Electric bikes are great for short hops from the campground

Save gas, and wear and tear on your car or RV

By Chuck Woodbury

I have ridden an ebike, and I am here to tell you it is way too much fun. And way too easy. These magnificent machines will soon be all over the RV parks. They're lightweight, small when folded up (they will easily fit in a car trunk), and they buzz along the street or trail silently without eating an ounce of gasoline. They can be peddled like a bicycle (they have five speeds) or can be powered with electricity, in which case they buzz along silently at 15 mph. You don't need a license to drive one, and the bike doesn't need a license either. For RVers who are looking for a way to extend the territory they explore without hauling along an extra motor vehicle or burning the fuel of the one they have, e-bikes are made to order.

The biggest appeal to RVers might be to those who are less than physically fit. With an ebike, they can pedal on level roads — and benefit from the exercise — but when they come to a steep hill, they can simply push a lever on the handle bar and let the Power on Demand system take over.

Remember Lee Iacocca -- the guy behind Chrysler and before that the creator of the Ford Mustang? Well, he's out of the car business these days and into the ebike business, building sleek, lightweight, efficient ebikes and selling them for about the same price as a quality bicycle.

Ebikes buzz their riders around like a moped or mini-motorcycle, but they only weigh 49 pounds so pulling one off the rack on the motorhome or trailer doesn't take Charles Atlas strength. And ebikes don't burn gas, just a tiny bit of electricity. Plug one into any electric plug and in minutes you're ready to hit the road, pretending you're Peter Fonda in the 60s' cult movie Easy Rider!

The e-bike is truly a hybrid! Pedal it like a bicycle, ride it like a scooter, or blend both for a ride that's great for keeping you in shape. No treadmill in your RV? Then pedal the ebike and burn off calories, lower the blood pressure and build strong arteries! But when a hill gets just too darn steep, crank up the electricity and let the trusty ebike power you up and over without risking cardiac arrest.

The lightweight ebike can be folded up to fit in a car trunk or RV storage compartment. You can't do this with a moped or motorcycle! And there's no dripping oil to worry about.

An ebike is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. It requires no gasoline or oil, and is "fueled" by a 36-volt lithium ion battery system. It can reach a maximum speed of 15 mph with a range of 20 miles or farther if pedal assisted. The battery can be plugged into any standard 110-volt household (or campsite) outlet and be fully recharged in 90 minutes (or mostly-charged in 15 minutes).

For about $1,300 to $1,400, you can be riding your very own ebike. Add a mini-trailer to the ebike and you've got a small, easy-to-use vehicle capable of hauling 100 pounds of cargo over five miles at 15+ mph. That's plenty of weight to haul a heap of fishing gear and a limit of whopper trout from the old fishin' hole!

And if you're thinking of getting an ebike, here's good news. No matter where you live, as long as you have an address, UPS will deliver an ebike right to your door for only $75.