Sand to Snow
ADVENTURE
The Sand to Snow
Story
We are adventurer lovers, pedelec
enthusiasts and sustainable transport pro-fessionals. With the Sand to Snow tour we aim to inspire a continent that is just dis-covering the fun and the benefits of electric bikes––ride faster, cover longer distances, climb steeper hills and see more in a day compared to a regular bicycle; and get to places that might be impossible to reach by car.
This is a story of pioneers who keep exploring and re-defining the nature of cycling.
A Story of Pioneers
Bikes, drives and communications – the Sand to Snow tour connects three forerunners in their fields:
Germany-based Haibike has been a pioneer and game changer in ePerformance bikes. The brand of the family-run Winora Group is the best selling eMTB brand in Europe today.
Yamaha has long been a leader in high-performance motorsports and now ventured out on their first long-distance pedelec journey. In fact, the Japanese firm invented and first produced electric bikes using the power-assisted principle in 1993.
As the creator of the word pedelec, I gave this category its name in 1999 when my career as a journalist and pedelec adventurer just started. In almost 20 years of international communications work I have seen the markets in Europe and Asia grow and I am excited to now be part of the market development in the USA.
The Sand to Snow tour is also the story the journey itself is telling with its happy and challenging moments, its little victories and downfalls, its extreme contrasts in climate and scenery, encounters with the locals, and the team’s very personal experiences and emotions.
A Trip of Superlatives
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Hottest day: 41°C (106°F) in Moab
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Coldest day: -5°C (23°F) in Sierra Nevada
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Highest point: 3,700 m (12,000 ft) on Hagermann Pass, Rocky Mountains
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Lowest point: -86m (282 ft) Bad Water Basin in Death Valley
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Highest downhill speed: 85 km/h
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Highest water consumption: 8 liters (over 2 gallons) / day
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Strongest wind: On Grand Canyon Highway to the North Rim (and back)
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Heaviest rain: Entering Death Valley from the North
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Deepest snow: hip-deep on Hagermann Pass
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Deepest sand: Cross-country ride between Jacob Lake (Arizona) and Cannonville (Utah)
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Biggest surprise: Finding a blooming desert in Death Valley
The Adventure in Numbers
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Distance travelled: 5,000 km (3,100 miles)
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Elevation climbed: 57,000 meters (187,000 feet)
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Riding time: 180 hours
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Days on the road: 66
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States crossed: 5 (California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado)
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Bike events: 3 (Sea Otter Classic, Monterey; E-Bike Expo in Palo Alto and Denver)
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Green Lane Cities: 2 (San Francisco, Denver)
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Bikes: 5 Haibike ePerformance bikes, SDURO line powered by Yamaha
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Batteries: 13 (one for each pedelec plus 8 spares)
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Team members: 6 with 2 swapping halfway through and 4 travelling at any time
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Riders: 3 with 2 riders on the road at all times
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Cameras: 10 photo and film cameras incl. 5 GoPros and 1 drone
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Bags: 25 Ortlieb bike bags, backpacks and duffles
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Sponsors: 19 plus countless supporters
The Bigger Picture
Pedelec Adventure is not only about exciting e-bike expeditions - although we love what we do, of course - but also about giving an example how electric bikes can open up new horizons, for anyone. In the United States, pedelecs have yet to take off and we are supporting this end.
This is why we stopped at consumer events as we teamed up with the Electric Bike Expo. This e-bike promotion tour offers test rides to the American public and we were happy to meet the geeks from Google, Facebook and Co. in Palo Alto in April, before finishing our trip at the Electric Bike Expo in Denver in June.
Sharing our Story
In our specialized team we capture every aspect of the journey. Firstly, there is this blog and our social media channels for live updates as well as the traditional media for extensive coverage. We hope that our images, stories, and videos will inspire people about sustainable mobility and energy and we wish for them to be shared worldwide. Through our international network we reach out to about 3 million contacts.
Our short movie produced by feinfilm will premier at the international bicycle trade show Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, Germany (Aug 31- Sep 4, 2016). The movie’s U.S. debut is set for Interbike in Las Vegas (Sep 21-23, 2016) with more presentations and talks and a feature-length documentary to follow.