Electric Bike Range

While I was living in DC without a car, I bought an electric bike. A 2015 iZip ProTour.
An electric bike has been one of the best purchases I have ever made.

Nothing particularly special about this model. I think it cost me around $3000. It came with racks and lights. Had decent city tires for me and my cargo. 500W motor. Pedal-assist (no throttle). Assist limited to 28mph. I think that I have around 4000 miles on it by now. Depending on how much assist I would use, I could get 40-45ish miles on the flat trails and streets around DC with a full charge. After a couple years in DC and NM, the battery began losing some of its life, so I had it rebuilt in July 2019.

Since coming back to NM, I have been asked many times about its range--particularly in our hilly terrain. I use it around town and to work since the hill back to my house is substantial.

The Road Home. 1km long, 100m climbing.

But could it be used for longer rides and hills? I decided to test the range of my 5 year old bike in some less than ideal conditions.

• I know from experience that a 50+ pound bike is no fun to pedal once the battery goes dead. So I decided to use a long uphill grade as the test location so that when the battery dies, I could coast back to the truck.
• Battery performance is very much affected by temperature. I waited for a nice morning where the temperature would be 60 degrees or higher (it was 64 when I started). I also wanted the wind to be relatively calm.
• I started at the Tsankawi parking lot and rode up the Truck Route (West-bound on East Jemez Road) as far as I could
• I did not ride particularly hard. I just went out for a nice ride. I wanted to simulate someone riding from White Rock up to LA for lunch or dentist or bank--use the bike for transportation not necessarily for exercise.
• I did periodic checks of remaining battery life (recorded below)
• I tried to keep 11-12mph on the flatter sections, 10mph on the moderate climb portions, and 9mph on the steeper climbing sections

So what is the Full-to-Dead Range?

The short answer is that the bike took me further than I expected. From the base of the Truck Route, all the way up to the bottom of the Townsite Lift at Pajarito Mountain. Only 10 miles of distance, but nearly 1/2 mile of climbing.
I expect that it could make a round trip from my house to White Rock and back on one charge. Could it do the big loop? Not so sure about that. It would be pretty close.
With all the hills we have, I will certainly consider having regenerative braking on my next eBike.

But let's take a look at the entire ride in more detail

I decided to break the ride up into segments that I could measure and evaluate separately.

• Truck Route light to where the west-bound (uphill) lane splits into two
• Truck Route lane split to the entrance of LANSCE
• LANSCE to the LA County Eco Station
• Eco Station to the Ski Hill turn off
• Ski Hill turn off to wherever it died.

I parked at Tsankawi and started the ride at the light. This is what the bike computer thought is the range (in miles) at each power setting with a full battery. I found in DC that for flat, no wind, good tires, decent gear and speed, these numbers were not too far off, but a little optimistic.

Segment 1: Truck Route light to the lane split

Segment 2: Truck Route lane split to the entrance of LANSCE

Segment 3: Truck Route LANSCE to the LA County Eco Station

 Segment 4: Truck Route Eco Station to Ski Hill turnoff

 Segment 5: Ski Hill turnoff to Battery Dead

 At this point, I was pretty surprised that the battery got me here. So I kept going. The battery was just about to give out by the time I got to the small parking area at the base of the Townsite Lift.

Traveling Somewhere

Since I travel quite a lot, I often get asked if I have been certain places. UP, have you been to Memphis? Tokyo? Belize? Turns out there is no simple answer to that question.

• Does it count to just be at the airport? 
• or train station? 
• or driven through without stopping?
• Do you have to stay 24 hours?
• What about having a meal?
• Can it count if I just breathe the air?
• Do I have to stay overnight?

Seems like there are almost as many rule sets as there are travelers. Here are the ones I have been using for my own travels.

• You must leave the grounds of the port of entry
• Just passing through the airport does NOT count (so no Belize City or Memphis for me)
• You must leave the airport (or train station, port, or bus depot) grounds
• Getting your passport stamped at immigration is not sufficient if you do not leave the grounds
• If you are driving, you need to stop, put your feet down, and breathe the air
• You must interact with the local economy
• Buy a meal, ride the subway, have a beer
• Exchange money into local currency and use it
• Stay overnight
• Somehow record your visit
• Take photographs 
• Find and sign a geocache
• Collect Ingress or Pokemon stops
• There is no time requirement for having visited

How does this work in reality?

I flew through Belize City once on my way to Honduras. I did not leave the grounds of the airport, did not get my passport stamped, did not count that as a visit.

I had a long layover in Seoul on my way to Hanoi. I took the train into the city, had breakfast, had some handicraft made for my brother, went ice skating at City Hall, had lunch, train back to the airport. I certainly count that as a visit. I had a similar experience at Narita in Japan on the way home on that trip--except a temple visit instead of ice skating.

I am sill undecided about Slovakia. I have twice cruised down the Danube past Bratislava and the lovely countryside. I took pictures, I drank and ate, I breathed the air, I got an Ingress stop, but I did not set foot on the ground there. Since the river is not a border river there, I am tempted to count it. On the other hand, I did not leave the port, I stayed on the boat. I have provisionally counted it; but it is still under review.

Anyone else have any other criteria to establish Being There?

DC Bucket List

So I have been in DC nearly full time for seven months now.

I really am not at all a list maker, but I figure that it is about time to make a list of things I want to do while I am here so that I don't get to the end of my time and wonder why I have not done this or that. I expect that this list will be dynamic--at least I hope so. I am curious what has been on other people's lists that you forgot of missed out on. Or what you have seen and loved and should not be missed.

In DC
Attend the DC State Fair  12 Sep 2015
Tour the West Wing   19 Mar 2016
Go bowling at the White House 11 April 2016
Take in the 4th of July on the National Mall 04 July 2016
Attend Supreme Court Arguments
Check out books and use the reading room at the Library of Congress
Go to the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms  21 Jan 2016
Take a pleasure cruise on the Potomac
Fly a helicopter over the city Security rules say no. Bummer.
Have a drink with Abe   25 Jan 2016 during Snowzilla
Go to a party at an embassy
Ride through all the DC Metro stations
Average one BikeShare bike ride per day for a year 10 Sep 2016 345 in 300 DC days
See the cherry blossoms 20 Mar 2016


Music & Arts
Attend an event at the Kennedy Center  14 Oct 2015 Organ recital
Hear the Netherlands Carillon 02 Jul 2016
Go to the National Symphony or Opera
See performance at Folger Library 28 Feb 2017
Listen to the Netherlands Carillon 03 July 2016

Sports
Attend a Capitals hockey game  07 Feb 2016 vs the Flyers
Go to a Nationals game vs either Brewers or Twins

See a DC United match

Get into a Georgetown basketball game

Outside DC
Take the train to NYC   14 Jan 2016
Drive through Shenandoah
Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway
Visit Gettysburg
Travel on some foreign delegation June 2016 to Central Africa


I decided to not list all the Smithsonian museums.
I also did not list the US Capitol since I spend plenty of time there already.

Last Week I Had A Car

Last week I had a car. 

That, in and of itself, is nothing special. Except that for the past four months I have been living in DC without one. Walking. And biking. And Metro-ing. And rarely catching rides.

While having the car was productive, I was happy to give it back. Really happy. Don’t get me wrong, having a car in the city allows me to get everything I need done. I can get to big box stores. I can get to the military installations. I can get anywhere I need.

But after 400 miles of driving I realized that from the safety and comfort of the rolling steel cage, DC looks just like Oak Park IL, and White Bear Lake MN, and Peoria AZ, and Stamford CT, and any number of other metroplexes. The highways and roads are just the interconnecting tubes of a large urban human habitrail. I can get where I need, but where to park? Toll roads? I felt utterly disconnected from the world around me.

What the car really did was point out to me that I have really enjoyed the walking and the biking. Being part of my surroundings. Hearing the compressors running for the Whole Foods refrigerators. Smelling the garlic and harrissa at the Lebanese place. Watching the tourists meandering on King Street. Feeling the bumps on the roads and trails on the Bikeshare bikes. There is an intimate connection to my neighborhood that is missing when I strap myself in the driver’s seat. I missed that. I was glad to have it back.

I don’t know that I can really live in the big city completely without a car, but I am not sure that having a car would at all increase my happiness or satisfaction. If I stayed in DC long enough, I might need to have one for real. I would likely get music gigs that would be off the metro lines and likely after hours. There are some purchases that are just not realistic to carry on bikes. Sometimes the weather really does suck and I turn into a wuss. My daily life can certainly be done car-free however. Uber, taxi, and occasional rentals can fill some of those gaps.

I could see that having a car would allow for more freedom to explore. See friends and family in VA. Go to Gettysburg, Williamsburg, or the Blue Ridge Parkway. Get lost on the back roads in West Virginia. Trek down to the shore of Chesapeake Bay or the Outer Banks. But surely I can accept the cost of a weekend rental for those times? Isn’t that far better than having a vehicle sitting in the parking garage 95% of the time? Would I turn into the hamster in the habitrail if I had a car full-time? Perhaps I would. There sure is ease and comfort and convenience in it.

But for now, I am enjoying the return to my walking. And biking. And Metro-ing. And rarely catching rides.

Black Bean Hummus

I found that I had too many cans of beans. I like beans--don't get me wrong. But it appears that for a while, each trip to the store resulted in two more cans showing up in my pantry. I must have thought that I didn't have any at the house. Or maybe I am just getting old and forgetful. In any case, I decided I need to do something with them.

I have been experimenting with chickpea hummus recipes but have not found one yet that I like that gives me the nice smooth texture I can get at the store. If I do I will certainly post it here. But I thought that I could probably do something similar with black beans. This one you can control the texture with the amount of processing you do, but I think it will always be a bit chunky.

I love the smoky taste of chipotle and think it works great with black beans. I usually keep single peppers with adobo on the freezer (take them out of the can and freeze them in ice cube trays then store in ziptop bags) so I nearly always have them on hand. Ground chipotle can be a good substitute (you can get from Penzey's), or regular chile powder could work but would taste a bit different.

This is very good on top of eggs for a twist on huevos rancheros. The yogurt adds a nice creaminess to it. The Greek style is not mandatory, but the firmness of it will keep the mixture from being too runny. You could certainly also leave that out if you would like. Or maybe silken tofu could work. I bet you could also cream avocado in the mix, but I have not tried that.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Hummus

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T.  olive oil
1  lime, juiced
1/4 c.  salsa
1/4 c.  Greek style yogurt
1 clove garlic smashed or finely chopped
1/4 onion chopped (red or sweet work well for this)
2  chipotles chopped (or 2 t. ground chipotle)
1 tsp. adobo sauce if using canned chipotle
        (or leave out if using ground chipotle)
2 t.  cumin
1 t.  kosher salt
1 t.  oregano
1 t.  dried cilantro (or use 1 T. fresh chopped if you have it)

Put it all in a food processor and whir until smooth. Put in the fridge for 30-60 minutes for the best flavors to develop. Serve with chips, veggies, pita crisps, or crackers. Top with fresh chopped cilantro or chopped avocado.

Ranch Dressing

It all started in 1954 at a dude ranch outside Santa Barbara. The owners (the Hensons) apparently were best known for their salad dressing, started selling the powdered mix to take home. It got big enough that they sold off to Clorox in 1972 and the rest is history.

One might wonder how kids ate their vegetables before we had ranch in a bottle. Or perhaps we would have to be reminded that buffalo wings first came with blue cheese dressing. We could even try to figure out how things could be different for Homer Simpson when he famously dreamed "I grow weary of your sexually suggestive dancing, Bring me my ranch dressing hose!"

Since the dried mix can also be used as flavoring for sturdier chip dips, let's talk about dip bases. Traditionally chip dips start with a mix of sour cream and mayo, often 50:50, I have tended to use 2:1 sour cream to mayo for most of mine. Recently I have gone to mixing equal parts sour cream, plain yogurt (don't use any flavored ones including vanilla), and mayo. I have also used cottage cheese with the curds mashed up. Some folks even blend down silken tofu. I don't think it really matters all that much. Any mixture can be modified to suit your taste or your comfort with fat-based products. A good discussion of dip bases can be found here.

So here is my version of of the Ranch Dressing Mix. The saltines are added, I believe, as a bit of a thickening agent with something that has already been cooked. I found that version on other recipe sites and it worked so I stayed with it. Of course now that you have the mix, you can decide to make as little or as much as you want. I think this recipe scales pretty well.

Ranch Dressing Mix

8  saltines finely crushed or processed
1 c.  dry parsley
1/4 c.  dried minced onion
1 T.  dried dill
2 T.  onion salt
2 T.  onion powder
2 T.  garlic salt
2 T.  garlic powder
1 t.  black pepper
1 t.  dried chives (optional, but I like them in here)
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried thyme

Whir all together in processor or blender. Store in airtight container.

Dip
2 T.  Ranch Dressing Mix
1 c.  sour cream
1/2 c.  mayo

Dressing
2 T.  Ranch Dressing Mix
1 c.  sour cream (or the original uses mayo, or use a mix)
1/4 c.  milk (buttermilk if you want) add more or less depending on the consistency you like

Blend together and let flavors sit for an hour or longer if you can. Either should be good in the fridge for a week or so. If you want to make less, just cut the recipe in half.


Of course, now that you have the basic mix, you can make a variety of other versions of the iconic taste.

• Add bacon. Yes, just do it.
• Once made, add some salsa to smooth it out, add a little more flavor, and turn it pink
• Blend in some avocado and 1/2 t. cilantro and maybe a little cumin as well
• Add 1t. ground chipotle to the 2 T. mix for some smokey spice
• Hand crush 1 t. peppercorns (mixed would be great) and add for a cracked peppercorn ranch
• What about 1/2-1 t. of wasabi powder and maybe a splash of soy sauce for a far east flavor?

 Enjoy!

UnclePhool BBQ Sauce

It is once again summer. Time for cooking outdoors over the open flame.

BBQ sauce is one of those areas of cooking that sparks much debate and contest. Heck, even the mention of USING a sauce gets some folks dander up. I happen to like good sauces.

There are, of course, several different types of BBQ sauce; Carolina Mustard, Memphis, Texas; but I am partial to the tomato-based ones from Kansas City. Thick, spicy, sweet, tangy. I worked for a couple years making a few different versions that I liked. But they take time and have a ton of ingredients. So I decided to try and come up with a simple to make sauce that even my father could consistently get right.

This one is made in 20 minutes in a single pan. You should already have the ingredients in your pantry (except the chipotle--get some from Penzey's). Very easy and freezes great in small cups. Works on chicken, pork, brats, pulled pork, brisket, elk, yak, even deviled eggs. Works well either cold or warmed up a bit. Just remember to put it on at the end of or after cooking. This, like most sauces, is not well suited for the actual cooking process.

UnclePhool BBQ Sauce

1 cup  ketchup

1/2 c.  water

1/4 c.  apple cider vinegar

1/4 c.  brown sugar

2 T.    olive oil

2 T.    paprika (smoked is nice)

1 T.    chile powder (use whatever heat you like)

1 t.    garlic powder

1 t.    ground chipotle (or 1/2 t. cayenne if you can't find)

1 t.    onion powder

1 t.   Worcestershire sauce

1 shot  whiskey

Stir everything together in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Stir. Reduce heat to low and heat another 15 minutes stirring every 2-3 minutes. Refrigerate. Best the next day. Keeps for 2 weeks or so in the fridge. Freezes very well.

This is only a starting point for you to make it your own. Another option:

Add 1t. cumin, 1 T. fresh lime juice, and replace the whiskey with tequila
or
Remove chipotle and add 1 t. mustard powder, 1 T. yellow mustard, and a shot of gin

Enjoy. Have fun. Eat Well.