I wrote a post in September, when I’d had my ebike for three weeks, showing how much more of the local map I’d cycled in those three weeks compared with the numerous years beforehand on a non-electric bike. I thought three months later was a good time to update!

This was the map in September:

I’ve now cycled about 630 miles on my bike, just over 1000km in fact, and am still absolutely loving it. I’ve been trying to find new lanes to cycle down everytime I go for a ride and this is how far I’ve got now:

I’ve turned the opacity down on the yellow ebike lines so that I can see the routes I use often getting brighter with repeated use. The blue lines are the ones from my non-electric bike, I’ve been over most of the ones I intend to now and I’ll probably switch them off next time I update.

The bike is proving to be pretty solid and puts up with what I throw at it (mud mostly). I wore through a set of disc brake pads pretty speedily, perhaps because I am very cautious on the downhills but I also found the pads were worn very unevely and I think that the piece of road chipping or gravel that I found lodged in the mechanism when I disassembled them was probably the chief culprit. Still, I now know how to replace disc brake pads and learning how to repair things never hurts.

It’s been great to be able to get out and about and enjoy the countryside so much further afield. I’m looking forward to being able to get further when there is more daylight around, I love clear days in autumn and winter but they don’t half vanish fast and I like being able to see the scenery. In 2021 I’m also hoping to be able to do things like stop off at coffee shops again! Buying and using this bike has definitely been one of the high points of 2020, a year that’s been in sore need of a few more good things.

Here’s a picture from my ride on New Year’s Eve 2020, I’m only a couple of miles from home at this point but it’s glorious out there in the sun and the snow. In a year when we haven’t been able to travel anywhere much at all and have spent the vast majority of the year within a small radius of home, it’s been very nice that this is home.