Header image credit: Dirk Huyghe
Generating and storing electricity while cycling is a perennial issue for anyone who had embarked upon a long cycle. On my current touring bike Wanda, the Koga WorldTraveller, I have a front wheel Son hub which dribbles a current into my phone when cycling via a USB socket clipped to the handlebars. I use the word ‘dribble’ purposefully. I’ve never been convinced that it is very effective at topping up the battery on my phone. That said, the hub dynamo does do an excellent job of powering the lights on the bicycle so it is definitely worth having. I have previously toyed with solar power but have come to the conclusion that when it comes to cycling and electricity the best thing to do is to find a socket that is attached to a power station. But have I been too hasty to dismiss the solar power option?
A short email arrived yesterday from a French chap called Richard Lebrun:
“Hello, I would like to get your support for the project that I am preparing… You will find the details on my siteย www.european-odyssey.org. I thank you in advance.“
If you visit Richard’s website you will discover that he is planning to cycle from France in an easterly direction from Lyon along the ViaRhรดna, over the Furka Pass to Andermatt and onwards down the Rhine (that sounds familiar) before branching away from the Rhine in the direction of Moldova before turning around and returning home:
The ride is to help support an organisation called Vent d’Est:
“The Vent dโEst association was founded in 2002 following the initiative of Tatiana and Thierry Ernst. This Franco-Moldovan couple has been organising and participating in humanitarian actions in Eastern Europe and the Balkans since 1990. They, along with their team, have welcomed more than 150 children aged 3 to 16. The conflict in Ukraine has compelled them to embark on a new project: a women’s refuge.”
Vent d’Est website
Richard sets off in 2025 and good luck to him!
But getting back to the solar power issue. If you visit Richard’s website you might notice his bike:
How about that for a solar panel!
Richard has written at length about his bicycle set-up on this page of velo-solaire.com but below is the section where he describes the trailer required to support his solar panels:
And it looks as though Richard is not alone in adopting this radical approach to keeping everything powered as there are more examples of other cyclists who have also engineered the carrying of the panels onto their bikes. Here are a few of them:
Full details about how they have managed to fit the panels to their bikes can be found here.
Solar panel problem solved?
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HI Andrew, I agree ๐ฏ having toured for three months camping with a small solar power bank, and another three without.
Freewheelindave.blog.
What better excuse to have a comfortable overnight stay indoors than to power up?. I do carry a power brick as I use my Samsung phone with which to navigate. I use a semi solar powered Garmin watch to track my day’s sojourn and another Samsung to blog, bank, photograph and communicate. Carrying two phones might be deemed by the weight purist to be excessive. However as I travel from Australia to take advantage of your excellent EuroVelo having a spare phone, lest my 67 yer old brain misplace one is well worth the mental comfort, to my mind. I find France very good for camping and public power up spaces like libraries etc. Italy is far better for overnight accommodation and an inclusive meal. I buy my data from Australia so don’t use free or included wifi options. So to respond to your poser, yes I agree use the electricity grid, spend every other night or so, in a hotel, and bring one’s own data plan. These have and do work for me. ๐ฅ D๐ป