It was about one year ago that I suffered a medical emergency that put me in hospital for 1-week, and sent my car to the scrap-heap.

Despite a battery of tests and being placed under the care of an Endocrinologist, no cause of my medical condition could be determined.

Rather that performing more tests, our medical system washed their hands of me and left me to my own devices.

So, over the last year, I've taken matters into my own hands, did my own research, and made some lifestyle changes.  And although tests indicated that there was nothing wrong with my ticker and my blood sugar levels were normal, I wasn't so sure.

Adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle was easy.  More veggies, fewer carbs, cut calories, more fish, less red meat, regular exercise... you know the routine. 

Having no car, and with car dealers without inventory, I decided to give a no-car lifestyle a try.  First, I needed a bike for necessities.  To meet that need, the Radwagon cargo ebike did the trick.  And although the bike is great for local grocery runs, I was limited to about a 20Mile radius.

So, I became a regular user of Amazon and Big-Box store delivery services.

And although living without a car is indeed manageable here in the lower mainland of BC where the weather is rather temperate, I'm sure excited about getting my new car next month.

I am pleased to report that over the last year, my health is much improved.  I haven't had any medical issues for months and lost 60-pounds.

I plan to continue my health-restoration journey; however, I fear if I lose any more weight, half my clothes will be unwearable.  😊

After totaling my SUV this summer, and spending a week in hospital, I decided to see if I could survive without a vehicle in my life.

Of course, I would need something to get around and to pick up supplies.  And the Radwagon-4 fit the bill.

I'm pleased to report that after a few lifestyle adjustments, and some refinement of expectations, I've adjusted just fine to relying on my ebike for my day-to-day needs.

I do plan on getting another vehicle, however with supply line constraints, getting a suitable replacement vehicle may take another 6-months.

Perhaps another ebike is in order? 

Took my first winter ride yesterday.  Temperatures hovered just below freezing.   My battery was about 80% charge and stored indoors where it's warm (70degF).

It didn't take long before the bikes performance started to suffer.  I would estimate at least a 30% drop in power with a similar loss in range.

I've learned that low temperature riding can do permanent damage to your battery.

Has anyone experimented with insulating or perhaps wrapping your battery with a heater?  I've sourced a 12V-15W heater that I'm considering fastening to the battery in an effort to keep it warm.

Would be interested in hearing about your experiences as it promises to be a long, cold winter.

After months of dead-air from Rad in respect to the shipping of replacement tires, and now they don't even respond to my inquiries, I've decided to replace my ebike.

To that end, I've ordered a new ebike from Specialized which is scheduled to arrive in about 2-weeks.

I'm hoping that purchasing a bike from a reputable company with a great dealer network will result in decent customer service.

If and when I receive safe replacement tires from Rad, I'll put my RW4 up for sale and wash my hands of the matter.

Huge lock proved a challenge to mount on the bike.

This arrangement appears to work well.

For those who are looking to ditch the heavy center stand on their RW4, there's a nice option on AliExpress that fits with minor adjustments.

To get the mounting bracket to fit snuggly inside the confines of the bottom bracket, you'll need to remove about 1mm of material from the kickstand mounting bracket.  Easy enough to do with a file or grinder.  Afterwhich, it will bolt right up using existing RW4 hardware.

Super strong and easy to use.

AliExp link and pics below (middle brace):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000177820723.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.60291802tHfQ2h

Extra bonus...no more tearing up the garage floor!

You'll need to fab a mounting bracket as the RW frame is too large to accommodate the RW bag mounting brackets.  I used a 1/2" solid aluminum rod with teflon frame spacers to accommodate the Rhinowalk pannier mounting clips.

Needed a way to get my RC sailboat to the pond.

Banged up a boat mount that fastens to the running board.

Easy mount/dismount as needed.