Two years ago this week, Ed was pedaling his new electric cargo bike home to Yorkshire, all the way from Copenhagen. Brant wisely had his bike delivered in the normal way. We’ve been using these bikes as much as possible since then, to ship orders from our unit to the local Post Office in Hebden Bridge. Other journeys include riding to work, visiting suppliers, collecting exchanges, getting the custom hemming orders to the seamstress and going to the pub. The van is now used 60% less.
Riding from Denmark to England via Berlin and Rotterdam in January was a stupid idea. Sometimes though it’s better to be lucky than clever. On Ed’s 1000 mile journey temperatures went down to -6C, but it never rained and he hardly ever had to ride in windy conditions, apart from the force 9 gale coming out of Amsterdam. Some buildings lost their roofs that day and he did get blown off the cycle way, twice, but he didn’t die!
A big trip like that is a great way to get to know a bike. It proved to be very capable as he rode up to a hundred miles a day, fully loaded with HebTroCo products and a micro pop up shop! The electric motor assists pedaling, making load carrying possible. The motor assists from 0-15mph. After that you’re on your own. As with any bike, the harder you pedal the faster you go. Back home on the hilly Pennines the motor makes the cargo bike into a viable form of transport, that you also actually want to ride because it’s fun.
Every pair of our new Governor Selvedge Denim Jeans started their journey to customers on Brant’s bike, as he zipped up and down the valley to the Post Office. Most of our Wool Socks have made their way from the factory in Bradford, over some tasty hills, on a 15 mile route to the unit, before being packed up and sent out all over the world.
The batteries are charging tonight and tomorrow Ed will zoom over to Bradford for a re-stock of socks. The ride never ends and that’s the way we like it.
