Reply to ebike charging issue?

I plan to ride Bflo to Albany in May on a regular road bike. My wife will join me for parts or all of the way on an ebike (class 2.) We plan to camp most of the time. Would appreciate any information you can share about charging the ebike battery overnight. Do the locks and camp grounds have electrical outlets? Should we forget the ebike idea altogether? Advice please. Thank you.

I'd first think, how far can she manually pedal it if she had to? A mile, 10, 20. That's the limiting factor. Or you, if you could swap bikes with her.

How much would you be willing to pay someone to let you charge it at their place?

My wife and I are in our mid-70s and in relative good health. She's really a novice rider. The only long distance trip she has done was the roughly 200 miles on the Moselle river in Germany with me, nearly 3 years ago. Since then she has not biked but a handful of times, perhaps 2-5 miles each time. Due to the pandemic and winter weather, we have just begun training for this trip. With that as the background, I would estimate that she can pedal on her own (i.e. no electric assist) for 15-20. Please explain the connection between daily distance under one's own power and recharging the battery. I am a bit thick up there. Thank you.

In case you can't find a place to charge the battery nearby and she has to pedal her dead bike until you do.

Of the twenty-five miles of canal I ride fairly offend. I can't think of a single place I've seen electrical outlets along the way. Of course there are houses and stores at the towns the canal crosses. If you don't mind knocking on doors for help.

Thank you Bop from Rochester for your suggestions. My wife's ebike is relatively new to us so we're still learning about its capabilities. One thing we know for sure: it takes 5-7 hours to fully charge the depleted battery. Thus it requires charging overnight, in other words, charging during the day's ride isn't an option. BTW, so far the bike has about 50 mile range pedaling with motor assist on fully charged battery.

So, planning 50-mile ride days isn't too bad of an option (if the e-bike can do 50 miles... or even 45 miles might be fine). So my advise is to go ahead and plan away and figure out where you are going to overnight and start making phone calls to the camp grounds that you will be camping at and make sure you'll be able to charge your bike. As far as camping at Locks, the Canalway will not be opened in May and Locks will not be manned, so that option is not viable. The only place I found power at a Lock (given I didn't stay at many) was Lock E2 in Waterford which had a live outlet on a close-by out-building near the lock/park area and a live outlet on a phone post in the far corner of the park (easy to find).

I have no knowledge, but, are there any solar charging options for charging while riding? That may help with distance. Otherwise, trying to find random places to charge is pretty risky. On my ride last year I had a solar panel that would charge a battery during the day and charge my phone at night. One day the charging plug came unplugged and I found I was nearing depleting my phone charge (and had no back-up). Luckily outside of Schenectady I happened upon a township maintenance garage and was allowed to charge my phone for the 30 to 45-muinutes that I needed to charge. I can't imagine being in a situation where you needed to charge an e-bike for many hours without a plan.

If you were just planning to camp at locks or trailside, clearly... you would simply not have very many options to find charging. If I'm missing something here... let me know and I'll try to help a bit more.

Thank you bop and wnybubba for your suggestions. wnybubbap and others on the forum mentioned that the locks do not operate until June. Therefore I've decided to start my ride in early June (instead of mid-May). One advantage of this later start is the warmer weather thus I can bring a lighter and less bulky sleeping bag!

My wife now decides that she will only accompany me for 2 or 3 days of riding. We will stay at hotels during her time with me. Therefore I no longer need to worry about how & where to charge her ebike battery since hotels have electrical outlets. At this point it looks like we will spend the first night in Medina and the second night in Rochester, averaging about 45 miles/day, well within her capability and the battery range. If she decides to go for the 3rd day, from Rochester we will proceed to either Lyons or Clyde. My younger son lives in the Corning area so he can pick her up either in Rochester, Lyons or Clyde, all equidistant from his home. I will then continue on my way, camping mostly, to Albany. I will look into the forum for suggestions on camping places.

BTW, wnybubba brought up the idea of using solar panels to supplement the charging of the ebike's battery. Last year, during the height of the pandemic, I converted a small Nissan NV200 van into a campervan. In the process I learned a little bit about solar charging. I do not believe that any solar panel on an ebike will be sufficient to make a difference. Additionally, solar power is not reliable on cloudy or rainy days. That's why we will stay in hotels while my wife rides with me. Besides, we have been married 49 years and I do not want to change my marital status (or partner!)

Thank you bop and wnybubba for your suggestions. wnybubbap and others on the forum mentioned that the locks do not operate until June. Therefore I've decided to start my ride in early June (instead of mid-May). One advantage of this later start is the warmer weather thus I can bring a lighter and less bulky sleeping bag!

My wife now decides that she will only accompany me for 2 or 3 days of riding. We will stay at hotels during her time with me. Therefore I no longer need to worry about how & where to charge her ebike battery since hotels have electrical outlets. At this point it looks like we will spend the first night in Medina and the second night in Rochester, averaging about 45 miles/day, well within her capability and the battery range. If she decides to go for the 3rd day, from Rochester we will proceed to either Lyons or Clyde. My younger son lives in the Corning area so he can pick her up either in Rochester, Lyons or Clyde, all equidistant from his home. I will then continue on my way, camping mostly, to Albany. I will look into the forum for suggestions on camping places.

BTW, wnybubba brought up the idea of using solar panels to supplement the charging of the ebike's battery. Last year, during the height of the pandemic, I converted a small Nissan NV200 van into a campervan. In the process I learned a little bit about solar charging. I do not believe that any solar panel on an ebike will be sufficient to make a difference. Additionally, solar power is not reliable on cloudy or rainy days. That's why we will stay in hotels while my wife rides with me. Besides, we have been married 49 years and I do not want to change my marital status (or partner!)

wanderingsoul... just to be clear, my comment was they wouldn't be open in May because last year the Canal delayed opening due to the pandemic. Here is the official 2021 statement:

Mariners are advised that, conditions permitting, all portions of the New York State Canal System are scheduled to open Friday, May 21, 2021, at 7:00 a.m. for the 2021 navigation season. This proposed schedule of operations could be impacted by the COVID pandemic and/or the need to repair critical infrastructure. The public will be notified accordingly through the Notice to Mariners system if this occurs. There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal System in 2021.

Wnybubba: your comments have neen most helpful with my planning. I'm now planning to depart Bflo the first or second week of June. Thank you.

@wanderingsoul: Thanks. Have a fun and safe ride. Nothing completely nailed down yet, but my plans mimic yours as far as dates. I'll be bike-packing once again with hopes to continue on into NYC. wnybubba@gmail.com get you directly in touch with me. Feel free if you need any help at my end or if you want to try and co-ordinate some of the ride together.
-bubba