$10 to Ride Across Canada

A trip across Canada in 30 days for less than $10 in total power cost (watt-hours) is explained by Justin Lemire-Elmore in the following video. He gives four reasons for his summer 2008 journey:

  1. Meet electric bike enthusiasts dispersed across Canada
  2. Examine feasibility of touring by electric motor
  3. Develop products such as LED lights, 100-140 km range battery, and on-the-fly recharge
  4. Prove to the world the low-cost efficiency of electric bicycles

That $10 is actually donated from random 120V stops along the way.

Every building had outlets on the side

He was intercepted just once and asked to pay a dollar, which he declined because his battery only draws $0.06 for a recharge. He spends just $0.86 for the ride from Vancouver to Lake Louise, with a target of 12 watt/hr per km. There is quite a bit of classic hacker behavior such as trip segments starting at 2am and breakfast as the only meal of the day. Fresh fruit stands also are often mentioned, as recharge stops for the rider.

Also notable is the discussion of engineering feats such as odd hand-built bicycles and even tunnels in the Rockies that stand above the road in summertime — built to prevent impact of avalanches.

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