West Lake Bike Ride

Hopped on the bike and took a long trip around West Lake this past weekend.

I detoured myself as I wanted to know what I could get out of my battery. Ran out of power about two miles short on an approximately thirty mile trip. I went full out using the battery on the trip going as fast as I could. That might not have been advisable. I was on the edge of being unsafe. West Lake was crazy busy. Tons of people and tons of cars.

I pedaled hard the entire trip and was feeling pretty exhausted when I ran out of battery. Having the battery assist allows me to get in some excercise while maintaining a speed that I wouldn't be able to attain without the battery. That last two miles was a kick in the shorts without the assist. The lactic acid build up over that last twenty minutes made my legs ache for a solid day.

The first time I made this trip I kept the assist level on five (the top level). Today I kept it on four thinking it would save more of the battery. Didn't seem to matter. Thinking I need to try again and set it on three, but of course that means there's going to have be either more David power or settle for going slower. That's a problem because I feel the need, the need for speed. And no, I still haven't seen the second Top Gun movie. **

Worth noting about this ride. I mentioned that I was on the edge of being unsafe. Drivers here in China don't much care for bike riders. That sounds harsh. It's not that they don't care, but they have a different set of priorities when it comes to right of way. The larger the vehicle the more right they have to the road. Pecking order as follows. Big trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians. I nearly got plastered to the pavement a few times today in situations where I clearly had the right of way, but that's my thought process, not theirs. Lesson learned today. I hope it sticks. I don't want to be road kill.

** Odd note of the day: my good buddy Phil was stationed on the USS Enterprise when they shot footage for use in Too Gun.