A month long road trip might not be that uncommon, but doing it on a bicycle adds a whole new level of adventure.
Fifty-four-year-old Jon Langille hopped on his Pedego Stretch Cargo electric bike in his hometown in British Columbia on Sept. 5 embarking on a 1,553-mile ride that is expected to end in Indio, CA on Oct. 6.
“It was a bit of a spontaneous decision,” said Langille. “I had plans to come down to Southern California anyhow, but I hadn’t really formulated how I was going to do it or exactly what the holiday plan was going to be. My wife and I couldn’t seem to agree. She has limited time that she can get away from work. I have a little more liberty, so almost in frustration one day I said, ‘Well screw it, I’m just going to ride my bike.’ It was a joke at first. The more I thought about it, the more obstacles I removed, the more the idea took traction.”
When his trek is complete Langille will have peddled through Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California. He recently rolled into Avila Beach for an overnight stay.
Langille is an experienced bicyclist who, decades ago, toured Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom by conventional bike. This is his first long-distance ride in more than 30 years.
“I would call myself a lifelong cyclist except I have lived in a very hilly town for the last 20 years.” Langille said. “I sort of gave up cycling because of that.”
The $3,495 Pedego Stretch Cargo electric bike lets the rider haul cargo on the front and rear. It also has an LCD display with USB charging port for a mobile phone and other devices, front and rear lights, and fenders and chain guard to keep the rider clean and dry.
It features five levels of PedalSense pedal assist plus a twist-and-go throttle for full power on demand that can go up to 20 miles per hour, but that doesn’t mean exercise is not involved.
“It is not just an electric mode of transportation,” Langille said. “It basically supplements your pedaling and kind of kicks into gear when you are going up a hill or facing intense wind. It kicks in rather intuitively. You can choose your levels of pedal assist.”
Langille is on the bike an average of six hours covering 70 to 90 miles per day. He has either stayed at hotels, camped or been hosted by Pedago dealers based along the route. Those hours on the road allowed him a different perspective to traveling.
“I appreciate stretches of road that I sort of neglected before,” he said. “A few days out of Nelson [British Columbia], I was travelling along the interstate through Washington, not really by choice but out of necessity. It’s a road I have travelled many times and always thought, ‘Oh God, this is boring.’ It’s not boring. When you are on a bike, all of a sudden you take in the geographic details—the lakes, the fields of wheat blowing in the wind—and you become so much more engaged and appreciative of the roads that you are on.”
Langille will celebrate the completion of his ride by attending the Desert Trip concert featuring the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and The Who.
