I have nothing against people who cycle for sport or for exercise but to me cycling is a way to get from A to B, and for the main part that means getting to and from work. 3 years ago I changed jobs from one which was the perfect bike commute of 8km to one that needed me to cycle 15km each way 3 days a week. I am now in my 50s so it was time to get an electric bike.

On Tuesday I went through the bike to work scheme in my how to get back on your bike piece. I found Kuma an Irish manufacturer of electric bicycles in Blanchardstown, and they got me moving on a step through electric bicycle. I paid about €750 up front and then it only cost me €90 a month for a year.

As I am an A to B cyclist, I prefer not to have special clothes for cycling, and not to need to change when I get somewhere. The electric bike is perfect for this., as you only have to exert yourself minimally. You can fly up hills or into a strong wind with no effort. In fact, I wear a suit to work, covered by extra layers in the rain or cold.

At 3 years old, the battery is left charging every night, and this gives me a range to get to work and back, and then some. At the beginning I was getting 2 days of commutes, but nowadays I don’t risk the range anxiety on day , although on a Friday I might leave it uncharged and still do some of my shorter local shopping trips. For those shopping trips I have 2 large 10 litre panniers as well as a front carrier, so can carry plenty.

I clock up 6,000km a year, which is a saving of 2 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The amount of stress I save myself by not being behind the wheel of a car is also notable.

E-bikes are legally limited to 25kmh, which means that I am in the way of some non electric cyclists if they have the wind or a hill behind them, and usually am slower than sports cyclists, but that’s good enough for me: I do get away faster in stop/start city centre traffic. Beyond 25kmh the sensation is a bit like an exercise bike, as you feel some resistance to pedalling. There are also other vehicles on the road which can be confused with e-bikes but I will leave it to Irish Cycle to explain the legalities and distinction.

There are plenty of other e-bike suppliers out there, but I was happy to support local jobs by opting for Kuma. There are also kits for converting normal bikes to electric, but I wouldn’t have the skills.

Overall, for my purposes, the e-bike is perfect. Ironically, today I was on my old green Giant hybrid, as I had to leave it locked outside the convention centre for the day, and was concerned for its security. A colleague who has also recently switched to e-biking also has this approach.

I don’t cycle for exercise, but I have from time to time thought that maybe I should use the old bike once a week to stay fit, but when you do go electric, it’s hard to leave that behind! So why not come join me in the electric revolution. You will love it!