Bringing an e-bike to my hometown provided a completely different suburban experience
Think off-road.
Hey reader,
I’m back home in Palisade after two weeks of travel that included, among other places, several days in my hometown. I grew up in Littleton, a south Denver suburb not unlike most American suburbs — think wide streets, lots and lots of houses and cars, and the option to choose between any grocery shopping experience one could possibly want — from Whole Foods to the local Kroger chain to CostCo and small neighborhood markets.
I lived in Littleton for 15 years. But I approached it in a new manner this time around that changed how I view suburbia, or at least how I view getting around suburbia.
More on that in this week’s essay.
Community Shoutouts
Welcome to the dozen new subscribers since the last dispatch! I hope you like new takes on old ways of thinking.
Now, it’s time to get charged up.
Bringing an e-bike to my hometown provided a different suburban experience
Too often designed for cars rather than people, suburbia is not known for its efficiency. Seemingly every task, even those as simple as grabbing dinner, requires driving a car on wide, crowded roads and parking in congested lots. Open space, whether it be lawns, medians, or parks, is covered in non-native Kentucky bluegrass that endlessly sucks down water like a runner unable to quench his thirst during a forever marathon to nowhere.
I have great memories of living in Littleton as a child and teenager. It was a charmed childhood that I’m fortunate to have had. My view on suburbia now, though, is shaped by this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”
Global travel and life experience have allowed me to appreciate the convenience and efficiency of density in city and town spaces.
After moving back to the Denver area in my mid-20s, I eventually owned a condo in another suburb for five years. Still, I was never able to get over the inefficiency of having to drive a car almost every time I wanted to leave the house.
On a recent trip to my hometown, I brought an e-bike with me. Doing so gave me a completely new experience.
A new appreciation
Just over a mile from my childhood home was an old shopping mall. This mall was in its decline throughout my childhood, having been usurped by newer and fancier options (namely, Cherry Creek and Park Meadows, for those with knowledge of Denver metro’s mall scene). Its shops and few remaining restaurants continued to shutter one by one until, around the time I moved away to college, the property sold to a developer with plans to scrap it and erect a new, open-air mall designed to replicate a downtown city center.
It was en route to this (now nearly 20-year-old) outdoor mall just last week that I had an epiphany.
Denver’s south suburbs were built around a series of canals that run through the metro area and eventually drain into the South Platte River. Along those canals is a trail system consisting of the primary High Line Canal Trail and several offshoots that veer into neighborhoods, shopping centers, parks, and schools.
These trails are most frequented by local residents on dog walks or social hours, kids in search of crawdads, and joggers. And, once the sun goes down, high schoolers with nowhere else to consume alcohol (not based on personal experience, Mom).
Few, to my knowledge, use these trails to commute.
Regular readers of Mountain Remote know, all too well, probably, that I have become an e-bike evangelist. I bought one for my wife for her first Mother’s Day. This bike made the trip to Denver with us. I decided to put the ability of the High Line Canal Trail system to serve as a commuter thoroughfare to the test.
From jogging trail to commuter thoroughfare
The first test was simple. In an effort to get out of the house so my daughter could play with her grandparents without her dad distracting her, I decided to head to a coffee shop at the mall to work for a few hours.
Instead of hopping in the car, I pedaled out of the garage, made a couple of turns through the winding suburban streets, and onto the trail. It felt great to be out along this canal that had been a constant presence throughout my childhood.
I didn’t have time to think about much beyond that, however, because I arrived at the coffee shop much quicker than I’d anticipated. Seven minutes, to be precise, which matched — to the minute — the amount of time Google Maps estimated it would take to drive there due to “heavier than normal traffic.”
Thing is, I didn’t deal with any traffic. I passed a few joggers and afternoon strollers but otherwise had the trail to myself. It was even quiet, and the autumn air maintained a refreshing chill as I pedaled up and down small hills along the way.
The next day, I repeated the bike-to-cafe route and after working for a while, added a new stop further up the trail. I pedaled to a rec center to get in a proper workout, and though visiting the old rec center called back a bunch of memories of awkward swim lessons and birthday parties for gymnastics-inclined friends from my youth, the ride was quick and pleasant.
I’d again dodged traffic, even though it was rush hour.
By this point, I was convinced the Highline Canal Trail could circumvent the need to drive throughout the Denver suburbs, providing you have the physical ability to ride and the time to explore a bit to find the best routes.
The trail pushes into Aurora and central Denver, with side trails diverging off to main points along the way. It’s 71 miles long!
I embarked on two further commuting rides on this trip, visiting a further-flung coffee shop and running a couple of basic errands for groceries, etc., each time barely riding on roads at all.
In summary
E-bikes have the power to completely reshape modern society. On this trip, I rode a Class 1 pedal assist Gazelle Medeo and got some exercise along with my efficient commuting.
With Class 3 models able to throttle to 28 miles per hour, they eliminate the need for a car at all for local errands and trips. With a foldable e-bike and a bold, venturesome spirit, one could even bail on the car completely for all but out-of-town jaunts and trek their e-bike onto public transit for excursions more than riding distance away. They’ll feel better physically and mentally for the effort.
On this trip, riding an e-bike through a suburban/urban trail system saved me the money spent and the frustrations caused by driving through suburbia for basic errands. It provided a bit of extra exercise. Most importantly, I felt reinspired by a place I’d thought I’d seen every angle of.
I challenge you to find a new way to look at a place you thought you knew inside and out. Often, a fresh approach helps to solve underlying issues that before seemed insurmountable.
Mountain Remote news and further reading
In line with today’s essay, I reviewed the new Lectric 3.0 e-bike for Cool Material after traveling to Phoenix to attend the company’s media event. The bike is Class 3 and throttles to 28 miles per hour. Since acquiring one, I pledge to cut local car trips down by a further 30%.
Buffer, NomadList, and Remote.OK are currently conducting the 2023 State of Remote Work survey. I encourage you to fill it out, the results each year are striking and encouraging.
In the prior dispatch, I shared my new website. The company that made it for me can make you a free website — if you’d like to learn more, please use this referral link so that I get a kickback if you get a website.
See you next week!