First Ride!

The Genesis 500 is a folding bike, so getting it home from the store was easy, even in my small car. One center joint, and it folds in half. I had help loading it, which is good because it is heavy. The battery sits on the back carrier, and it's part of what makes the bike heavy, along with the motor. I will have to see if I can lift it in myself - and also investigate how easy it is to take the battery off for loading.

I was so excited when I got home that I could only skim the first part of the manual. Once I found that the battery had already been charged at the store, all I wanted to do was take it for a ride! Forget adjusting it to fit me; forget safety check, just go. I am NOT recommending that! I did it check that the brakes worked. :) And off I went.

The day was not only cold - about 29 degrees - but also windy. I wore a winter coat and winter gloves and was fine. Cumbersome, yes, but worth it.

I have a short loop near my house that avoids most of the hills, and I decided to try that first, because I used to ride it on a normal bike, and I know how it feels. Within a block I felt the effects of little exercise, and that first response from my body: "Wait, we're going to do what?!" But I went on, and by the third block came the first hill. Time to try out a little power!

The battery has a key, and you turn it to the "on" position before heading out. Then, when you want power, you push a red button that looks like the ones in movies - red, square, the one that drops the bomb, the one that causes dramatic music to play whenever the camera focuses on it. So I pushed it, feeling the drama of unleashing all the power in my electric battery! I turned the throttle, and zoom! My hill became as easy as a plain. I do believe I love this bike!

I didn't realize it at first, but once you have pushed the red button, you can just leave it on for the ride. Its purpose is to disengage the throttle while you get onto the bike. If you're holding the handle bars while you swing your let over, you might accidentally twist the throttle and zoooom - you bike takes off before you're all the way on.

It was glorious to be out, cold and all. I was delighted to see my first robin of spring - actually about 30 of them. A whole flock were hunting worms on the median on Regent Street.

When I got back, my husband came out to admire the bike in more detail, and pointed out a few things I should probably have checked before riding. So we filled the tires to the correct pressure, turned the front reflector so that it actually faced the front, and adjusted the front brake to the correct tension. Ahem. At least now I'm really set for my next ride.