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Went for my first bicycle ride now that I’m feeling better and OMG was it fun! It’s been near a month, and although I took it a little easy I could feel how it was helping me with getting the blood flowing and muscles working again.
I passed a woman riding her regular bicycle up a steep hill and as I slowly went by she said “cheater” to me. I responded “I still have to pedal” and it was all in good spirits. Which brings me to the point the electric bicycles are so misunderstood. There are 5 power settings on my bike, level one to level five, with five being the maximum power assist level. As you pedal the electric motor will assist your stroke. It’s like your legs become stronger. You still have to pedal though, and if you turn off the system you are pedaling a 60 pound bicycle. I almost always ride on power level one which is identical to the effort my regular 30 pound pedal bicycle takes. The brilliant part about the electric bicycle is that if you hit a headwind, uphill or rough terrain that requires much more effort you can give your legs some help and choose a higher power setting. Not only does it make your ride more fun you can go more places and ride longer.
I’ve got close to 4000 miles on my Giant e-bicycle now, and I get the exact amount of exercise I want without over-stressing my heart and lungs. And it’s so much fun! The Giant e-bikes are the best, and the quality is incredible. I’m still on my original chain and have never run out of power on a ride. You can ride for hours. I’ve ridden over 30 miles and still have half my battery left! Come demo one of our Giant e-bikes and you will see.
2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 S
vs.
2008 Ducati Multistrada 1100 S
From Multistrada to Molto-Multistrada.
It’s ironic that the original Ducati Multistrada, a motorcycle named and designed for many roads, was in fact built for a single road. The Futa Pass, a serpentine route connecting Bologna and Florence through the Apennine Mountains, is no major thoroughfare. Yet Ducati looked at it as the strada writ small. In the Futa’s cracked asphalt and hairpin turns it saw the roads of the world.
It seems like part of the Italian character to focus on what’s close to home. Yet by concentrating on the local and the specific, it gives itself to the world by making things which are at once both self-assuredly Italian and universally resonant. Consider the delicacies of Ducati’s home region of Emilia-Romagna; the best parmesan in the world is made using milk from the Bianca Modenese cows of the Po River Valley, while prized prosciutto di Parma comes from a single native breed of pig whose authenticity is ensured through rigorous genetic testing.
If local flavor is part of the original Multistrada’s renown, what can we make of the latest Multistrada? Because Ducati is quite clear: Merely representing the Futa Pass is not enough for the 2021 Multistrada V4. The new Multi, the company says, is designed “to dominate all roads.” To legitimize this claim, Ducati points out the Multistrada V4 can circumnavigate the globe one and a half times (or 37,300 miles) before needing a major service. However, to achieve this feat, Ducati ditched its signature desmodromic valves for conventional valve springs. This is perhaps the Ducatisti’s equivalent of making carbonara with mere bacon instead of proper pork-jowl guinciale.
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