4 miles? Pshh... EASY!

[Frank Lee]

If your school is anything like mine was, there's no parking available within a 3-mile radius anyway because they oversold the permits so badly.

Just pedal it.

There was a monster hill on my route. I looked forward to the challenge. It took several months of chugging up that thing before I successfully made it all the way up without walking the bike. And that was way back when I was in great shape!

[MadisonMPG]

I am just pedaling it, with a gas motor for the weekend and when i'm tired.

[MadisonMPG]

Biked 3 miles today. Hardest thing i've done in probably 6 months. I am glad I did it though. Because I was going to bike to school Monday, and that aint gonna happen. I sweated like a pig, but I didn't stink. YAY! lol I am insanely tired so I think I have at least a month more of "training" before I start biking to school.

[Frank Lee]

The exhaustion is a good sign. Means it's working.

[MetroMPG]

Congrats on the bike riding!

Am I mistaken that way back when you joined EM a couple of people suggested biking to class, and you were pretty set against the idea?

I am just pedaling it, with a gas motor for the weekend and when i'm tired.

You ever seen anyone pedaling a moped? Me neither.

Go electric! If all you want is a bit of help up a few hills, you could make your own, super cheap.

[brucey]

I've worked with electric conversion kits, the kind that are meant to give you a boost are great and cheap. no maintenance really required either. I'd definately go for one of those before strapping a weed eater mower to your bicycle, attracting all sorts of attention.

The e-bikes are pretty stealth, when riding one I've even told people its electric assist and they said I was messing with them!

[alohaspirit]

i could have sworn ive seen mopeds for around $300 too

[gltux]

I had to pedal my motorized bicycle home when it broke down. You're not gonna want to do four miles there and back pedalling. Heavy on hills and cumbersome. No longer quick and nimble as a bicycle should be.
It'd be a brilliant work out though

[MetroMPG]

Agreed: my mom's e-bike is a bit of a pig to ride, because it's got a lead acid pack and despite an aluminum frame the whole thing is heavy. 65 lbs?

But if you truly only want occasional ASSIST, you can actually build a lightweight electric hybrid. How does a 100 watt motor and 4.2 pounds total system weight sound?

See: Super Lightweight Assist -An ultra light-weight DIY electric assist system for a bike or human-powered vehicle

The problem with most e-bikes & kits is they're designed to be e-bikes you sometimes pedal.

[Christ]

Darin -
I probably suggested biking... and it probably fell into the "this guy's a dick" file on his computer desk at the time.

Eventually, he realized that I'm only cynical on days that end in "y", and now we're OK.