I’ve had a lifelong love of riding bicycles and recently rekindled that ardor after purchasing a new eBike (electric bicycle).

I retired from my day-job in 2015 and one of the first things I did to mark the occasion was to purchase a new, modestly priced, hybrid-style, 24-gear, bicycle. I’ve never been a “serious” cyclist in that I’m not one to pedal long distances and have never joined a bicycle club. But since boyhood, I’ve retained a love for the pure physicality of riding a bike, and the sense of freedom it brings. In my retirement, I’ve come to really enjoy viewing the world around me from my bike – especially being able to slow down and take in the beauty of the natural world as well as the sumptuous landscape architecture in many of the suburbs of Montgomery County, Maryland, where I’ve lived for the last 30 years.

Like many of my fellow retirees, I had some challenges finding my life focus in the first six months of not having a formal job. Early on though, whenever I felt at sixes and sevens about what I was doing with my life, I found that if I just got on my new bike and set out, the sense of inner confusion and disarray soon evaporated. Cycling requires being present in the moment. It proved to be just the antidote I needed.

I started by just riding around my own and adjacent neighborhoods of Derwood – an unincorporated suburb between Rockville and Gaithersburg. I soon discovered that I could see my surroundings differently from the seat of a bike. Driving a car for me is mostly about getting from Point A to Point B. On my bike, I can slow down to take in people and things that catch my eye. And it gives more mobility than walking, allowing me to take in broader swaths of my environment. Like many iPhone users these days, I’ve become something of an amateur photographer. On a bicycle, it’s no problem to pull over and take a picture of things that attract my attention.

Over time, I became a bit more adventurous in my bike rides. There were two marvelous hiker-biker trails in close vicinity to my home. One was the Rock Creek Trail, which traverses some 25 miles from Lake Needwood (in Derwood) down through the Maryland suburbs and through Rock Creek Park in DC. The trail follows Rock Creek all the way down to the Potomac, and while I never made it that far down, I did make it to northern DC, finding numerous stunning vistas and secluded places along the creek, perfect for quiet intervals in the lap of Mother Earth.

One of my favorite half-day bike journeys was pedaling from my home down through the Rock Creek trail about ten miles to the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda. I loved the artistic landscaping of the grounds there, including a marvelous outdoor sculpture court, where I often stopped, walked, and found interesting places to sit and eat my sandwich lunch. I also became a fan of the art exhibitions within the beautiful galleries of the Strathmore Mansion. Often as not, I would get home by riding my bike to the nearby Grosvenor Metro Station and take the Metro back up to my home near the Shady Grove Metro stop.

Another favorite ride was on the more recently constructed hiker-biker trail that ran along the Inter-County Connector (ICC) highway from Derwood to Emory Lane. I sometimes rode this route with a neighbor of ours, Steve Crawford, another aging cyclist with about the same stamina as me. Steve and I had been friends for years, but our friendship noticeably deepened as we spent time together on our bikes, traversing trails and neighborhoods quiet enough to ride in tandem and talk. Steve had an untimely death from a heart ailment two years ago and I miss him dearly, especially when I’m out riding alone.

Two years ago, my wife Andrea and I moved to a marvelous new retirement complex in southwest Rockville. Part of the attraction of The Village At Rockville (TVAR) for me was its proximity to the city of Rockville’s many bike trails, and bicycle friendly roads.  Our facility even has a bicycle storage room within the parking garage.  Soon after moving here in March 2022, I was out exploring the new terrain on my bicycle. It was a great way to familiarize myself with our new geographical environment.

I have some persistent lower back and hip issues from degenerating spinal disks and arthritis. The discomfort was causing me to ride less often, and for shorter distances. Last October, I began to consider getting a new bicycle, one on which I could sit more upright. In the process of bicycle shopping online, I began noticing a wide variety of electrical bicycles that also had more upright seating configurations. So, I decided to try out an eBike and visited the Rockville Trek store. 

I encountered a very helpful young woman salesperson at the Trek store. She was an avid biker herself, riding 10 miles to work each day on her manual bicycle. When I told her about my back issues, she encouraged me to try out their eBike model. There was a large Metro parking lot down the street which she encouraged me to use for my initial spin. As soon as I started feeling the battery-assist power of the bike, I was sold. I had an exhilarating spin around that parking lot for a good long while before returning to the store. The Trek cost a bit more than I wanted to pay though and I decided to visit a couple more bike stores.

In the end, I purchased an Aventon 500.3 eBike from the modest “Good Vibes Bikes” store about 3 miles from home. I test rode that model as well and really liked everything about it –- upright seating, throttle-on-demand power, and reasonable price ($1.6K). The store had their own maintenance shop, and I got their one-year service plan.

After six months, I’m totally delighted with my new eBike.  My back issues had begun reducing the frequency of my rides to once every week or two. Throughout our mild Mid-Atlantic winter, I was able to ride two to three times per week, and for much longer distances than I’d been able to go on my manual bike. The 10-pound lithium-ion battery can get me up to 50 miles on a charge. Mostly though, I’m riding for about 10-15 miles at a time.

My new bike has 8 derailleur gears which I can peddle without electrical-assist as desired. But I seldom do that. The torque-sensor motor provides seamless power assist on hills and great speed (up to 20mph) on straightaways. It has four levels of power-assist, and has a thumb-activated throttle that can provide power without pedaling at all.

My new eBike has renewed my love affair with bicycles, allowing me to experience my environment with ease and comfort. A friend recently gave me his bike-rack for my car and I’m eagerly awaiting warmer weather when I can begin driving the bike down to the C&O Canal for longer rides along the Potomac. I’m very appreciative and grateful for this new technology that has given a new lease on bicycle-life for aging seniors like me.

John Bayerl, 4/16/2024