Shawne Martinez (Shawne Martinez) is a full-time father in southwest Portland. He is good at using bicycles as “food on wheels” volunteers, PBOT yard sign delivery and Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue (PNWSAR) Mountain Coordinator bicycle team.
“If I want to travel once, I must be conservative with the pedal assistant.”-Shawne Martinez
From where we live near the Multnomah/Washington County Line in North Tigard/Southwest Portland, there will be a 40-mile round trip to the east of Portland, an increase of 2,200 feet in altitude. I know this will burden the battery of our electric assisted cargo bike. The cold weather, the weight of the 5-year-old (and her bike) and the steep slope of the southwest hills will test our battery capacity. If I want to charge it once, I must be conservative with the pedal assistant.
For several months, I have been looking for public power outlets for charging opportunities. During long trips, I was a bit “range anxiety”, worried that we might run out of battery power and have to push the bike uphill and get into trouble. Surprisingly, I found that many outdoor outlets have no power. (I carry a 110vac socket tester with me.) Some sockets are locked, others have key switches. I don’t know of any public power outlets near Gateway Green, so we hope to reach the best mileage.
The Shimano control panel on my Bullitt cargo bike shows a starting distance of 93 miles in “Eco” mode. When you use a higher level of pedal assist, the range will decrease. On the “descent” to Willamette, some climbs require the highest level of use for me and the load. I often remember to switch back to power saving mode or “off” mode to save power after being on a steep hill.
We reached Gateway Green with about 50% of the remaining batteries. It sounds good, but most of the climbs are on our way home. I must also remember that at the end of a long journey, I tend to use more electronic assistance.
After the kids have run 20 to 30 laps on the new pump track (the new park is great), it’s time to look back. Knowing that the battery was about to run out, I hardly used the booster until Seywood. I must be exercising! Everything is fine until we hit the “wall”. The climb from the Willamette River to Barbur Blvd is a real devourer. I have completed the same load on an ordinary (non-assisted) cargo bike and almost did it. When I saw the rapid decline in scope, I started to worry about my optimism about going home without stopping.
There are 30 miles left. Then at 20:10. We passed Burlingame Fred Meyer and began to climb to Multnomah Village, and the range of the shells dropped to just a few miles. We will not take it home. I made the administrative decision to turn around and go back to the grocery store.
A previous search of public power sockets revealed a live socket in the electric shopping cart charging area near Fred Meyer’s front door. We locked it on the bike rack, removed the battery from the bike, and drove in.
We plugged in and started charging. I slipped into the second set of doors and caught the first thing I saw: a bag of oranges. With one eye on our battery, we hit the self-checkout and “paid” for a few cents of electricity. Charging for 15 minutes seems to be a large amount. I unplugged and put the battery back on the bike.
The display now shows a range of 8 miles. Is it enough? We have not only the uphill road to Multnomah village, but also the Capitol Highway to Taylors Ferry and the following mountains (southwest!). When we left, we sprinkled fresh oranges on our lips for the best.
Morale changed quickly because the range inevitably dropped again. 7. 6. 5. Do we have to stop again? The power socket of the Picnic Shelter in Spring Garden Park is locked (why?). Can I rely on our muscle strength to go home? The range was 4 miles, now it is 3 miles. It stayed at 3 miles for a long time (not sure if it was a computer failure or the help of the bicycle god), but we passed the muddy shoulder of the Congress Highway and headed for the narrow path on the Thales Ferry.
The motor keeps pushing us over the last hillside near Dickinson Park, even if the range is zero. Like the setting sun, we sailed along the rest of the road. Finished test. mission completed. 39 miles, 5 hours and 20 minutes of riding time, one battery.
This ride is a test of a specific bicycle setting with the load we usually use. I found that a single charge (or single battery) is not enough to get us back to Gateway Green and back. Electric bike charging infrastructure will help you greatly. I can also buy another battery (but the price may be high). Maybe we can unlock some external stores and let people charge their devices and vehicles? A few cents of electricity can make you ride a bicycle for a long way.
For more information on the bicycle charging infrastructure in Gateway Green and other public places, see this post in the BikePortland forum.
— Shawne Martinez, @RescueEwe on Twitter. — Deliver our headlines to your inbox. -Support the independent community media through a one-time donation or monthly subscription.
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We have a modified Bullitt car with a Bafang BBSHD and a 14.5 AH 48V battery, which drove more than 50 miles in the simplest mode of smooth driving. It seems to be the same as your experience. continue
Well done! Did you put Bullitt on the pump track? Of course, it would be great if you could lock the bike and ride the largest north, but no one would try his luck on that rig. Are there any EV charging stations that provide metered 110v sockets, adapters or low power charging modes?
I think the lack of safe parking spaces at MAX stations is the real solution to this particular problem. If you can leave the cargo bike in Beaverton, you can take the MAX to the Gateway and enter the park from there.
The variable cost of electricity consumed for charging an electric bike is not worth the cost of the instrument. This has nothing to do with the consumption of kilowatt-hours, but there is a 24/7 120v real-time socket, which will attract unnecessary loitering and unreasonable actions. For example, people charge the mobile phone of the burner to steal the OfferUp on the department store WiFi. The stolen items, charged their Sawzall, parked them, the RV was facing it and running the space heater. Things like that.
They say that insurance costs help eliminate troublemakers. A reasonable cost per use, such as “customer use only”, is a very effective deterrent.
Gabriel Park will be a great place similar to Gateway Green. Has New York City expressed interest in adding pump roads around town? Other places I can think of:
Gabriel would be the perfect choice, but neighbors near Gabriel may be as interested in other people using “their” park as neighbors using Riverview. I used to ride on the trails in Marshall, Maricara and Riverview areas to confuse riding and avoid cars and sidewalks. Now, all these areas are posted with “no riding” signs, and I don’t ride them. Sadly, almost no one uses these parks, so it doesn’t matter what the “conflict” between users is, it’s just that the locals want a private park, and Portland Park prohibits the use of bicycles on the turf. Interesting side note: Gabriel held motocross races in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
PB is a natural park, so it is unlikely there. How about upgrading to Ventura Park Pumpway? Then, the RC crowd can take over and maintain the dirt pump driveway.
This is the first time I participated in a cross-country motorcycle race in Gabriel Park. This could be 1991 or 1992! I forgot until now!
I know it’s a good climb. For electric bicycles, this is a good reason, because it will be challenging to climb that mountain on a bicycle every day. Therefore, I know the sinking feeling of seeing the rapid drop of the rangefinder.
I find that the bicycle manufacturer’s driving range estimates are too optimistic. Although, Bosch has a very accurate range calculator. Therefore, although you may not have or are considering buying a Bosch system, this will give you a clear idea of what factors will limit your scope of use.
The “legitimacy” of hills is zero. There is nothing more humorous than running out of batteries. Damn funny, thanks!
Of course, if you dress like Lycra sausage and want to lose weight, then the hill is a lark.
However, under the condition of all-weather for 52 weeks every year, there are two two cars every day, and the round trip is 20 miles. Tell me you have to ride a bicycle on an 800-foot mountain every day, instead of driving at least once.
This is why I purchased my Class 1 ebike. For me, it was a 25-mile journey, requiring significant climbing in all directions between the west and the city. I went from cycling to and from get off work once a week to nearly 100%. A complete game changer can save time instead of riding a bicycle (while driving), and my own physical strength has not been completely consumed.
“The electrical outlets in the Spring Garden Park Picnic Shelter are locked (why?).” I can see why people live in the wealthy and safe Southwest Hill. Many fast-food restaurants have provided customers with free phone charging sockets from counters and lounge seats in many areas of Portland, except in unusually affluent areas like yours. In the affluent suburbs, without an effective police department, you can attract good customers and attract good customers. The trolley charging outlets have been converted to non-standard outlets on the Interstate/Lombard Fred Meyer Interstate, which is most likely due to wandering issues caused by non-customers.
In Lake Oswego (Lake Oswego), fast access to outlets and fast WiFi may win over competitors’ ideal customers. If you talk nonsense, the police will be called immediately and deal with it. In Portland, such amenities attract people whose usage is inconsistent with the expected cost of each passenger per minute, and some of them behave in ways that may cause complaints from other paying customers.
For reference only, if you think college students are more affluent, then you are missing the point. Of course, college students have the privilege of education, but they are not rich. Many students graduated from college with debts. The opposite of wealth. I don’t know the per capita population in the southwest mountainous area. I know there are many people in Multnomah Village and Hillsdale. You confuse the part of the skyline of the mountainous southwest with this area, which is not rich.
Many owners of SWNI neighborhoods are very flexible and often participate in voice and politics, so they tend to talk less nonsense.
“The use of the Sears Armory as a temporary home for the homeless was discussed in detail. MNA realized that all citizens are concerned about the homeless.” Regarding the Sears Armory, it was a temporary shelter at the time. Shelter for the homeless. Oh boy, are the members of Multnomah Village ballistic about this matter?
In the minutes of the February 2016 meeting of the privileged Collins View Community (CVNA), “Get the license plate of a stupid car. If they live nearby or nearby, Officer Casper will knock on the door to discuss the issue with them.” We I can only dream of a driver who performs poorly to cyclists doing this kind of thing. This VIP treatment is called class privilege.
It would be cool if Gateway Green had some bicycle lockers to lock your e-bike and safely charge it, but based on our response when we tried to power the bicycle polo from the city, I doubt it exists.
Many years ago, there were power outlets at the MAX station below the bus map board. But those days are gone https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2013/10/trimet_covers_not-so-hidden_po.html
“At the same time, Altstadt said that using the platform for non-transportation purposes also violates the TriMet Code. “We see people entering the platform just to use the outlets. ”
This is the last sentence, which almost sums up the cause of its demise. Keeping paying attention to fare payment customers may not be their biggest concern, but this may be an “unnecessary person” activity (people on the platform were not involved in the transit use of legal fares at the time)
It seemed that power-hungry smartphones kept people charging them. Maybe before these become the norm, finding a place for charging is not much use? I remember observing the drivers when Max was reading…light it up a few years later…and then the smartphone.
Providing WiFi in public places that do not require formal registration can cause public nuisance. It makes it more difficult to get a mobile phone and is similar to getting a bank account. It will partially solve the power theft problem associated with homeless people.
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Post time: Dec-04-2020