Bike rides around Stub Stewart

Stub Stewart State Park was a great place to have a new bike, as it has a number of interesting places to ride, plus is in the middle of the 21-mile Banks-Vernonia State Trail.

One of the first places I rode was the Stub Hilltop area, which has a picnic shelter and tables, nice views, a disc golf course, and a mountain bike area:

Stub Mountain Bike Area

Stub Mountain Bike Area

Stub Hilltop Shelter

Stub Hilltop Shelter

Bikes

Stub Hilltop area

View and bike

View

I used Strava to track my ride, and Relive to convert the route into a 3D video:

The start of the disc golf course through the trees at the hilltop area:

Disc golf course

Disc golf course

Disc golf course

I also rode along a very small portion of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail:

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Ride video:

And another portion of the trail, with a nice bike repair station where the trail crosses the Stub entry road:

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Ride video:

A short ride video around the campground:

Heading further towards Banks:

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

The trail crosses the Buxton Trestle, a 733-foot long, 80-foot high former rail bridge:

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

Banks-Vernonia State Trail

A rather green pond by the Buxton picnic area:

Pond

The picnic area below the Buxton Trestle:

Picnic area

Picnic area

Picnic area

Picnic area

Picnic area

Prison work crew doing landscaping:

Prison work crew

Ride video:

A video of the first ride Jenn and I did together:

Another day, Jenn and I took a picnic lunch on our bikes to the Buxton Trestle:

Picnic on bike

Picnic via bikes

Picnic via bikes

Ride video:

Was this post interesting? I figure our exploring by bikes is not too different to exploring by hiking or driving, in terms of post topics, and may be of interest to some people.

Lectric XP 2.0 ebikes

For several months, we had been thinking about getting bikes to aid in our RV travels. Another option to get around large campgrounds, and to explore surrounding areas.

We wanted ebikes, i.e. with a pedal assist and/or throttle motor, to make it easier to cope with hills and such.

And we didn’t want to have to deal with a bike rack, if possible, both due to being extra hassle, and more of a security risk if we’re parked somewhere with bikes on the back of our truck.

We (mainly Jenn) spent quite some time researching the options, including a spreadsheet comparing the specs for several candidate models.

Fortunately, we found the perfect bikes for us: the Lectric XP 2.0 ebikes. They are affordable folding bikes, certainly not high-end, but with enough features for our needs and experience levels. They are very popular, perhaps especially with RVers, so you may have seen them riding around.

And importantly, they fold up small enough to fit in the bed of our truck under the tonneau cover. So we can travel around with them securely out-of-sight.

Some stats: the bikes are class 2 ebikes, i.e. include pedal assist and throttle, limited to 20 MPH, though can be changed to class 1 (pedal assist only) or class 3 (up to 28 MPH) via preferences. They have a 500W (850W peak) motor, 5 levels of pedal assist, with a base range of 45 miles per charge. They have 20” wheels with 3” wide tires, front suspension, disc brakes, 7 gears, backlit LCD display, and weigh 64 lb. They are 67 x 25 x 47” when unfolded, and 37 x 18 x 28” when folded.

On with the pictures. The Lectric bikes are only sold online, so we had them shipped to our mailbox, and picked them up when in the Portland area. Here’s the carton for my bike, plus a couple of cargo packages, in the bed of our truck:

Carton in truck

Unboxing:

Carton

Bike in box

The charger and manual:

Charger and manual

Bike with packaging:

Bike with packaging

Folded bike:

Folded bike

Unfolded bike:

Unfolded bike

Unfolded bike

The display:

Display

My bike by our coach. The battery is hidden inside the frame, and can be charged inside or out of the bike. Here it’s charging inside:

Bike

A closer view of the charging port:

Charging

I installed a Lectric-branded folding lock:

Lock

The bike folded, showing the battery in its compartment on the right; it is held in place by a bolt that requires a key to unlock, for security:

Folded

The battery:

Battery

Here’s the key in the bike, plus the bike lock key and an Apple AirTag:

Keys

The bike again:

Bike

My first ride on the bike:

David on bike

David on bike

My first mile of riding on the odometer:

One mile

The folded bike on the truck tailgate:

Bike on truck tailgate

In the truck bed; on its side isn’t ideal, but I added a bunch of packaging materials from the box as padding to protect it:

Bike in truck bed

Bike in truck bed

It fits under the tonneau cover:

Bike in truck bed

I added mirrors to the handlebars:

Mirror

Mirrors

And a phone holder:

Phone holder

Also a cargo rack on the back:

Rack

It is mounted with thumb screws, so it can be easily removed when folding the bike in the back of the truck:

Thumb screw

The cargo rack was useful for taking the trash out at a campground without nearby garbage bins:

Trash

To personalize the bike a bit, I added an Apple sticker on the rear fender:

Apple sticker

And Dejal stickers on the sides:

Dejal sticker

Plus Sinclair Trails stickers:

Sinclair Trails sticker

I also added a tool bag:

Tools

We bought Sena smart helmets, that include Bluetooth audio and mesh communication, so Jenn and I can easily talk to each other while riding together, without interfering with hearing other noises around us. Very handy:

Helmet

Jenn’s bike was delivered a couple of weeks after mine. While my bike is a step-over, hers is a step-through model. Here’s her bike’s box:

Jenn's bike box

Unboxing her bike:

Bike with packaging

Bike with packaging

Bike with packaging

Partially folded bike (without the seat):

Folded bike

Folded bike

Her battery:

Battery

Like on mine, I taped an Apple AirTag to the end of the battery, so it’s hidden inside the frame and can’t be removed, which will let us locate the bike if it is ever stolen (or we just can’t remember where we parked it):

AirTag

We got the comfort seats for both bikes (though mine has only just arrived, so not shown in the pics). Here’s the comfort one and the one that came with her bike, still wrapped:

Seats

Seats

Jenn’s bike:

Bike

Jenn with her bike

As hoped (based on the measurements), both bikes do fit in the bed of our truck:

Two bikes in truck bed

Two bikes in truck bed

Two bikes in truck bed

With some room for our screen tent, rug, and other stuff:

Two bikes and other stuff in truck bed

Another addition, a compact bell on my bike:

Bell

Both bikes at a campground:

Bikes

Riding our bikes is lots of fun! We’re very happy with them.