The Perfect Bike for Individuals with Breathing Disorders such as COPD

April 1, 2013

Never in my life did I ever dream of spending $2,000 for a bike and then not only buying one buying one but two, one for my wife and one for myself. We love them and have never regretted our Pedego purchase. It is just, as you might say, what the doctor ordered. We both love riding, not racing style but leisurely through neighborhoods. About eight years ago, we purchased our first set of regular bikes together and then about four years ago our second set. On the weekends during the spring and summer months, we would load our bikes on the back of the car, drive to a new neighborhood and ride for an hour or so. Though we love to ride it was often difficult to enjoy.  My wife has COPD and gets winded very easily. Riding into the slightest wind, or up the smallest incline was impossible without often stopping to take a break.

Then one Saturday, I was driving along and passed by this electric bike store. I went in, asked questions and before I knew what was happening, I was test riding a Pedego Comfort Cruiser. I thought that this would be ideal for my wife. I wanted to purchase one for her and surprise her with it, but at that price, the surprise was out of question. My thought was that I could get her one and then I could continue riding my regular bike. My wife worked that day so when she got home, I took her to the store, this part was a surprise. We each took a Pedego out for a test ride. It was during the test ride that I concluded that one bike would not do. Though I am in fairly good shape, there was no way I would be able to keep up with her. When we got back to the store, we talked for a few minutes and ended up purchasing both.

We have only had these bikes for a little less than a year but have ridden all over the city. We even revisited Back Bay State Park which is a very tough 18 mile round trip over gravel, dirt, and sad. It is beautiful scenery but my wife hesitated in making the trip since we did it several years earlier and realized it wasn’t much fun due to her breathing disorder. She, we, thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It was not a difficult ride and we were both able to enjoy the view. We have even put our bikes on the back of our car and driven 7 hours to ride on a 35 mile round trip on a bike path along side old railroad tracks. We intend to do this at least once a year. We also rode on the 40 mile bike trip throughout Virginia Beach. You are probably wondering how we rode 40 miles with a battery that has a charge for 20 to 25 miles. I use the battery as little as possible, only when I really need it to get up a hill or against a stronger wind. This way, I preserve my battery and when my wife’s gets to about ¼ charge, we switch batteries. We probably could have gotten 45 to 50 miles this way. My next purchase will be two more batteries so we can carry a spare with us, which will double our riding distance.

This is a perfect bike for those with COPD that want to get our and ride but cannot. What a great slogan, “The perfect bike for those with COPD.” We have found, and sure others will as well, that even through these bikes are expensive, they are ideal for those that want to get outside and once again enjoy a bike ride but cannot due to some sort of breathing disorder. We would have purchased these year ago had we realized that there were such bikes that she could ride without worrying if the wind was going to kick up or if the bike path had a small include. With this bike it opens up a whole new world of activities one can do. It also doesn’t hurt getting many compliments from both kids and adults on how cool our electric bikes look.

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