Time flies! It’s been a year since I left Beijing. The truth is that I started the project almost without thinking about what I would find. I simply knew that I wanted to prove that electric vehicles are good and reliable. The itinerary, the route to follow, was planned but open at the same time, “if you do not know exactly where are you going, it is impossible to get lost”. And gradually, promoting the project and electric bicycles has been finding an echo in the media around the world and the itinerary has been drawn with the help of friends I’ve made. Read the full article
Very soon; in two weeks, it will be Electric Bicycle World Tour first anniversary!
Yes, yes, already one year on the road showing electric bicycles to people, opening their eyes to this amazing environmentally friendly means of transport that can easily become 100% sustainable, if you charge your batteries with a solar panel as EBWT is doing.
But, sadly, during this year that brings me through 12 countries, I did manage to observe the reality as it is. Nobody seriously cares about the environment.
In countries like China, where there are more than 100 million electric bicycles, the reason to ride them is because they are cheap. Fair enough for a developing country.
Then in developed countries, like Japan or Australia, the star of the show is the car, and I observed that cars are an individual means of transport. You can see people going to buy milk to a supermarket that is not farther than 500m from their homes. Or thousands of people every morning going one per car to work.
If you ask people if they will consider commuting by an electric bicycle instead of by car, they start pointing some reasons why not do it. The main ones, are comfort, social status, the weather… nobody thinks about using an environmentally friendly means of transport that will help you to do some exercise while going to work. Nobody. Also, governments and institutions seem not to be really excited about the idea to promote this means of transport. All EBWT efforts to organize activities with them, end up always with a answer like “we don’t think our citizens will be interested”… Do they really know what the society want?
But once people start realizing that with an electric bicycle you do not need a license, or insurance, or pay parking fees; and that if you add a solar panel to your home or office then you can have a 0 travel cost means of transport… then their eyes start getting open… Go to work, to the supermarket, to the doctor, to visit my friends or out for dinner, while doing exercise and for free? Mmm…
EBWT has decided to stay for another month in Sydney working hard to find new sponsors that can sustain the project financially, and also, together with GloWorm electric bicycles shop, awakening Sydney’s interest for this fantastic means of transport.
The worldwide electric two-wheel vehicle market is expected grow at a compound annual rate of 9% through 2016.
Even before I knew that Pacific Highway exists, different people told me about it’s dangers and it’s bad reputation. Now, after I covered around 1200 km from Brisbane to Sydney mostly through it, I can state my own opinion. Read the full article
Once again a new country, once again meeting new amazing people, once again finding great hospitality, once again looking for media coverage to spread the goals of the project:
To promote the use of alternative transport options that has less negative impact on the planet.
Encourage more people to commute cycling, to move their bodies while going to work, to attend a meeting, to go shopping, to go from one place to another.
EBWT has done 3.500 km in New Zealand since arrived last January. From Christchurch to Auckland and all the way down again, EBWT has been experiencing this amazing country. Â My initial thoughts were: This is the perfect country! But after 2 months riding around my ideas had changed a bit.
Craig Killey lives in wellington and works in an office. Until few months ago, he had never heard about electric bicycles, and neither had in mind to do any exercise. He is 48 years old, smokes, drinks and has a not particularly healthy diet.
Not only Eddie Reader but also Ojos de brujo, Mariem Hassan and Amal Murkus commented during the weekend at one time or another: Everything is possible if one wants and believes in what he does, and that’s one thing beautiful about life.Everyone can participate; do something, any detail helps. Read the full article
Anthony, do you think we will be able to be at a similar level as the other cyclists? Their bikes weights 7 kg and these people go up to 35 to 40 km/h on flat without a problem!
