Riding with Spark Cycleworks in Lewes Delaware, June 19th 2021

[Altema]

I had such a great time that I went back for for more riding in Delaware this past weekend. The event did not get rained out this time, and Spark Cycleworks was there with their e-mopeds. We had a dozen riders this time, with several Super73's and bikes from Spark, Juiced, Ariel Rider, and a couple of custom bikes built by e-bike genius Bomber Marv. I was not the only Rad bike this time, as RadAlec was there with his modified RadRunner. What was cool is both bikes were black and we were both wearing blue polo shirts, so we matched pretty well, lol.

Two people had to get flat tires fixed before the ride even started, then we started from the Lewes Cycle bike shop, and rode the roads to the trails. The great thing about Lewes is there are bike lanes everywhere, and the main street itself the car lane is also the bike lane with a 25mph speed limit for cars and bikes alike. The bike paths were a mix of paved and crushed stone, and dirt in a few places. The trail through Henlopen campgrounds had lots of sand dunes, and we found out that the Ariel Rider Grizzly with all wheel drive was best in the deep sand. Bomber Marv's Black Lightning was great too, but I think that's because he's so skilled. The Spark Bandits were heavy and had no traction, and you would think the Super73's would do well in sand, but they just didn't have the power. Even though the RadMini was not AWD, it had the advantage of having lighter weight and tons of torque, so it plowed though the sand well enough for Shreddie to say it was "crushing it".

Unfortunately, the Ariel Rider ran into problems in the sand. First the front motor stopped working, then it quit with burning smells coming from the controllers. Shreddie had to pedal the 100+ pound bike back, so I went with him, regretting that I didn't bring the bicycle tow cable with me this time. The Spark Cycleworks crew met us at the Delaware ferry with their truck, and they GAVE him a Bandit moped! We went for dinner at the DogFish Head Brewings and Eats and unfortunately they seated us in the outside dining area in near 90 degree heat.

A super73 had a flat tire on the trail, and it turned out that it was the same tire the bike shop had repaired. Despite the tube having Slime in it, they had used a patch, and she only made it 10 miles before the patch failed. We put a new tube in and she was good to go, and the couple bout the "pit crew" drinks at dinner 😊
After the pit stop I sped up to catch the other's and the RadMini caught some big air going over the bridge. I was not expecting to remain in the air that long, and I had the throttle on, and the controller didn't like the free spinning motor suddenly landing like that (my bad). It cut power thinking there was a problem, but it was fine after I turned the bike off and back on.

I'm happy to report that I had no battery issues this time. The 20 mile ride turned into 30 plus miles, and the sand sucks a lot of power, but I was fine with the 20AH rack battery and a 13AH Unit Pack Power battery running in parallel. Five of the bikes needed recharging while we ate, but mine was fine and I didn't bother. The batteries were around 48% when we ended the ride, so they worked as expected.

We got on a crushed rock trail and three of us guys decided to speed up, and we left everyone behind. Marv was in front on the 50mph Black Lightning as usual, with the RadMini and a Juiced Hyperscrambler 2 not far behind. I stayed side by side with the Hyperscrambler, and intentionally let him go ahead on the turns, but it was clear I was holding back. I kinda wanted to see if I could catch up with the Black Lightning, but I didn't want to leave one friend behind trying to catch another.

Then after all that chasing each other through the twists and turns, we go to shoot the music video that Shreddie usually does, then I do a flyby and a skid, and crash. It was pretty dramatic, with the bike flipping one way then the other, and I almost saved it, until the wheels went off the trail into leaves and pine needles, and it was lay it down or hit the trees. The front wheel was turned sideways when it hit a tree, but that was better than my body hitting the tree. I think? Anyway, I got up and the handlebars were pointing left and the wheel pointing right, so I had to twist them back into position. I though the handlebar stem was bent, but it turns out the bottom and top twisted differently, so loosening the bolts top and bottom and lining it up properly took care of it. The front fork did get tweaked, but it rides fine. I'll try and straighten it later, but you have to look hard to notice.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and we returned to the bike shop where we started. Shreddie wanted to ride some more, so RadAlec and I went to a lot near Shreddie's house so the truck could drop off the dead Ariel Rider. The Spark crew tried out a Huck Cycles Stinger and an Onyx RCR. Both bikes are fast, 50 to 60mph, but the Onyx was hopped up further by Bomber Marv, and seems like it could hit 70mph. Crazy stuff. The three of us said goodbye to the Spark gang, then the three of us rode to the campgrounds in the dark to meet with one of the riders who had his camper there. We relaxed and snacked on smore's, then headed back. It was then that I discovered my car alternator was acting up, but it made it back to my hotel ok. The next day was Sunday and Shreddie wanted to ride some more, so I booked another night at a hotel, and they let me check in early. I took advantage of that, and since the car was acting up, I took the Rad to three different stores looking for an automotive battery charger. The third stop was an auto parts store, and I bought a charger then headed back.

Then Shreddie sent me a text, we met up, and just the two of us rode exploring for about 30 miles, catching the sunset and everything. It was a great weekend, and I left in the morning because I wanted to leave on that note. By the way, the car alternator began working again, made it all the way home through a big storm with tornados, then quit when I was halfway up my driveway! Definitely some divine intervention going on there! I picked up a new alternator the next day and put it in, and all is good now.