I've driven 175 miles through the forests, suburbs, and cities of western Washington State And it couldn't have been a better day With a mix of rain, wind, and hail in the forecast, I bundled up in my best wet weather gear and headed out to the Trek Store in Redmond, Washington to pick up my e-assist bike

I was properly briefed on the ins and outs of the Trek Verve+ 1 Lowstep LT, a commuter e-bike with a comfortable seat and high handlebars, thanked the clerk, strapped on my Alex, Goodlooks, and helmet, and then headed out on a rain-soaked, 40-degree afternoon ( For my non-American friends, that's 4 degrees Celsius) we headed out

In a matter of hours, I encountered all the seasons the PNW has to offer, cruising at speeds of up to 43 mph and gloriously crossing the world's longest floating bridge as the sky cleared and the sun peeked out, illuminating the distant Emerald City in a butterscotch glow I also used all my remaining battery power to return home

Having had plenty of time for introspection, here are three lessons I learned from my epic first long-distance electric bike ride

I've made a few short trips on city bikes and lime-style electric bikes, but I've never tried a consumer model Most public rental bikes are fairly slow, so my expectations for motor power were not particularly high

Trek's Verve+ 1 has a 250W rear hub drive motor, which has some power there Even with little effort from the rider, the motor can get up to about 20 mph on level ground when the e-assist is set to full power

However, when cruising down a steep hill, locked in the highest gear (the bike has an eight-speed drive chain), we recorded speeds just shy of 45 mph On the other hand, when driving on level ground in the highest gear, the bike cruised comfortably at 25 to 30 mph

According to Trek, at the lowest E-assist setting, the bike has a maximum range of 35 miles (about 40 km/h) However, this is assuming ideal conditions Considering the cold and the 1,400-foot elevation gain, one would not expect to get anywhere near this distance

Then again, I didn't use the minimum power option much At maximum power, the bike's unofficial approximate range is closer to 16 miles This has been confirmed

The user adjusts the power setting with the left handlebar control However, it took me a few miles to get the hang of jumping between power modes For example, when waiting at a traffic light, it is best to lower the power before starting off Otherwise, the bike will accelerate briskly as soon as you start pedaling

In retrospect, I should not have spent a lot of time cruising with full e-assist because the beginning of the ride was reasonably flat By the last few miles (where we gained half of the elevation), the power indicator was down to the last one and I was seriously stressed Fortunately, the flashing low power light did not come on until just after I crested the last hill

I used to get annoyed with electric bike riders who would blast past me on the trail, but not anymore I have no problem with being overtaken, as long as my fellow pedal-powered riders give me the space to keep going at my own pace and don't endanger themselves or others

Now, finally, I had the opportunity to pass Fast Boy, dressed in spandex, wearing Oakley mirrored glasses, and steering a carbon fiber bike Further, the fact that the Verve + 1 is the furthest away from the fastest bike makes my overtaking all the more humorous

For the first 10 miles, I had to stop several times to wipe the rain off my glasses The rain was coming down sideways

Despite the initial inclement weather, conditions improved as we approached the Governor Albert D Rosellini Bridge, which crosses Lake Washington, a large glacial lake east of Seattle

Just before we entered the ramp across the bridge, the freezing rain stopped and the sun came out for 15 minutes This was enough time to break the record by crossing 7,710 feet and 33 pontoons (I learned about them on an interpretive board along the way) And part of my journey was awe-inspiring

The water spread out on either side, Bill Gate's sprawling mansion in the distance behind, the Seattle skyline glistening ahead, and the Olympic Mountains barely visible behind it

Down in Seattle, the last 700-foot incline, rush hour traffic, and rain again

Despite the low points and very numb face, I had an absolute blast on my first long distance electric bike ride And I look forward to getting back out there this weekend

After all, Woodinville Wine Country is about 20 miles away by bike I also figured out how to save my battery