Cugel

I'm an ex-racing. ex-club cyclist of many years with a wife who was a runner but now cycles and swims instead, to avoid the damage to the body that running can do in later life. I no longer go racing or club riding because we moved to a location where there are no races and no club of a suitable kind for me. We also decided, as part of the move, to have a change of lifestyle, to a more leisured way of doing exercise, as part of a wider enjoyment of the beautiful new area (in West Wales) we've moved to. It's made for cycling (if you're fit or want to be). Very light traffic; considerate drivers; a zillion miles of yellow roads going through the most beautiful places. The ladywife is fit but not nearly as much as I am at cycling. It's new to her and I've been superfit for cycling for decades. Although I can (and do) avoid going out with her to have a mock race, it is more pleasant for me (and her) if we can both make an effort (for the fitness bit) yet ride together. An electric bike for her was the answer as it brings "her" power up to mine. After much research and trying-out, she bought a racey-style model: A Focus Paralane2 with a Fazua Evation motor system. This looks and rides like a non-electric bike but allows her to go just as fast as me up the hills, which is what West Wales is made of. We have some excellent rides, side-by-side or otherwise together rather than me up the road waiting for her to catch up (which is what inevitably happens if she goes out with me on an ordinary bike). The Paralane2 is of the e-bike type that demands the rider put in effort before it awards e-help. The harder you pedal, the more it will add to your own power, detected via strain gauges in it's BB gearbox. The less you thrust, the less help you get. For riders wanting to use an e-bike for fitness as well as just going about, this is ideal. She's already much fitter au-naturale on a bike than when she began regular cycling some 6 months ago. Perhaps I'll persuade her to leave the Paralane2's motor and battery behind, at some point in the future, to see how she goes without the help. Perhaps she'll drop me?