1 week, 3 round trip rides, 72 miles by bike

So I survived my 2nd full week of commuting. This week was somewhat warmer (low to mid 80s) but nothing really to complain about (aside from the bother of slathering on sunscreen sometimes before both the inbound and the outbound trip).

My legs are complaining but not as much as last week. I'm generally taking the Canada route to work and the Alameda route home. Alameda is shorter (11.5 miles versus 12.8 miles), not as hilly, but has much more street traffic -- making certain streets a little scary to ride on.

Here is a typical ride, complete with route map and elevation change. Gotta love the free iPhone app (available from MapMyRide.com) which tracks the rides (though I'm told there are better paid versions, which I'll investigate later).

Interesting things I've seen on my commute, partly because I'm now on a bike and partly because I'm just seeing more since it's a much longer ride:

• A zebra crossing painted on Canada that has horseshoe symbols in it
  
• Quite a lot of, um, evidence of horses along Canada, but no actual horses on the road -- though I have seen a half dozen horses in corrals along the side of the road
  
• Two Tesla Roadsters, my electric motor-powered brethren (alas, still have not convinced any of my wealthy coworkers to buy one)
• Two small vineyards (one on Canada and one on Alameda)
• A sign offering tractor-related services
  

On the way home, I find myself wishing I lived 2-3 miles closer to work. But the workout is good, and I must say it's a complete different "feel" arriving at my destination on either end. I'm much more alert and I feel like I've achieved something just by getting where I'm going.

One last thought in reflecting on Week 2: there is a sense (read the biking boards, for instance) that the electric motor is "cheating". While I understand why True Bikers believe that. If the bicycle is meant to augment human power, then adding electric power certainly spoils the purity of muscle + mechanical advantage = motion.

But I'm not in it for the Purity of Biking or glory or training so I can race. I'm in it primarily for the exercise (and the long-term health benefits thereof) and the sense of accomplishment. So I feel like my electronic steed helps me decide to bike more often than not. So the bike doesn't feel like cheating to me: it feels like the enzyme which lowers the activation energy so that the reaction can actually complete.

Besides, my flavor of electric bike doesn't have a throttle that just hauls me along: it's still quite a bit of work, as I'm guessing somewhere between a quarter and half of the power the system generates is consumed hauling itself around. After all, a good road bike weighs 15 pounds, and my bike weighs over 60 so something's got to move the 45 extra pounds.

As Insik suggests, I'll have to try the hills on a road bike a few weeks down the line. Stay tuned for the experiment, maybe in October.

My new ride

As promised, here are a few facts & thoughts about my new ride, the Giant Twist Freedom DX.

First, the facts:

• Giant calls it a hybrid bike, presumably to liken it to the hybrid cars like the Prius. Though for the rest of the industry, a hybrid bike is a cross between a road bike (think Tour de France racing style) and a mountain bike, so this is a little confusing.
  
• Like the Prius, the bike turns battery power into torque to help propel the bike and rider forward. In theory, the harder you pedal, the more assistance you get.
  
• Unlike the Prius, the batteries do not regenerate while coasting downhill.
• The bike has an electric motor integrated into the front wheel.
• There are four settings: Off, Eco, Normal, and Sport.
• Sport mode assists the most and Eco the least.
• When the assist system is Off, you get to feel what it's like to pedal a 62-pound monster of a bike. I assure you this is no fun, and I only have the system off when I'm rolling downhill.
• Unlike some motor systems like the BioX (my brother just got a bike with one of those), there is no electric throttle -- so you can ride it like a moped. No peddling = no go.
  
• You switch manually between the two batteries.
• Giant estimates the range thusly; these numbers seem a touch optimistic to me. Either that, or I'm a lot fatter than their test rider. In practical terms, a single battery lasts me about 30 miles, or call it a commute and a half on a route like this one with a few hills.

Now some thoughts after a couple training rides and 3 round-trip commutes:

• Overall, I quite like my trusty new steed. It will help me get in shape, and having the electric assist available will get me onto the bike more often than not.
• Without it, I probably would not have started commuting by bike. 
• I'm proud of the distance I've biked and look forward to some pounds coming off.
• Never before has arriving at work or at home seemed like such an achievement!  :-)
• The bike is a beast. Something about the size of the frame makes it seem very large. The good thing about this is it feels more stable on the road. But it is a 60+ pound monster, no two ways about it.
  
• How's it feel? The best way to describe how the bike feels is to say that it "flattens out" the terrain. Mild uphills feel like flat terrain; steep uphills feel like moderate uphills.
• I still have to work hard to get up 5% grades like Ralston Avenue -- but the electric assist makes it do-able for me without having to hop off and walk, or take a break.
• Riding position. The bike's geometry puts you in a very upright riding position, which takes pressure off your wrists and back since you're not hunched over.
• OTOH, sitting up straight with a loose T-shirt on basically turns your body and T-shirt into a sail. When the wind is blowing against you, this is not good. :-)
• This posture also makes it harder to get the right kind of leverage when peddling up big hills -- it's hard to come off the saddle and put your whole body into the effort.
  
• In general, I like this riding posture because it's relaxed and doesn't make my arms numb after a long ride. This is why I didn't get the very cool folding Swiss Bike with the BioX conversion kit like my brother -- the Swiss Bike's geometry has you bent over more, and I wanted a mostly comfortable posture for the commute.
• Sidebar: if you do want a Swiss Bike + BioX combo, visit the great folks at Velolectric Bikes in San Carlos. Very friendly and knowledgeable.
  
• I'm glad I got the 2-battery version. Giant makes a cheaper and lighter 1-battery version, but I've had a battery run out of juice on half of my rides, and being able to flip to the fully charged backup battery is a huge relief. The thought of biking up the 92 pedestrian path on my 60+ pound monster with no electric assistance brings tears to my eyes. :-)
• The saddle bags are useful but you need to pack carefully. The built-in saddle bags are really designed to protect the battery packs. But you can get a change of clothes and your lunch into them if you pack carefully. I've been wearing a backpack to carry stuff that won't fit (like my laptop), but am investigating ways to mount something on top of the racks to get the weight off my back and prevent the sweaty back phenomenon.
  

OK, more later. Leave questions in the comments if you have them.

New job -- and a new ride

So I started a brand new job today (very exciting) -- and even managed bike to and from the office (very sore but personally gratifying).

Some factoids about my new job and my new ride:

• Brand new job: Andreessen Horowitz Fund
• Brand new office: 2875 Sand Hill Road
• As psi points out, it may be outright illegal for a venture capitalist not to occupy a Sand Hill address.  :-)
  
• Total commute length: between 12-13 miles (Google Maps guesstimate until I get a bike computer)
• Furthest I've ever gone on a bike in 1 day: true
• Total commute time: about an hour each way
• Commute route: Home > Canada Road > Whiskey Hill > Sand Hill Road
• Commute vehicle: Giant Twist Freedom DX electric bike (more on this in a later post)
• Weather: just about perfect: cloudy and low 70s on the way in, sunny and mid-70s on the way back
• Number of bikers I passed: 2
• Number of bikers who passed me on their non-electric road bikes: 5
• To the bikers who politely passed me: keep riding -- you are inspirational!
• Must get my RPMs up   :-)
  
• Number of joggers who passed me: 0, thankfully
• Muscles that are most sore: thighs, calves, butt, and my right arm (from dragging my beast of a bike up the stairs at work)
• Calories burned: 1,354 says this calculator
• Primary motivation: get in shape
• Other motivations: see cool sights, reduce carbon footprint (though given my trusty Prius gets nearly 55 mpg on the trip to/from work, this is pretty marginal)
  

Speaking of cool sights, here are some I saw today:

• A black limo following an older Indian gentleman on his bike (a foreign dignitary? a Silicon Valley entrepreneur with a backup crew?)
• A house right on the banks of the Crystal Spring reservoir -- wonder who lives there?
• The Pulgas Water Temple
• Various entrances to Filoli
• A horse park
  

Strangely, they're closing Canada Road this Thurs, Fri and Monday, so I'm going to try and bike in Tuesday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for more on the bike commute saga. And on the new job.

Ciao for now, must go nurse my legs. :-)