record holder sushil reddy is riding a solar powered e-bike across the US
the solar powered bike trip started on august 15th from north carolina and is expected to finish in texas by the end of 2021.
CHASING SUN FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO TEXAS
the sun pedal ride is an outreach project started by sushil reddy in 2016. the idea is to have conversations about clean energy and sustainable mobility via endurance journeys undertaken on zero tail-pipe emission vehicles. sushil, who holds the record for longest journey on a motorized bike, is currently doing a US coast-to-coast ride together with his partner luis fourzan.
the two have started their trip on august 15th from north carolina and are expected to complete the journey in texas by the end of 2021.
40 MILES PER DAY FROM SOLAR POWER
sushil rides a customized all-terrain cargo bike which is retrofitted with an all-axle front hub motor. the battery energy supply is in great part provided by the two solar panels mounted in the back. on sunny days, those panels give a range of 35 to 40 miles of travel distance (they usually ride about 70 miles per day). the benefit is much lower with cloudy weather and, according to sushil, it only becomes extra-weight when it’s raining.
an IDEA FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUTING
luis on the other hand is riding a regular electric bike. in this way they can analyze how much of a difference the solar panels are making.
‘there is an urgent need to combat climate change by shifting towards a sustainable means of living and the sunpedal ride project is an attempt to inspire people to change their individual lifestyle to adopt a more sustainable one.’ says sushil.
project info:
name: the sun pedal ride
bike: yuba boda boda all terrain cargo bike
solar panels: 2×50 watts
