Electric Bike routes

[eskimonw]

I am planning to cross the country soon on an e-bike, and am searching for routes that
offers the most  electricity, etc for battery recharge/camping.   Any suggestions about
routes that would work best for that.

thanks,

Mike

[texbiker]

Will your e-bike have special electric charging requirements? I think anyplace with a 120V plugs will be able to charge the battery. As a backup you could carry a small solar charger.

[OHRider]

Just a point of interest. There is a Walmart in Millersburg in Amish country along the Ohio to Erie Trail (OTET- Cincinnati to Cleveland) which has outside electrical plugs (they also have a shed where the Amish can park their buggies- giving the horses shade and shelter).  You see a lot of electric bikes ridden by the Amish- they recharge the bikes and their phones there.  (And we added a small charge to our phones during our OTET ride).

[staehpj1]

The following is based only on my experience on having ridden the ST and TA and pieces of routes in other areas, I doubt the major routes differ much other than the ST probably being worse.

How far can you go between charges?  Can you manage to ride without using assist on flat sections saving the battery for the climbs?  I would think you'd most likely be able to generally be able to count on finding a place to charge every 80 miles or so on the Trans America the majority of the time if not all of the time, but small town businesses are struggling in many places so closures are common.  I bet the NT and other alternate options like the L&C would probably be similar.

Are you able to ride the bike 50 miles without assist in a pinch?  If not you may wind up hitching a ride at some point.  How fast/slow is your charge? In an emergency a kind soul in an RV, electric vehicle, work truck may just stop and give you a charge, but it isn't a sure thing.  I wouldn't be above carrying a sign that said "need charge", if I was barely able or unable to pedal without assist and there were no services for 50-100 miles.  If the battery died walking and holding up a sign on such a section would likely yield results.

[eorogers]

While riding the West Coast route I met a guy touring on an e-bike.  He said he had 2 batteries and could get 50 miles each.  He typically did 79 +/- miles per day and the only downside was staying in a motel or RV park to charge his batteries.

Eric

[SwampYankee]

My wife and I rode Boston to Oregon last summer. She was on her Rivendell, which had been converted to an e-assist. We rode most of the Parks, Peaks, and Prairies route from MSP to east of Yellowstone, where cut north to Livingston and Bozeman. We carried an extra battery. At times, she got 70 miles on a battery, on days with a measurable headwind and high elevation gain, she might only get 25 miles on the same battery. Also, many e-bike batteries charge slowly. For us, a 45-minute charge at lunch resulted in about another 20 miles or less. That was when we can plug into some store or Diner's outlet, which every time people were glad to let us do. Overall, the second battery was one of the best investments we made, and the nine extra pounds relieved far more than that in anxiety. E-bike touring is the future for many people and it was a game changer for us as a couple. Wish you a great ride.