Cycling with Electric Assist

Despite the ravages of aging (I'm nearly 80), I've continued to cycle.

Look at my progression of bicycles! The first bike I owned was a 1956 Raleigh 3-Speed. It was purchased at Macy's (my Uncle Harry worked there and got us a discount). We took it home on the subway. In 1987 I got a Mountain Bike. That was replaced in 1990 by a Long-Wheelbase Recumbent, then a 1996 Folding Bike Friday. By 2014 it became difficult to lift my leg high, so I switched to a Shwinn Girl's Bike.

In 2014, after several falls due to balance issues from Parkinson's disease, I had to go to 3-wheels, a Catrike Recumbent Tricycle. Now, to help me keep up with my bicycling buddies, I've gone to an Electric Assist Motor on my Catrike!

Our local Villages Cycles did a fine job installing an Electric Bike Outfitters (EBO) Burly kit. As shown above, the Controls and Display Units are on my right handlebar, the Rechargeable Battery hangs from the left rear strut, and the Electric Motor is in the rear wheel hub.

Shown above is a close-up of the Battery and Motor. The Battery may be recharged either on the trike, or, with a key, released from the vehicle for charging. The Battery has a capacity of 11 Ampere-Hours which is about 500 watt-hours; The Motor is rated at 350 watts (around 1/2 HP) for continual use, and 800 watts (over 1 HP) peak.

I normally utilize only a small fraction of rated or peak power. Riding 10 to 15 MPH in the relatively flat Florida area where we live requires only about 120 watts (1/6 HP). My efforts on the pedals provide about half the energy required, and the other half is provided by the Electric Assist.

Using Pedal Assist System (PAS) Level 1, I can keep up with my bike buddies. Thus, I can ride for 70 to 80 miles and still have 20% charge to spare!

Shown below is a close-up of the Electric Assist Display and Controls.

The LED Display shows Pedal Assist System Level (from 0 to 5), Battery charge level (in 20% increments), Ambient Temperature, battery voltage, and, (while Electric Assist is operating) Speed. Distance is displayed, but increments only while Electric Assist is operating. Therefore, on my left handlebar, I have a regular speedometer that shows actual speed and distance.

The three Control buttons (UP, CENTER, DOWN) are used, singly and in various combinations, to Turn Electric Assist ON or OFF, Increment or Decrement PAS Level, Turn Backlight On or Off, Change display options, etc.

The PAS is turned on when I pedal above a certain cadence. The wattage is supposed to be based on how fast you turn the pedals, but I've found that, at normal Pedal Cadence, it maxes out at a wattage based on PAS Level. PAS Level 1 supplies about 50-60 watts, Level 2 about 100-110 watts, Level 3 about 200 watts, Level 4 about 300 watts, and Level 5 a terrifying 600 watts!

If either Brake Lever is pressed, the Electric Motor is cut off, a necessary safety feature. When the Brake Levers are released, the Electric Assist resumes instantly.

A Throttle is mounted just below my Gear Shift. When the Electric Assist is ON, I can easily push the Throttle with my wrist and "juice" the Motor to get up to 600 watts, providing a quick start after stopping at an intersection or for handling an uphill such as the ramp into our parking garage.

I use Level 0 (zero assistance) when on long level or downhill stretches. I can keep up with my slower (10 MPH) friends with zero electric assistance, with occasional use of the throttle on short uphills. When riding with my speedier (15 MPH) friends, I tend to use Level 1. Thus, I still get lots of exercise, basically supplying all the pedal energy at lower speeds and about half at higher speeds.

SPECIAL THANKS to my friend Regina Losinger for allowing me to use her tricycle a couple years ago, and for letting me use her electric assist tricycle earlier this year. Those events gave me the motivation and courage to switch to a trike in the first place, and add electric assist in the second. Regina is from the Binghamton, NY area and I know her from the Southern Tier Bike Club I belonged to from 1987 until my wife and I moved to The Villages, FL, in 2003. Regina, I, and some other members of the NY bike club have met yearly at Cape Cod, MA for decades. Our mutual friend John Ruth hosts us at an historic old home in the Chatham area of Cape Cod.  

Ira Glickstein

Are THREE Wheels Better that TWO? My Recumbent Trike!

After many years, and thousands of miles of BI-cycling, I have switched to TRI-cycling! As the image below indicates, I've changed my T-shirt message from "Got Bike?" to "Got Trike!"

MY "CATRIKE" 27-SPEED "VILLAGER" RECUMBENT TRICYCLE
I purchased a used 27-speed recumbent trike from a nice couple in The Villages, had the local Village Cycle shop install a luggage rack, and mounted my laundry basket (for my water aerobics stuff) to the trike with bungee cords. The brand name is Catrike, and, quite fittingly, the model name is Villager.

MY BALANCE PROBLEM DUE TO PARKINSONS DISEASE
I made the decision to quit Bicycling due to a tumble in January (from which my right knee is still a bit stiff) and a second fall in February. Actually, my Bicycle falls started back in 2011, when I fell four times, twice during an otherwise wonderful bike-barge trip in Belgium from Brussels to Bruges.

The following year, 2012, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which is due to insufficient production of Dopamine in the brain. My symptoms include poor balance, tremors, and loss of the sense of smell. I've been taking a medication (Carbidopa/Levodopa) that helps with the tremors, but my balance has declined a bit year by year. Indeed, from 2012 through 2016, I've fallen from my bike once or twice a year, usually when making slow right turns. This despite taking extraordinary care, such as walking intersections and not cycling with large groups. Nevertheless, until this year, I have continued to Bicycle 30-40 miles per week, accompanied by close friends who put up with my antics.

In my younger years, I just hopped aboard and off I went. However, after my second fall this year, I found it increasingly hard to get the bike going. I'd adjust myself on the bike seat, keeping the bike upright with my left foot. Then, I'd put my foot on the right pedal, push it hard to get the bike moving forward, balancing as I tried to raise my left to it's proper place on the left pedal. However, my left foot seemingly "did not want" to leave the ground, and that foot had a heck of a time "finding it's position on the left pedal". It usually took me two or more tries to get going. Very frustrating!

Much easier with the trike!

And, perhaps best of all, my Catrike is MADE IN THE USA (actually right here in Florida!)

SOME BICYCLES I HAVE OWNED AND RIDDEN IN YEARS PAST

My Girl's Bike

Us "Old Dogs" can't raise our legs as high as we used to, so, a few years ago, I switched to a GIRL'S BIKE (images above and below), which is much easier to mount! I purchased it new from WalMart for around $150. Read about it here. Notice the laundry basket for my water aerobics stuff on both my Girl's bike and its predecessor, my fold-up Bike Friday.

I had the great pleasure of riding on my Girl's bike with our granddaughters Samantha and Michaela when they visited in 2015 (image below).

And my bicycling is memorialized for my 70th birthday, in 2009.     

Bike Friday Fold-Up

Here is me doing a bit of "surfing" on my Bike Friday on the hard-packed sand at Daytona Beach, back in 2008. Read more about it here.

By the way, Bike Friday is also MADE IN THE USA (Oregon).

 

Rental Bicycling Adventure in Egypt

Back in 1997, Vi and I visited Egypt, which was quite an adventure. Read about it here.

In Luxor, after our morning escorted tour that included the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut where several dozen tourists were to be mowed down two weeks later, I rented a bike for $5. For an hour I rode around Luxor, all by myself (image below). At one point, to get off the heavily traveled main street, I strayed into a lower-class residential area with dirt streets. I was wearing a hat that had "NY" on it and children called out to me, in English, and said "hello" and "welcome". 

One boy grabbed hold of the rear of the bike and I shouted "La-a" which is "no" in Arabic, but he held on until I shouted "don't touch!" in English. The dirt streets were winding in and out like a rabbit warren with many dead ends. I had trouble finding my way out and back to the main street, but, eventually I did, with no harm done. I felt quite comfortable during that ride.

Two-Wheel LONG Wheelbase Recumbent

Carpal tunnel effects caused my fingers to become numb, so, in 1990, I purchased a LONG-wheelbase Recumbent bicycle. The steering is under the seat, with a multi-link connection to the front wheel, which makes for a a bit of a lag between moving the bar and the wheel actually turning.

(I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on both wrists which is how I was able to go back to an upright bicycle, my Bike Friday, see above.)

Here I am in Ireland riding my Recumbent. 

The story of my trip to Ireland was featured in our local Binghamton newspaper in 1991.

My Mountain Bike

In 1987 I purchased this mountain bike. I joined the wonderful Southern Tier Bicycle Club (THANK YOU AUGIE MUELLER!) and rode with them most Saturdays. I also rode it to and from work a few days a week.

The First Bike I Owned

As a child, my Dad taught me to ride on a bike we rented. He, my Mom, and I would occasionally go out riding on rental bikes. We lived in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, NY and sometimes rode along the Boardwalk between Brighton Beach and Coney Island (allowed early on Sunday mornings when there were few people). Other times, we rode to Sheepshead Bay and along a bike trail to Canarsie.   

In 1956, when I was in high school, my Uncle Harry, who worked at Macy's, arranged the purchase of an Raleigh "English Racer". We took it home on the subway because my Dad did not have a car. 

I rode that bicycle all around our Brighton Beach neighborhood and along the Boardwalk and the Sheepshead bay trail during my high school and college days. (I lived with my parents and younger brother in Brighton Beach and commuted to Brooklyn Technical High School and the City College of New York by subway.) 

I took it with me when I moved out of the house in 1961 to take my first professional job in Norwalk, CT. In 1963 I took my second professional job in North Plainfield, NJ, Although I had a car, I sometimes used that bicycle to go to and from work.  

While working in Connecticut and New Jersey, I pursued my social life in Brooklyn, spending most weekends at my parent's house. I met Violet Stark, my wife-to-be, and taught her to ride a bicycle and drive a car (and we still got married in 1964 :^) 

In 1965, when I got my job at IBM Federal Systems in upstate Owego, NY, we bought a farm in Newark Valley, about 12 miles from work. I gave up bicycling and my ancient Raleigh was left to molder in a corner of a barn. 

In 1978, we moved to Apalachin, which was only 6 miles from work, but I still did not take up cycling. It was not until 1987 when I resurrected my ancient Raleigh (image below) and thought about using it to commute to work. However, it had only three speeds and our house was up a steep hill, so that old bike was not right for the task. Which is why I purchased the mountain bike described above. 

Ira Glickstein

Bernie Stopper

Bernie Stopper passed away yesterday at Hospice in The Villages, FL. He leaves his wife Nonie, daughter Robin, and son Doug, plus an unlimited number of friends from New York (IBM/Lockheed Owego, where he was my second-best manager :^) and Florida (The Villages, where he was my second-best friend and bicycling/kayaking companion :^). He will be missed.

COTTAGE ON CAYUGA LAKE (1997)

Vi and I loved to socialize with him and Nonie. As a manager, he exhibited the very best of traditional IBM ethics and thoughtfulness for his employees, plus unparalleled competence and thoroughness in all aspects of avionics engineering management and business planning. Here in The Villages, he leaves his mark as webmaster for the Village Bicycle Club site and for the "We Bike for Kids" charity, and as a great friend to so many of us.

I've been looking through my photo collection and found several that should be of interest to those of you who knew Bernie.

However, I noticed that, more often than not, it was Bernie who unselfishly took the photos of me and others at interesting events, rather than hog the spotlight.



In 1997, Bernie and Nonie hosted Vi and me at their cottage on Cayuga Lake. Fun, food and friendship was the rule.

BUSINESS TRIP TO ENGLAND (1997)

We stopped at a British Pub on our Business trip to England (with Software Engineer, Sherry  Ives).

London Underground.












CENTRAL FLORIDA RETIREMENT (2008+)

Kayaking in Florida.

Bernie took this photo of me very close to what we originally thought was a fake plastic 8-foor gator.

Well, it turned out to be real.

Read about it here: HERE!











BELGIAN BIKE BARGE BRUSSELS to BRUGES (2011)

In September 2011, Bernie and I (along with Jerry Bauer and other members of the Village Bicycle Club) did a wonderful Belgian Bicycle Barge trip from Brussels to Bruges.

Here, Bernie stands alongside our barge, the "Magnifique". There were about 20 of us, all from our club, plus an attentive crew of four, one of whom guided on our daily cycling trips.

Below, with Jerry and a not-so-private moment in Ghent.

We slept on the barge for a week, eating breakfast each morning and packing a lunch for our bicycle trip to the next port, generally about 30 miles. The cycling included stops at historic and scenic places. We'd meet the barge at the next port, enjoy a great dinner prepared and served by the crew, and repeat the process the following day.

2014

The most recent photo I have of Bernie is from this 2014 visit by Charlie and Sara Porterfield to The Villages, FL.

From Left: Charles and Sara Porterfield, Vi and Ira Glickstein, Lee and Maureen Danielson, BERNIE, Nan and Lloyd Smith.

(Nonie is missing because she took the picture!)



WE WILL MISS YOU BERNIE!

Everyone who knew Bernie, even casually, will miss him. His can-do attitude and helpfulness was positively contagious.

I, especially, will miss him. Until several months ago, Bernie was a stronger cyclist than me, even trying to keep up with our friend (and Owego colleague) Garf Cooper. Yet, he patiently bicycled with me, often two or more times a week. My Parkinson's Disease has taken a toll on my balance, and I often dismount when we have to cross a major intersection or make a sharp turn. It takes me a while to get going again, sometimes walking the bicycle to a level or downhill grade.

Yet, until several months ago, Bernie would show up at Freedom Pointe at 7:20AM on most Tuesdays and cycle up to the Springdale Pool to meet Jerry Bauer and others for our regular cycling tour of the Marion County part of The Villages, and up to the Mulberry Recreation Center pool, where I would do my deep water aerobics. He'd also meet me (and Jerry) at Mulberry at 10am on most Saturdays for our ride to Paneras in the Spanish Plaines Town Center, where we'd meet the "real bicyclists" (who took  more strenuous trips to our common destination) and enjoy coffee and sweet rolls. He'd also join me and a Freedom Pointe friend for our easy 8-mile trip starting around 11am Wednesdays.

Until Vi and I moved to Freedom Pointe, in 2012, I owned a kayak and Bernie and I would regularly paddle with The Villages Canoe and Kayak Club, or do trips on our own.

It was also our pleasure to host Bernie and Nonie for dinner at Freedom Pointe and to join them for meals at local restaurants (especially the "Bang-Bang Shrimp" at Bonefish Grill). We attended meetings of the Village Bicycle Club, the Science-Tech Club, and the Vestal-Apalachin Club.

Every time I walk down the stairs to the Freedom Pointe parking garage where I keep my bicycle, I look for Bernie where he used to wait for me.

Bernie's departure, 

for what I hope and trust
will be

 greener pastures, 

smoother roads 

and even more pleasant rivers and lakes,

 has left a big empty spot 

in my life 

and my heart 

and my soul.

Condolences to Nonie and Robin and Doug and the grandchildren from me and Vi.

Ira Glickstein

My New Wheels - Yes, It Is a Girl's Bike!

Just got a 7-speed Schwinn 700c (27") to replace my Bike Friday fold-up that had a chain slip problem due to worn-out gears.

Like many an "old dog", I can't swing my foot as high as I used to, so I really appreciate the step-thru feature of a girl's bicycle. (Thanks to my good friend Herb for suggesting that I get a girl's bike.) 

My Schwinn is a lovely powder blue (they were out of the pink ones :^).

The new bike was $150 (plus tax) at Walmart, which is only a bit more than it would have cost to replace the gears and chain on my old bike, and I no longer need the folding feature. I gave my old bike to my good friend Garf whose son is in the bicycle business so he can fix it up for someone who wants a fold-up.

I've been riding a fold-up for decades, including a trip to England as well as several places in the US and Canada. The one I discarded was my third Bike Friday, and I will miss it, but I no longer take my bicycle on trips to distant places, so the folding aspect is not of value to me anymore.

At 75 years old, I still do 30-40 miles a week on the relatively flat streets and recreation paths of The Villages, FL, and hope I can keep it up for a few more years at least.

Ira Glickstein

Motivation and PASSION

The photo shows my water aerobics friends (I only wish!)

Joel is having trouble keeping motivated and wonders "is it worth the effort?" (See 1 and 2.)

He writes "I know that Ira's bicycling group ends their ride with a stop at Panera's for coffee, danish and conversation. Is this what gets them on their bikes from a cozy bed on a chilly morning?"

I thought about it while bicycling to water aerobics this past Saturday morning, again at Paneras with my bike club friends, and yet again at Chumach (Bible) Study at the synagogue that morning. Yes, the coffee and snacks are a definite draw, but it is mostly the people, my set schedule, and naps that keep me motivated.

As I turned the pedals, and watched the world go by, "People/Set Schedule/Naps" became "PSSN". That acronym, with the addition of vowels, morphed into "PASSION".

MOTIVATION IS EASY WITH A YOUNG FAMILY

When young, motivation is easier. A close-knit, loving family had high expectations for me. My mom worked at my grandma's knitting shop. I was surrounded by women who doted on me. In those innocent days, it was considered safe even for young children to play outside. I had a nice nap every early afternoon. My dad, a letter-carrier, was up and out on schedule early every morning, but he also came home early and we spent quality time talking, working carpentry projects, and playing.

I walked to school on a set schedule with friends. In those days we had all-day kindergarden that included a noontime nap. The naps ended with first grade, but the set schedule, and a sense of duty to family and teachers went on through high school. I worked part-time at a shoe store and selling ice cream on the beach and in an office during those years and that motivated me to go to college so I could qualfy for non-menial employment.

Work as an engineer was challenging and often involved long hours of (unpaid) overtime and travel, but I was motivated by obligations to wife and children. Again it was the people in my family and at work and in the clubs and synagogue that kept me motivated. My wife and I had a full schedule of work, attendance at our daughter's school events, square dancing, and so on. I had bike and ski and kayak club friends. My employer paid for me to get my Masters and then my PhD and that kept me busy and intellectually alert.

Then, the children went away to college and had families of their own, ... and we retired!

HOW TO KEEP MOTIVATED IN RETIREMENT?

There is a danger of "vegging out" in retirement if you are financially secure. Pension and Social Security checks come regularly, investments grow, and so do your waistlines! There is a temptation to sit and watch mindless TV programs, eat rich food and "enjoy life - you earned it!"

Fortunately, my life before retirement gave me the foundation for the PASSION (People, Activities, Set Schedule, Interests, Optimism, and, eventually Naps) that keep me motivated.

People - Particularly loved ones - your wife and family, but also friends, neighbors, co-workers and other acquaintances.

People are far and away the best motivators. Spouse and family provide a firm foundation. If you show up they have to let you in! Beyond that, what gets me up and out almost every morning are the people who are waiting for me.

As I bicycle down the street, people call out my name and I say theirs. Others nod to me - we don't know names but we shout "good morning!" as I bike and they walk their dogs or jog along. At the sports pool they (mostly women :^) are happy to see me. We exchange pleasantries, ask about travels, and kid around about who can hold his or her legs up higher and longer and so on. No better way to start a day than exercising in a heated pool. (My wife, Vi, goes to some of the same water aerobics classes, but she travels by golf cart, most often with a neighbor.)

If I'm meeting friends for a bike ride we are happy to see each other. Bicycling is probably the best form of transportation ever invented. You go fast enough to get someplace miles away, yet slow enough to talk, enjoy the sights and sounds, and "smell the roses". And, bicycles run on peanut butter sandwiches - "green" energy!

We eat out with other couples, go to parties and entertainment events, and enjoy life. It is my wife and all those other people who make it worthwhile!

Activities - Athletic and otherwise

The key to living a nice long life is to keep moving! It may be "sour grapes" but I don't think strenuous running or competitive sports are good for the body, particularly not an aging body. That is why I do "soft' exercises such as bicycling, water aerobics, kayaking, walking, and so on.

I try to put in at least an hour a day, but, I keep the civil service worker attitude in mind: "I'm paid by the hour, not by the mile!"

Set Schedule - Something to get you up early and out of the house almost every day.

When we retired we thought we were leaving set schedules behind. However, it turned out that our calendar is far more complicated than ever. Without scheduled events it would be so easy to stay in our cozy bed all morning, reading or watching TV, perhaps taking turns preparing breakfast in bed. To help prevent that, our alarm is set for 6:30AM every morning and we have no TV in our bedroom.

My morning schedule is set in stone: get the newspaper, feed the fish in the koi pond, read the paper over a light breakfast, and get outside! Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it is bicycling to regular water aerobics. Tuesdays I lead an easy neighborhood bike ride and end up at a different sports pool for deep-water aerobics. Thursdays I bike with a neighbor to a men's breakfast at Perkins and then to deep-water aerobics. Saturdays it is early deep-water aerobics and then a bike ride to Paneras. After bicycling home, it is into the hot-tub with a cup of ice cream and a magazine. Then, it is time for a nice nap!

The rest of the day is free, except for lunch or dinner with friends, shopping trips, volunteering at the synagogue office Thursday afternons, Friday evening services, and other odds and ends. My wife and I each teach an online grad course for the University of Maryland, so that takes a few hours every other day or so. I also have email to keep up with, my Blogs (The Virtual Philosophy Club, Curb Your Enthusiasm - Fantasy Episodes, 2052-The Hawking Plan, and 2052 Life, Liberty, and Technology), my Google Knols, websites I follow including The Drudge Report, Watts up With That, Reality Prime and several others. There are TV programs I watch regularly, some automatically recorded on our DVR. That keeps me busy and involved!

Interests - Intellectual and otherwise.

My interests are wide and varied. We get lots of magazines, mostly from trading in unusable airline miles. My wife buys me books, in a so far unsuccessful attempt to change my social and political views. (My father taught me to be frugal. therefore, any book or magazine we have paid for, including those from airline miles, and idiotic political screeds, has to be read.)

Optimism - Open outlook welcoming variety.

Take to heart Max Ehrmann's beautiful words of Desiderata "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, ... be on good terms with all persons. ... the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is ... everywhere life is full of heroism. ... Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. ... You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

Naps - Noontime slumbers to refresh body and soul.

This has been a protracted posting. Time for a nice long nap!

Ira Glickstein

le Tour de France and Nuclear Power in France

The high-definition TV coverage of le Tour de France bicycle race on the Versus network is startlingly wonderful. I've been watching it every day. The image to the left shows the routes of the twenty-one stages.

Stage 11, in central France from VATAN to SAINT-FARGEAU ran quite near where I bicycled during a bike-barge trip with a group from The Villages bicycle club back in 2007 . It was great seeing the competitors cycling through two towns our group biked a couple years ago (Pouilly-sur-Loire and Saint-Fargeau).

There seems to be something missing from the TV coverage, however. When we bicycled along the Loire River Valley back in 2007, we often saw the cooling towers of one or two nuclear power plants in the distance.

Indeed, stage 11 of le Tour de France passed near the nuclear power plant at Belleville that I highlighted in this Blog posting.

The lower image shows the many nuclear power plants in France, indicated by stars.

There are many plants quite close to several of le Tour de France stages but I do not remember seeing any of them featured in the TV coverage.

The coverage included aerial images from a helicopter as well as ground-level, and they often described castles and towers and other scenic features. It would be totally appropriate to show a nuclear power plant or two safely generating carbon-free electricity.

Of course, I have not watched every minute of the race and I may have missed an image or two of nuclear power plants. On the other hand it is possible they have purposely ignored the plethora of nuclear power plants which supply some 80% of electric power in France. That is a pity because nuclear power offers a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuel powered plants.

Ther are still several stages to go and I hope Versus will take the time to show the audience how France has exploited "green" nuclear power to great advantage.

Ira Glickstein