Electric bike anyone?
This blog entry has been written by Pambo Palas, who used to live around here and now is a frequent visitor to Portugal. Pambo is a skilled mountain bike rider, so taking out the electric bikes for a day was definitely a different experience for him! The bikes were rented from Cycling Rentals in Sintra, a new company here for this business. Here is what Pambo wrote:
Having spent another wonderful week in Sintra, I thought I would
write a post about one of the nicest days I spent there and describe the
experience I had of cycling in the mountain.
This blog entry was written by Pambo Palas |
I had already been talking to my girlfriend Siiri about the prospect
of renting a couple of bikes when, as luck would bring it, we were given the
opportunity to rent not just any bikes, but electric ones! Having recently finished my masters in Mechanical
Engineering, I was not only looking forward to the experience, but I was also
curious about their performance and how they would hold up to the steep, windy
roads of Sintra. And so, on a gorgeous and sunnyApril morning we set off to
collect our bikes and receive our briefing by the very friendly staff who
operate Cycling Rentals in
Sintra.
The bikes looked surprisingly normal – the battery, a mere 4 kg, was
tucked away neatly under a rack above the rear wheel, and a small electric
motor was built seamlessly into the front wheel. Although already quite
intuitive, we were given a very comprehensive description of how to operate the
system (there are 3 levels of assistance), and equipped with a very light
charger (should we have needed to recharge), a map of the surrounding area and
water bottles that were ours to keep!
Incredibly curious I had already set the assistance to the maximum
level and jumped on the bike – the feeling was exhilarating! As I started peddling I felt an incredible force push me forward and I was truly taken aback
with just how effective the electric assistance was. It felt similar to walking
after having been on a gym treadmill for some time – peddling had never felt
easier. Tuning down to a lower level it was still more than enough to make even
the most intimidating gradients seem effortless.
The ride itself was beyond anything words can describe – Sintra is a
heaven of forest, narrow winding roads, breath-taking views and beautiful
buildings. We made our way out of the town and headed towards a few of the
checkpoints we had planned out. The main plan was to make our way up to one of
the highest peaks – Peninha, where an almost 360 degree panorama awaited us,
and then follow the mountain road all the way down to sea-level for a nice
sea-side lunch and beer in Cascais (the town I used to live in). It felt like we saw just about every shade of green on our way up to
Peninha, and the fact that we weren’t struggling with the uphill allowed us to
enjoy the environment all that much more. On one of the more challenging roads,
we also had a funny encounter with three mountain bikers: having noticed them
struggling from a distance, we devised a plan to sneak up to them and zoom past
them with the full help of the electric motor. The execution was flawless – the
almost silent operation of the bikes kept us undetected until the very last moment,
whereby the boost shot us forward. The looks of surprise were priceless and we
heard them yell out “batota” – cheaters, in Portuguese!They were certainly
extremely demoralized!
Siiri enjoying the view from Peninha |
Unfortunately, due to my accident, we decided to stop the trip in
Cascais, as cycling all the way up to Sintra without assistance would have been
too difficult. I called Catherine from Cycling
Rentals, quite embarrassed, to apologize for the damages to the bike and
explain what had happened. I was amazed at how she had taken the news: not only
did she ask me not to worry as long as I was alright, she also offered to drive
down with a van and pick up the bikes – also giving us a ride back up to
Sintra.
Pambo climbing the mountain |
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