The acid test......

7:55 am - Saturday - February 8th - Borrego Springs, CA - 37° F, 76% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the west by southwest.....clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 78° F.....the warmest day this week.....

 View this morning

So, Friday was the big acid test for TLE and her new eBike.  She had agreed to ride into Borrego Springs with me to see how she likes the eBike on asphalt.  We did more of a loop this time riding to the intersection of S-22 and Henderson Canyon Road and turning right over to Borrego Valley Road where we turned left heading back south to S-22 and then right on S-22 into town, and the Post Office......

.....I had received payment on the third Seiko Automatic (salmon dial) and needed to mail it to the buyer.  On our return trip we headed back out of town on S-22 all the way home to make the ride a nice loop.  The map above indicates the distance as 17.7 miles, but both of our Garmin GPS cyclocomputers said we covered 18.5 miles.  At any rate, TLE has not ridden a bike since October of 2018 when we were in Burlington, VT.  At that time she was still riding her Cannondale F-600.  Usually when she has not ridden for a long period of time the most I can get her to ride is a 5 mile out and back ride (10 miles total), however, on this day with electric assist she easily handled the 18.5 miles.  I didn't have to ask her how she liked the new bike because the smile on her face as we arrived back home told the whole story.  The first part of the ride she rode using assist levels 1 and 2.  On the return she was using 2 and 3, and on the final hill she went into 4, and then used the bike in full electric mode using the accelerator to cover the last ½ mile.  Doing all of that only used about 20-25% of the battery capacity!  So, the eBike passed the acid test for TLE, and now it should be easier to get her to go on rides with me.

As of Friday we've been at our Borrego oasis for 4 days, and had not yet pulled out our turf, or reclining chairs.  We both wanted to be sure we would be staying in our site for the duration before we began to unpack more stuff.  By Friday afternoon we both felt fine staying just where we are for the rest of February.  Before unloading the turf I fired up the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 to back the trailer up a couple of feet, then drop the trailer, and move the Newell back to its original spot.  Now we can walk in between the trailer and rear of the Newell without stepping over the tongue of the trailer.  Once that was done we unloaded the turf......

.....and our two anti gravity recliners......our environment is now complete....well almost....I'm sure there will be some solar rope lights deployed on Saturday.

 No more stepping over the tongue of the trailer

.......once that was done I plugged the trailer into the Honda 2000i generator so I could recharge the eBike batteries, and do some more modifications to both of our eBikes......

.....I changed out TLE's hand grips so I could install her side view mirror which I removed from her Cannondale.......

.....then I installed a side view mirror on the Haibike......I had already installed my handlebar bag from the Bad Boy......

.....and the seatpost mounted rear bike rack so I could have my trunk bag with me when we go riding.  We'l be using the eBikes exclusively the rest of the time we are here, as well as on our trip to Alaska, so its time to get used to the new setups.  Eventually I will buy TLE a seatpost mounted bike rack so we can transfer her trunk bag from the Cannondale to the eBike.

For our 3rd sunset fire we invited our neighbors to the rear of our site (Fred and Sandra) who are from Alberta, Canada.  We had met them the day before and wanted to get to know them better.  I neglected to take an 'usie' to document our time with them, but I'll get one the next time they come over.  They are a delightful couple, and meeting them just reconfirms why we love this vagabond lifestyle so much......

 4th Borrego sunset

......we had not had dinner yet, so around 6 pm we bid adieu to our neighbors and I lit the Sea-B-Que to grill New York steaks TLE had picked up at Center Market the day prior.....

 Almost a full moon

.....as I grilled the steaks I could not help but notice the moon is just about to reach its 'full' status......

Proof you are loved....Mushroom Alfredo and a New York Steak

.....after I grill steaks I hand them over to TLE who lets them rest a few minutes, and then delivers the finished plate to me.......I turned to her and said "This plate is proof you love me!", and it is.  She is so thoughtful about food presentation, and I appreciate that very much.

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