Thursday (29-November-2018) — New Jersey

Elby Electric Bicycle.

I picked up an Elby 9-speed electric bicycle. Some assembly required — attach the left pedal, and straighten the handlebars. Plus adjustments to the seat height. My last bicycle was a single-speed Schwinn that I had trouble getting up the hill to my house. The Elby has four-levels of power assist, and four-levels of battery regeneration (when going downhill or breaking). A bit of a learning curve to figure out how to use the SRAM X5 derailleur for shifting since the levers were a bit too close to the RC3 controller. I also installed a mount for my Garmin VIRB-360 camera (the bike has a USB power outlet). Once I got things figured out, the power-assist was great, and got me up the hill to my house. One potential downside is that the company that provided the BionX 500 watt DC motor for the bike went bankrupt. I look forward to having the bike along for my next road trip.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Elby-9 Electric Bicycle. Image taken with a Leica D-Lux 7 camera (ISO 200, 21 mm, f/4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (29-November-2008) — New Jersey

Undocumented Domestic Help: “The Caretaker”.

One of the many trolls that take care of my house. I never know where I will find him, typically avoiding doing any work. You can find more of his friends — all members of the Trolls without Borders union at the Henning site in Norway.

The Caretaker, Henning Hand Carved Norwegian Troll. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, flash). (David J Mathre)
The Caretaker, Henning Hand Carved Norwegian Troll. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, flash).