Some people say it’s cheating but I know they’re curious. You see, I’ve bought an electric bike, a pedal-assist Gazelle. And the question I’m being asked is: why would you want an electric bike? Yes, I’m fit and a seasoned bike rider and I have a trio of bikes in the garage. However, there’s a problem that I haven’t been able to solve with them. My work commute. Riding 28 kilometres each way for several days a week is a fair dinkum ride. I can ride the commute on my Vivente Tourer but combined with a full day’s work, the commute becomes exhausting and isn’t a sustainable choice.

In 2017, going multi-modal brought me a partial solution. I’d ride my tourer to the closest tram station (13kms away), lock up my bike and catch the tram to work. The commute was long, the tram cost more than I think public transport…