Holidays are here!
Now is the time for warm lights, good food and cheerful company.

It’s also a time for giving gifts and sharing bounty. We have plenty to share. Throughout the month of December our bikes will be on sale as we look to reduce inventory and get ready for what’s new in 2022.

If an eBike is on your wish-list this Christmas this is the perfect time to test ride and fall in love with a new pair of powered wheels. Do bikes wrap well? No. But with the savings we’re offering they’re worth the effort.

The shop will be closed from the 24th of December through the 6th of January in order to give our hardworking crew time with their loved ones. If you’re looking to have any work done on your bike this month we encourage you to join us before then.

As some of you may have read in the Locals Guide…

…we are encouraging all eBike enthusiasts to apply pressure to their national representatives to vote “yes” on the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (EBIKE) Act.
The bill is listed as H.R. 1019 in the house and and S.2420 in the Senate.

Thank you for helping us make electric bikes more financially accessible!

How to Email Your Senator

If you live in Oregon’s 2nd District (like we do) you can email your representatives using the links below:

Senator Ron Wyden
Senator Jeff Merkley
House Representative Cliff Bentz

If you don’t live in Oregon’s 2nd District and want to find your representatives’ email address,
we recommend using govtrack.us

A Form Letter to Email

Honorable [Representative],

I’m writing to urge you to support the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act (E-BIKE Act). This act, H.R.1019 or S.2420, represents a bipartisan opportunity to create tax incentives for purchasing personal electric vehicles. The 30%-of-cost credit is a reasonable motivation to purchase an E-Bike and the $8,000 spending cap ensures that the bill is working for the citizens that need it most.

Electric Bikes have been shown to encourage Functional Bicycling – which has positive impacts on personal health, the environment, and independence from non-renewable resources. More Americans on bike seats represents a reduced cost to our healthcare system. Recent upswings in electric bike sales represent a growing desire among Americans of all walks of life to shift towards a more sustainable method of personal transportation.

Supporting the E-BIKE Act helps America pedal into the future.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Based on the 1^st quarter of this year 2021 is going to be another one for the record books here at the shop. It is such a delight to see bicycles finally getting their due in the US. Too bad it took a global crisis for it to happen. Nevertheless, scores of new people are embracing bicycling and that’s a global win-win! The story told by so many as to their decision to get onto two wheels, in many cases, has gone something like this: Initially there was fear of falling prey to the coronavirus due to an honest assessment of one’s personal state of health or lack thereof. It’s clear that the least healthy among us have been the most at risk. That state of fear was crippling for so many in countless ways.

Thankfully, the next step was the process of catalyzing the fear, which can far too easily become more deadly than the virus itself, into an affirmative action plan with increased health and overall well being at its core. Enter the time proven benefits of bicycling. Not only does biking positively impact your physical fitness at every level but it also has been a godsend in balancing the myriad other psycho/mental/emotional challenges that lock downs, loss of social activities, isolation, etc. have heaped upon the masses. There has, it seems, been a shocking lack of humanness in our collective strategies to “save humanity”. That comment, and the ensuing conversations around it, will keep us engaged in lively debate for quite some time to come. No doubt about it.

Newcomers have embraced biking and now all the expected advantages of that decision are being felt by so many. The groundswell of interest is gaining momentum by the day and the people continue to feel better.

So, now that an end to this crisis is at least beginning to be discussed, how will we proceed? My musings tend, as they always do, to the general more than the specific. I hope to see more emphasis placed on our personal sovereignty and innate sensibilities to ascertain what is the best path for us to follow. The rampant surrender to the word of external authority figures and groups, all of which ultimately lean in favor of their own agendas, is a dangerous direction to pursue. A return to greater personal agency and responsibility is needed now more than ever. The inherent wisdom within each of us that can recognize what is life-affirming and what is not needs to return to the center of all our choices, big and small.

 

These are the days of dangerous opportunity. May we choose well. Breathe deeply, smile often, and keep on riding!

 

Last year was a wild and heady ride here at the shop as we broke all previous records. Interest in all bikes in general and in electric bikes specifically has skyrocketed. The myriad benefits of biking are finally getting the attention they’ve deserved for so very long. We’re thrilled about it and, as the beginning of this year has shown us, 2021 will be another one for the record books. New inventory is rolling in weekly and should continue throughout the year with far less scarcity than I know many shops are experiencing. Different companies have different production models in place and I’m thankful that our brands are doing better than others.

This year’s bikes and accessories are all very exciting, the team here at the shop is the most solid ever, and I’ve personally discovered a renewed sense of enthusiasm for all things electric bike shop-related. It helps immensely to see the growing interest nationwide in electric bikes and their place in a new vision of transportation. Individuals, businesses, and municipalities are all climbing onto the saddle of this two-wheeled revolution. Thank goodness for that – at last.

Thirteen years ago when I had my first ebike experience, it was followed by an optimistic, epiphany-esque moment wherein I was sure that this “whole ebike thing” was going to explode any day now. I dove in heart first and it’s been full steam ahead ever since. So, it’s deeply satisfying, as we begin our 14^th season here at AEB, to see more of the community/region/nation joining in the fun. In these times, uplifting stories are a well needed contrast to all the rest, and the rise of the bicycle as more than just a toy is a welcome newsworthy event.

We, of course, hope to see more of society reopening as the year unfolds. Specifics around all of that remain yet to be seen but, no doubt, are coming. In the meantime, it’s Now, we are Here, and the wheels will keep on turning. Thanks for all your participation – past, present and future!

Recently I got a chance to chat with a local media channel about electric bikes as part of a Green Living series that they’re creating. It’s always nice to get a chance to spread the good ebike word to a larger audience. Have a look:

Green Living: Electric Bicycles