THE AKITAN
from a stopped position and then keep pace. However, I also found myself trying to speed ahead to take pictures of the others, and then quickly catch up once they had passed. The assist mode was not the best at this, as once I got past that desired speed, it stopped helping. Even on flat ground, I found it difficult to maintain a fast top speed with all of the extra weight. Overall, I think these bikes are perfect for a group looking for a leisurely tour, but for those who need speed, they might not be worth it.
sunshine for the whole trip, and the views were beautiful. After riding through open farmlands and coastal highways all day, we very quickly found ourselves surrounded by lush, green forest for the final stretch. The elevation started jumping as we buckled down and rode towards our campsite. We were making good time, but at this time of year there’s only so much daylight, and we needed to make it before the sun set. Slowly but surely, we headed up the road, into the Oga mountains.
As for the battery, the charge seemed endless. I may not have used mine the full day, but when I was using it, I favored the TURBO setting, as speed demons are wont to do. By the time we reached our destination that evening, I hadn’t even lost the first tick off the battery icon. There were, however, two bikes out of the eight that gave us problems during the trip. Even fully charged, they lost power and would not turn back on. This was pretty easily remedied for us, as we had a team of organizers following along throughout the trip; for a normal customer, though, this could be much more troublesome. We were graced with clear skies and
One issue many of us had with our route was the lack of cafes or shops to visit for breaks; however, as we neared our destination, we came across the Blueberry Garden. This little cafe was hidden in the woods, boasting its very own blueberry farm where you can pick your own blueberries from the fields. Although we were well out of season for picking, we did enjoy some blueberry smoothies out 37
