DarkSky.net
Start time at the shop was noon, but all morning CBC Radio One has been talking about rain coming and staying around till nighttime. The commuter e-bike I’m trying this week isn’t equipped with fenders, so I thought it best to consult DarkSky.net to see what messiness was heading our way, and when.
After checking the site earlier I saw the storm system and it was somewhere southwest of Lake Erie with winds pointing directly at us. Now, after refreshing the site, rain was was much closer so plan B went into effect – leave early, beat the wet.
This is another instance where an e-bike can prove to be a great city vehicle, in a dramatic race to beat the rain (well I thought it was dramatic). The first drop of rain hit my arm before I left my backyard, but it turned out to be just a forewarning. As hoped for, my plan was a success; the rain held off and I arrived at the shop dry as a bone.
Given my early arrival time, I left for a close-by café to do a little work. It was on the walk over to Tim’s when the skies decided to open up. Just a little damp, I settled in to my seat with a piping hot dark roast to write a few thoughts down and it came to mind that I just experienced three things that I really like; Tim’s, DarkSky.net, and e-bikes. So does the whole crew at Gears, Leaside. Not much need be said about Tim’s, that’s a reputation as big as the breadth of Canada, and we love that there’s an outlet only 2 minutes from our store.
Although DarkSky.net isn’t as well known as Tim’s, it is growing on the radar of cyclists and indeed all outdoors enthusiasts. And speaking of radar, that is one of DarkSky’s great features; it shows rain clouds on radar along with an indication of wind direction by using a series of mini arrows. Furthermore, it will say what time rain is expected to hit where you are at the moment. It does this by zeroing in on your location and computing, with distance and speed of the system, exactly when the rain can be expected. The fact that it gave me the opportunity to create a plan B bears out why we heartily recommend DarkSky.net to all our customers and indeed all cyclists.
Lastly I come to e-bikes. This is a subject we are enthralled with because it’s the newest technology in the biking world, and their popularity around the globe is now being mimicked in North America. We see it every day in the store, and all our stores are witnessing the same increase in interest. If you don’t yet know what all the buzz is about, drop into any of our four locations and test ride one. You will be part of the growing group of people who know what e-bikes deliver and why they are a major development in the effort to remove cars from the road. What’s more, they’re a blast to ride! Come try one out!
Empowered by Gears 