Living the electric dream...

Since getting my electric bike - a Moustache Lundi - I have been astonished by the variety of response from both people in the street and my friends. Those who have seen it, and even more so those who have tried it, have been amazed just how much fun it is, how much like an ordinary bike it is, but just... better.

I have been surprised by just how many people have accused me of cheating or being lazy though.

If I was posting times on Strava whilst pretending I was riding an ordinary bike or covering up the battery pack so I could zoom past the “real cyclists” pretending I was doing all the work myself then I suppose I could understand being called a cheat. The fact is that the Moustache bikes (and the Lundi in particular) make absolutely no attempt to not look like an electric bike, to my mind they look more like the old French mobilette scooters than a traditional bicycle.

As far as being lazy goes I suppose there is a grain of truth in that. However, the facts are that I do a job where I have to dress smartly, where I change offices (via a pretty steep hill) in the middle of the day and where I have to drive around visiting people in their own homes. Oh, and whilst doing this I have to lug around a bag which weighs around 15kgs. Added to this is the problem that Jersey is a hilly, windy island where no matter which way I cycle to work I always seem to be facing into a headwind. So yes, I could do that on an ordinary bike but the fact is I don’t. I drive.

Except now I don’t, now I cycle. And with the assistance of my Bosch motor I arrive feeling like I’ve had a nice, moderately paced 30-minute walk, I don’t have to get changed out of my lycra because I haven’t actually broken a sweat so I haven’t felt the need to squeeze myself into sports clothing and I’ve packed as much as I like into my bag because it doesn’t matter, I can carry as much as I like. At the weekends I still go out on my mountain bike so in fact, the Moustache hasn’t replaced my bike, it’s replaced my car

So for anyone doubting whether an electric bike is for them I say, yes, it absolutely is. It has already been life-changing for me and we haven’t even been on the bike tour we’re planning for the summer - me leading out with all our bags and my sportier other-half trailing behind on his “proper” bike.

Electric biking can mean making cycling easier but it can also mean you can do more, and go further than you would have ever imagined . . .