Ride to Provide on an e-bike

24 Feb 2023

Hands Across the Water offers e-bikes for our rides, such as the January 800km Ride to Provide. An electric bike, or ebike, is a bicycle equipped with an electric bike motor to assist you when you're pedalling. The motor will get its power from a rechargeable battery mounted on the bike. 

If you are considering an e-bike, have a read from some of our recent Ride to Provide riders and their experience using an e-bike on the Ride to Provide Gulf of Thailand Ride 2023.

From Kathy Lakeland – RTP 2023 Rider

(Kathy riding in the striped socks on an e-bike)

I went into the ride very apprehensive about my choice to ride an e-bike for a number of reasons - was it cheating? Would it really make a difference? would it take away from my experience having already ridden 6 rides without an e-bike? I couldn't have been more wrong, and was so grateful I booked one!

Having had a tough lead up into the ride from a health perspective the e-bike was a game changer and I can honestly say I could not have done the ride, let alone enjoyed it, without the e-bike.

My reservations about it 'cheating' also couldn't be further from the truth, and was probably based on my zero knowledge of how an e-bike works. You still have to pedal and use gears, you still have to give some push in the legs up steep hills and you still need to sit in the saddle! It just makes it easier on climbs (or "undulations") and into headwinds, which was so good on long hot days. When the body wasn't feeling great it also enabled you to reduce your energy output and maintain the momentum and speed on the bike.

As far as taking away from the experience - the complete opposite! I enjoyed the places and people around me so much more. What I also really liked is that on tough long days into a headwind you could actually use the e-bike to help other riders - by using the same amount of energy and cranking up the e-bike mode it allowed other riders to tuck in and draught behind - a win win!!

I would 150% recommend an e-bike.

 

From Carol Spence - RTP 2023 Rider

(Carol on her turn riding the e-bike)

Yes, the e-bike was a godsend some days. We shared the e-bike between three of us, myself, Sally and George, although George hardly used it (he wanted to ride the normal bike for as long as he could). However, he has decided that any future rides will definitely be on an e-bike.

Sally and I shared the bike most days...some days one of us had it all day, other days we would alternate morning or afternoon. I started the ride unwell, so it definitely helped me for the first two days, as without it I probably would have had to spend time in the van. By the time I was feeling better, Sally was tiring on the hills and not wanting to be slowing the group down, and I was stronger on the hills, so we would swap. One day another rider was really struggling, so we gave the e-bike to her, which she really appreciated.

I think for a difficult ride like this one, had there been a few e-bikes available, they would have been snapped up, and in the future I think you will find there will be many people taking up the option. For the Home Hug ride next year, I will definitely have an e-bike if it's available. I have done this ride a couple of times and I know it’s a fairly easy ride, but I’m over 70 now and I really just want to enjoy the experience and look at the scenery along the way without having to push myself so hard. And I know by having an e-bike I will be able to do this.

So, in conclusion,.....George, Sally, and I all thought the e-bike was absolutely fantastic and made the ride way more enjoyable.

Now that you know more about e-bikes, if you're interested in riding on an e-bike with us in 2024, we only have a limited number of these bikes available, so sign up early to secure your e-bike!

Sign up for Ride to Provide Home Hug Ride 2024!

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