You have just taken delivery of your new Riese & Müller electric bike and you are ready for your first adventure…but where should you ride?
If you are used to wrestling your old push bike on to a bike rack to drive somewhere to ride it, then you are in for a real treat.
When I first got an electric bike, I quickly realised that I could ride a lot further and longer than on my old push bike and hills were no longer an obstacle, so I no longer needed to put my bike on the car to go for a ride. I could just jump on my electric bike at home and begin my adventures straight out of my own front door!
Where am I allowed to ride?
The great news is that if an electric bike meets UK government requirements, it is classed as a normal pedal cycle and can be ridden anywhere that pedal bikes are allowed. So, not only can you take your new Riese & Müller electric bike on roads and cycle paths but bridleways too, meaning there are miles and miles of exciting tracks near you just waiting to be discovered.
Get a decent map
Don’t just ride the roads that you know or would drive in your car. An OS explorer map of your area will show you all of the lanes and bridleways local to you and allow you to plan a route on your new Riese & Müller electric bike. You will be amazed once you get off the beaten track, just how quiet some of the routes are. If you would rather let someone else do the planning, check out local route guides like the Goldeneye guides. You’ll be surprised at what you find on your doorstep.
Get adventurous
Don’t be too shy when it comes to attempting new terrain. I recently took a couple of friends to the Lake District with our Riese & Müller demonstrator bikes. On the first day, we cycled an off-road route with plenty of single track, around Blencathra. The following day we did the Old Coach Road, which is around 20 miles of track with some fast descents and some technical challenges along the route.
You might assume that riding along a single track in the Lake District would need bikes and tyres designed for off- road. In fact,we completed both the trips on a Riese & Müller Multicharger Light and Riese & Müller Homage GT touring, both without the all terrain GX option. Both Riese & Müller models were more than up to the job! You can find out more about Riese & Müller models and the options available in our edemo Riese & Müller UK Buyer’s guide.
Follow in the tracks of others…
If you love gadgets, buy a bike with the Bosch SmartphoneHub and sign up to Komoot. Komoot has loads of single and multi-day trips already planned by other users which you are free to view. Take a look at my Komoot profile here.
Using the SmartphoneHub, your smartphone and Komoot, you won’t even need to take the map out of your bag. Just glance down at the satnav now and again whilst taking in the incredible scenery.
Go…
That’s it! You are ready for the adventure. You have planned a new and exciting, hilly route to explore right from your own front door. Just be sure to warm up your face muscles before you begin or that smile on your face is going to start to ache a few miles in.