many miles on it. Who knew?
For me, the other key has been making the time between arriving home and being on the bike as short as possible. Bikes by the door, ready to go, with helmet, gloves, helmet lights, all chargers and a light jacket nearby. Enough jerseys and cycling pants to not waste time thinking about my change of clothes. Vans BMX slip-ons for instant bike-worthy footwear. I'm down to about 5 minutes from arriving home and being on a bike.
Sorry for the long story! I just figured someone might find something useful if looking to find ways to make more time for cycling.
