Final check ride

Got everything packed and then repacked last night and loaded onto the bike. This morning, I topped off the water (four tall bottles and two, 1/2 gallon jugs at 15 pounds total) and weighed the entire rig. The total is.......169 pounds. 104 of that is the empty bike and of that, 54 pounds of that is the motor and batteries. It sure feels like a loaded touring bike when I am horsing it around prior to getting on. Ungainly. Once I sit my 235 pounds in the saddle, everything smooths out.

On a short, nine mile test ride, I rode with a 13 mph tail wind, then a cross wind both directions and a headwind. The rig was steady as a rock in all settings. Even hitting it hard with a tail wind, there was no frame flex to speak of. My previous tour bike acted like so much spaghetti when I really powered into it.

Looks almost the same as the image seen in the first entry, except the flag is mounted and the two 1/2 gallon water jugs are sitting in their cages.

For those who are interested, this is a view inside the battery box. Two separate 13S 5P battery units of 65 individual cells each. Total of 28.5 Amp hours. The switch at the bottom allows me to change from one battery to the other. The mess of wires on top are the balancing wires that help maintain all the cells at the same charge. The case is made of 1/4" Lexan, except for the divider in the middle, which is 1/8". Of the two Battery Management System boards, one had the balancing wires in a ribbon, and the other, all were loose. Thus the rat's nest of wires on the right hand side.

With that last detail out of the way, all I have to worry about now is not forgetting some minor thing, like lip balm, eye drops, road food or some spending cash. I did remember to install new cleats on my bike sandals.

I am really pleased with the e-assist set up. As of today, I have 2,087 miles on this unit, and so far, no squawks. The wheel assemblies are holding up quite well, as they should. They are a pair of Ryno Lite CR-18 559-26" x 27mm, 36 H rims with Shimano Mountain bike disc hubs I had hand built for my 2015 trip.

According to the weather guessers, tomorrow should bring a 10% chance of thunderboomers after 12 noon, and 40% after dark, with a south wind 7 to 14 mph. Ready or not, crosswinds are in offing for the entire day.

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