Richard Masoner via Flickr/Creative Commons
This post, by TreeHugger contributor April Streeter, is part of series about trading in your car for a bike for trips that are two miles or less in distance. It originally appeared on our sibling site, TreeHugger. The series is sponsored by the Clif 2-Mile Challenge.
Pedal assist electric bicycles, going no faster than about 15 kilometers per hour, are in my mind a savior of city women everywhere (even if they don't know it yet). In China the e-bike market is varied, rapidly expanding, and testosterone charged. Some of the bastardized pedal-free devices seen on the streets have no right to even be called "e-bikes." Here in the U.S., e-bikes haven't yet caught the attention of the bike-buying public in the same way as they have in Asia. But after six months of riding a Sanyo eneloop I think e-bikes are transportation's best kept secret.
Photo credit April Streeter via flickr courtesy Creative Commons license.
In taking the Clif 2 Mile Challenge, I must admit not every under-2-mile trip was by bike, and my record for logging miles was dismal. Yet I averaged my 17-20 miles weekly easily on my Sanyo eneloop. Here are the top three reasons I believe e-bikes are exactly the right transportation tool for cycle-interested city women.
