No - not an ad for the Swytch or the Tote'm Electric Bikes

But I will start by telling you a little about the Swytch.

Are you familiar with the Geoorbital Wheel and the Copenhagen Wheel? Are you familiar with the old-school e-bike kits with a hub motor? Well, the Swytch is a nifty halfway point between those two things. You just swap out your front wheel, add a few wires, and put a bracket on your handlebar. Voila! You have an e-bike. (And it's pretty inexpensive.)

But this is not an ad for them - it's an encouragement for the e-bike curious. Honestly, I don't know if the Swytch people got the conversion kit right, but they did get the video right - it explains the whole rhyme and reason to e-biking. So here it is - Oliver will tell you more:

Swytch Crowdfunding Video

(and the crowdfunding page)

Yep, an e-bike is a great way to live lighter without being a full fledged athlete in spandex shorts. And it requires no gasoline, tar sands, oil spills, and lots of other nasty stuff that does not seem to make the world a better place to live.

Next up is an article about the Felt Tote'm midtail cargo bike. In all rights, with or without electricity, this is an incredibly versatile machine to haul people and stuff about.

My daughter-person calls often to tell about her adventures in adulting. Sometimes it's a wearisome thing she's doing. Sometimes it's an accomplishment of which she's proud. Sometimes it's her way of saying, "Look - I'm doing okay out in the real world." (She's pretty awesome.)

But back to the bike and article, Gloria Liu drew me in with "Adulting Fun" and then absolutely sprung the trap when she started with a Kurt Vonnegut anecdote.

Bicycling: The Felt Tote'm Electric Cargo Bike Makes Adulting Fun

The story tells the joy of experiencing the world in small quests rather than avoiding them using modern convenience.

So, how about you? Getting tired of sitting in your car burning (increasingly expensive) gasoline? Wanting to enjoy the world more? Get more exercise? If so, e-bikes are a nice way to get you going.

May there be spring in your spring!