Why I bought an (expensive) e-bike

Last weekend, I bought a very fancy e-bike. The story behind the purchase is mildly interesting. It has elements of what I value in life, what gives me joy in life, and some environmental concerns about traveling. Read on if your interest is piqued!

It all started in Japan. Well, the seed was planted while I was in Japan, even though I had no idea at the time. You see, last year we traveled there for six weeks and I felt so amazing the whole time. Of course, letting go of your life's responsibilities for six whole weeks is great. We didn't have to do any adult things, like work, we could just.....explore. And explore we did!

The way we prefer to travel is by loosely making a plan, but mostly just go somewhere and then walk around and look at things. Buildings, nature, people, animals, lights, sounds. We will not plan our day full to the brim with activities, nah. Japan is an excellent country to wander, there are so many cool things to see, especially if you go beyond the cliché attractions. We were mostly on Hokkaido (the northern island) and it's so much quieter there.

When I was back home in the Netherlands and doing all my normal routines (work, sport, household tasks) I was sad. I missed the exploration. It gives me a type of joy that nothing else can. I thought I missed Japan specifically at first, but no, it was the act of exploration and wandering around. (Ok, I also miss Japan on top of that.)

We fixed this partly by going out to explore locally. The Netherlands has many cute villages and towns. Last summer, we visited some local towns and did the same things as if we were in Japan. Just walk around, go where ever we want to and have a bite to eat at a random place. It was great!

There was just one problem remaining for me. We drove to those towns by car. I despise taking the car needlessly. I hate driving, I hate how busy the roads are, and it's just an awful way to travel. Letting Oliver drive doesn't fix the hate. I'd prefer if we could cycle to those towns we want to explore.

Suddenly, I had a vision of a different life, almost. That sounds epic, maybe, but hear me out.

Why would I rely solely on traveling to satisfy my exploration and wandering needs? I don't travel a lot because I don't want to needlessly drive my car around, and I also don't like flying because of environmental reasons.

Exploring is a mindset, a vibe, and you can cultivate this everywhere. What is stopping me from looking at my local environment differently? Nothing, that's what. But, not with a car, please.

I prefer to take the train, or.....I could make cycling part of the exploration fun!

In my province, Utrecht, there are already a ton of towns I'd like to visit.... I could cycle through forests to get there.... I could cycle to all the lakes nearby....I wouldn't have to take the damn car! I could go where public transport couldn't easily get me, either!

Why didn't I do this already? I have a normal bicycle that I use almost every day for small trips. I'm lazy, though, and don't like how hard I have to labor on a normal bicycle, even though it's good cardio. It would stop me from going on these exploration trips, where I'd have to cycle 50+ km easily. With an e-bike, however, I'd do it.

I tested this out last spring with my parents. Oliver and I visited them on a campsite and rented e-bikes to go on a nice tour. We cycled for hours on end, and I wasn't even remotely tired when we were back. It was so nice to cycle through forests and look around. I got that feeling, the exploration tingle.

I spoke to Oliver about my ideas. That I noticed that what we liked most in Japan, we could do here at home. We could get that feeling locally. It would be a nice activity to do weekly, if we wanted. It would be better for the environment, and it would be good for us to go out more without harming the planet. He agreed.

The thought of buying an e-bike was still a bit of a hurdle, not going to lie. I still feel I'm a bit too young to buy one. It feels like a boomer purchase, in a way. This is a bit silly because even most teens ride on an e-bike these days.

Of course, when we went to a large cycling shop, I fell in love with the most expensive e-bike of them all. We tested many models, but this particular bike ticked all the boxes (design, road feel, comfort, on-board tech). I thought about it for three months before biting the bullet and buying that one.

I would never buy an expensive car, even if I had the money. But the Rolls-Royce among bicycles? Sign me up! For those curious, I purchased the Gazelle Eclipse C380 HMB.

Last weekend, I got an alert that the model was in stock again in the frame size I needed. At once, I went to the store for a last test drive and swiped my bankcard while looking away. They prepped the bike and one hour later I cycled home!

Y'all...I'm in love! Cycling is effortless now. This lowers the bar to go for rides so much! It's a pity winter is going to hit soon, but the wind ain't got nothing on me now. I can dress for the cold, and I'll have to purchase a good pair of rainproof trousers. Whenever the weather is decent, I want to go for a tour.

I want to explore the whole province! I want to take my bike on the train, go to a city decently far away and cycle back home. Local exploration, here I come!