Exmoor 2009 ride
The event shall be called The Ching Challengei.
The purpose of the event is to promote the design and development of electric bikes, and to publicise their use.
The event is not a race.
It shall take place on Wednesday 9th September 2009. In case of bad weather, the reserve date is Wednesday 23rd Septemberii.
The event will be a ride of distance 100 milesiii. The organisers will devise a route as detailed below.
Participation is open to any rider on an electric bicycle meeting the UK/EU definition of an Electric Assist Pedal Cycle (EAPC)iv.
The organisers accept that there may be two types of participant and will attempt to cater for both. Some may wish to ride in friendly groups, treating the distance as the challenge. Some may be interested in the time taken to complete the route.
Participants are reminded that it is their own responsibility to ensure compliance with the law.
The only check the organisers will make is on the weight of the bike. The total weight of bike and batteries shall be not more than 40 kgv.
Batteries may not be removed, added or replaced during the event. The organisers may apply seals.
Charging en route is permitted.
The start time shall be 1000. The finish time shall be 1800.
A recovery and support vehicle will be arranged.
The organisers will arrange a lunch stop at the approximate halfway point. An electricity supply for recharging will be made available. Participants may choose how long to recharge bodies and/or batteries.
The organisers will compile a list of the finishers in order of their times followed by any non finishers in order of the distance travelled.
The distance shall be a minimum of 100 miles and not more than 110 milesvi.
The route will be based around Exmoor.
The route shall include as much as possiblevii of the Tour of Britain 2008 and 2009 routesviii.
It shall avoid roads with fast or heavy traffic as much as possible.
It shall include as much climbing and descending as possibleix.
Consideration shall be given to recovery between the finish and the start.
The route will allow for easy retirement and recovery at the half way lunch stop.
An ideal route might be a figure of eight
The start, lunch stop and finish could all be at the same place. Two different passes over Exmoor would be possible.
Participants are encouraged to wear protective clothing, such as gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, helmets, etc.
Participants are reminded that this is potentially dangerous territory, especially in bad weather. All participants must carry a waterproof outer jacket.
All participants must carry a mobile phone or ride with a buddy who has one. In case of difficulty, call for help, stay together and await rescue. Do not leave the route without contacting the organisers.
AtoB Magazine has offered an award for the best performance on a production e-bike.
Other awards are expected and will be announced when confirmed.
In addition, Wai Won Ching of eZee has offered a discount on eZee batteries for participants. Please contact OnBike 01299 25 15 14 or info@onbike.co.uk
David Miall of Wisper has offered a discount on Wisper batteries for participants. Please contact him direct on Miall@aol.com
Registration and further details.
To register interest and request further details, please send an email to:
A small donation to cover costs, provision of maps, etc, would be appreciated.
i Mr Wai Won Ching of eZee Bikes inaugurated the Exmoor Tour of Britain Ride in 2008. Subsequently, after his South African long distance ride, he has described it as being, in comparison, a picnic.
ii A weekend date was considered, but it turned out that each weekend in September had a conflicting event that likely participants were involved in.
iii A pure endurance event was consided – eg., how far can you go in 8 hours. That, however, would require a different type of ride, involving multiple laps of a shorter circuit. A fixed distance allows a more interesting route to be chosen.
iv Please refer to the actual legislation, but a summary is: 40 kg max weight; electric assist cuts off at 15 mph; max continuous rated motor power 250 W.
v This is a neat way of excluding electric scooters and motorcycles, and also of stopping people carrying excessive amounts of batteries. Limits on speed and power flow from the weight limit. Thus speed and power limits are effectively self enforcing. Also, weight is simple to check; power and battery capacity are virtually impossible.
vi 100 miles is a good target and 2008 showed its possible.
vii Experience from 2008 shows that we can’t follow a ToB route exactly as it uses main roads.
viii The 2009 Tour of Britain has stages in the South West on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th, and finishes in London on Saturday 19th.
ix Climbs and descents are where e-bikes have the advantage over pedal only bikes, and where the 15 mph cut off limit has little effect. If the climb is steep enough for the speed to be below 15 mph, the e-bike can deploy full electric power. On the descent, gravity provides more power than either muscles or electric motor can compete with, and the extra weight of the e-bike helps. In both regimes the e-bike can beat the non e-bike. By exploiting the climbs and descents properly, a street legal e-bike can achieve an average speed well in excess of 15 mph.
Issue 2B – 7th July 2009