My New Electric Bicycle
HAVANA TIMES — Car prices in Brazil have shot up in recent years. Even though one can always buy a used one for a modest amount, for an average worker they remain quite expensive.
It recently came out that driving schools are no longer mandatory for getting a driver’s license, which makes the process of having a car much cheaper. From now on, getting a license will cost less than 1,000 reais (186 USD).
Since I don’t have a car, and since in the short term we won’t have enough money unless God intervenes energetically, I haven’t paid much attention to the license.
What I had been wishing for, for a long time, is an electric bicycle. Not a motorcycle, nor a regular bicycle. Something supernatural connects me to that type of vehicle.
When I lived in Cuba I had one, but because I bought it used and had no way of checking the battery’s lifespan, the aforesaid battery lasted only six months, after which I had to sell it to buy a regular bicycle.
Shortly afterward I sold that one too, when I was saving up money to escape Cuba.
Here in Brazil, I was using a regular bicycle to go to work. But after changing jobs, the new workplace — on streets much busier and full of hills — demanded more from the brakes, and they failed.
And then came the traffic accident when I crashed into a car. It wasn’t serious, thank God. Just a bruise on my chest and a few scrapes on my legs.
The bicycle was damaged, so we decided to buy a new one, and we took advantage of the end-of-year sales to buy an electric one, quite cheap by current standards.
The usual price of the cheapest electric bicycles is around 4,000 reais, and I got mine for 3,000 (558 USD). Its range, speed, and power are limited, but more than enough for my needs, and after 15 days with it, I am reasonably satisfied.