These days it seems like everyone has an e-bike. Pepper and I have always enjoyed biking, although we don’t really get out as much as we’d like. Something we’ve been wanting to do for years is the spring Going-to-the-Sun Road ride, which is a few days in (usually) June when the road in Glacier National Park is open from base to summit for bikers and hikers, but not cars. Back in 2020 I rode it with Dave and Luke, and we made it most of the way before stopping because we were exhausted. Pepper and I rode a few years ago but had to stop at The Loop because of avalanche danger. We decided that we’d love to give it another go on e-bikes.
After a bit of research and conversations with friends and family who own e-bikes, we opted to buy Urtopia Carbon Classic bikes. I was specifically looking for a lightweight bike, and these use a carbon-fiber frame to weigh in around thirty-five pounds. Compare that with a typical e-bike, tipping the scales at roughly seventy-five! The lighter material, coupled with a more traditional frame design, makes these feel more like a “regular” bike.
Well, they arrived and we assembled them. Today we loaded them on the back of the car and headed to Somers.
There’s a bike trail from Somers up to Kila, roughly twenty miles each way. We figured it would be a good exercise to see how these bikes perform. After riding parallel to the highway for a bit (not fun), we turned west toward Kila and the rails-to-trails portion of the route.
Up near Kila, the city fades behind and we were biking more in the “countryside”. It was a gorgeous day.
We went to the end of the line, paused for a snack, and then turned and rode back. All told we covered just shy of forty miles, and our bikes were champs. Although we don’t really need the motors, they sure make the ride more enjoyable! We can go faster and farther than we might otherwise.
Now we’re thinking of other trails to ride, and contemplating how we might bring these bikes on our road trips so we can explore some other places. More to come.