On May 28th, 2023, four hundred masochists took on the first ever British Columbia edition of the hellish 219 kilometer – 136 mile Belgian Waffle Ride (BWR). About four hundred slightly less masochistic souls lined up to test themselves on the 108 kilometer / 67 mile Wafer Ride or the 52 kilometer – 32 mile Wanna Ride.
Being one of those slightly less masochistic fellows, I signed up for the Wanna Ride with my new La Taureau e-bike prototype—despite only having a mere 200 kilometers under my belt on this titanium all-road beauty.
As we waited for our start horn, the corral buzzed with anxious energy, revved up by the unseasonably beautiful weather and the task that lay ahead. “The climbing numbers are wrong. It’s actually 500 m more than they said,” one rider said. “It doesn’t include any of the rolling hills along the paved sections of the route.” With the FSA 250W motor neatly hidden in my rear wheel I figured I’d be fine with extra climbing but would soon find out.
When I first began road biking in my mid 40’s, I was riding an aluminum bike which was fine and got the job done. A few years later I added a carbon road bike that I’ve ridden over eighteen thousand kilometers. After moving to Vancouver Island in 2021, I’ve found it more difficult to enjoy road cycling given the limited paved roads often have no shoulder and busy traffic.
More than one Vancouver Island local has mentioned they sold their road bike in favor of a gravel bike to unlock the Island’s beauty on the hidden gravel trails and old logging roads—places my road bike couldn’t take me.
Plus, the experience of zipping through the trees or enjoying a break by a lake is a whole level above the basement trainer set-ups or dealing with the looming fear of drivers staring at their phones.
On a couple of group rides with La Taureau, most people didn’t even realize I was riding an e-bike unless they noticed the glowing button on the top tube. The FSA E-System is so elegantly concealed in the downtube you could probably trick fellow riders into thinking you had unlocked some cycling cheat code.
But that wasn’t my plan. In order to maximize battery life and continue to challenge myself, I kept my assist level at the lowest setting, meaning it only really helped me out when I slipped below 26 km/h – 16 mph. Our prototype bikes were shipped with the European standard motors instead of the North American 32 km/h – 20 mph so when the pace picked up on the flats, the fitter riders on carbon bikes started to pull away.
I’ll confess, I did use a bit of extra e-assist during some of the steep gravel uphills and passed some of those same carbon riders leaving them to wonder how that old fart riding the titanium bike was now passing them without appearing to be breathing that hard. “E-bike on your left!” I occasionally announced with glee, fully disclosing my pseudo-superpower cycling.
The bike tracked well on the descents and was compliant on the single track. Only occasionally, on the really loose gravel sections, did I wish for tires wider than the 33mm ones I had. The worst moment for my ego was around kilometer fifty, when a twenty-something year-old kid on a mountain e-bike slipped past and beat me to the finish line by twenty seconds. But hey, I probably have 25 years on him. And I’ll tell myself he had his e-assist cranked way up.
Of the ~120 Wanna Ride participants, six rode e-bikes. If we merge the times for both categories four out of six of those e-bikes landed themselves in spots among the top ten (1st, 2nd, 6th, and 8th). Even with the extra weight of a motor and batteries, the e-assist obviously improved our ride times.
Hats off to everyone that finished any flavor of the Belgian Waffle Ride, especially those without assistance. Overall the FSA e-system worked flawlessly for my ride and I even managed to arrive at the finish line with 18% battery. Perhaps next year I’ll challenge myself with the Wafer…maybe with the extra external battery.
In the meantime, you can find me out on the trails and backroads on Le Taureau, riding my journey with a smile on my face.
Ride Your Journey 