E-Moto adventures with Qulbix

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

Hi Guys!

For a long time we, at Qulbix only had off-road models that were best fitted for adrenaline junkies .
Now, there's a street legal version, is my chance for different kind of adventures

So, here's my first trip with my street-legal Qulbix:
In video:

In words and pics:

FROM THE CITY OF DRAGONS TO THE EAGLE’S NEST

My first ride with the Q140MD Core electric bike took me from the Marshes of Ljubljana, to the Slovenian capital's city centre, over Mount Krim and back to the marshes, where I started.

Taking the day off, with my bike fully charged, I started in Podpeč, a small village surrounded by marshland in the middle of Ljubljana basin. Without much ado, I drove straight to the outskirts of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and on to the heart of the old city centre, ready to do some sightseeing.



I strolled over the Congress Square, on to the Prešern Square, up the Čop Street and back down again, over the famous Triple Bridge towering over river Ljubljanica that connects the modern part of city to the historic old town, dating back to Roman era. With the air smelling sweet of flowers and morning coffee, I couldn’t help but stop at the Central Market to get myself a bouquet of daffodils and some fresh strawberries for the road.



I pushed my bike through the streets of Mestni trg (no, Mr. Policeman, I did not drive through the city centre; or if I did, I did so at a walking pace and oh, so quietly nobody even noticed my motorbike!) and then on to Stari trg.

The steep streets of Castle Hill were no match for my bike, it ate up the road at the same pace as if we were riding through the level marshlands, and I was up the Hill in no time at all.

There I parked my bike and walked through the gates of the beautiful Ljubljana castle, a medieval fortress, which dates from the 12th century.



Up, up, up I went, all the way to the top of the Viewing tower to take a better look at the 'White' Ljubljana, as Slovenians call it. If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out. Lubiana (in Italian), Laibach (in German) or Emona (called by Ancient Romans) has a rich recorded history, starting in mid-1st century BCE with Roman legionnaires, then the Veneti, the Illyrians, the Celts and the Slovene Slavic tribes, then ruled by the Habsburgs, later to became a part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, after that a part of Yugoslavia and finally, in 1991 becoming the capital of its own country, the Republic of Slovenia. So much big history, for such a small city.


On my way down the tower, I took a peek of the castle’s jails and decided I needed some fresh air, instead. I took a breather on the bench in the midst of the castle’s avenue of wild chestnut trees (planted in 1905 by the then city gardener Vaclav Hejnic) that connects the Ljubljana Castle with the Orel peak.



On my way out of the city I stopped at the ominous Dragon bridge to pay homage to the mystical beast that Jason, the hero of Greek mythology, has slain according to legend of the city’s origins.



Paying the Dragon its due, it was time for a nice, long coffee at Hribar Embankment to soak up the Spring sun and charge my bike if needed. The bike was fine, not yet half empty, but I was famished.



Coffee and brownie finished; I headed out of the city due South. Again, crossing the vast Ljubljana Marshes, the country roads turned to gravel, as I turned uphill towards the peak of Mount Krim. The late afternoon sun and the empty road suggested it was later than planned and that I should hurry, if not to be caught by nightfall. My bike’s energy was still good (at approx. 71V), but I was getting tired and getting lost twice in the woods on the off-road, did not help.





Finally, I was back on track and soon reached the peak of Mount Krim a 1,107-meter-high mountain on the southern edge of Ljubljana Marsh. In the 1970s, the Yugoslav People's Army closed the summit to the public and built a radio centre at the top. Since 1991, the summit has been open again to visitors, and there’s a small mountain lodge called Dom na Krimu where you can get drinks and food.



Tired, but happy, I took a seat besides my bike and enjoyed a cup of hot tea soaking up the magnificent view. What a day … Now, as the dusk crept closer, me and my bike took the long road down. Using mostly regen brake upped my bike’s voltage by about 2V, so I reached my goal on point – with 2.121 Wh used of 2.160 Wh starting battery capacity (plus 7,5 % regenerated during my trip).

I was done for the day and my bike was getting hungry as well. Time to get recharged!

Till the next adventure …


My ride: Qulbix Q140MD Core F1 electric bike
Video music by: four_track / Pond5

Here, if you'd like to read more about the beautiful places I visited:
Ljubljana Castle: The Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana Castle Hill: Castle Hill
The Legend of the City Dragon: Ljubljana, city of dragons
Ljubljana Marshes: Ljubljana Marshes
Krim’s mountain lodge Dom na Krimu: O koči - Dom na Krimu

 

[2Intelligent]

Great story! How is customer service for USA?

 

[Qulbix]

Great story! How is customer service for USA?

We sell to US regularly. Just send us an email if you have any questions on import, shipping etc.
We do have a dealer in Canada, if you're located in the North, at the TERRE MX TRACK in the Ontario region.

You'll find more info HERE. Just ask for Dan.

Dan Turcotte: CEO & Instructor at Terre MX

He has 10 Qulbix bikes available for test rides on his MX track and for rental.
This is also him, doing crazy jumps on his track

 

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

Here's a new video (and a new castle ):

Hope you enjoy it!

And in words:
FROM THE SNOWY CASTLE NOT MADE OF SNOW TO THE LARGEST LAKE THAT ISN’T THERE

This time I was set to see the castle called Snežnik, which in Slovenian sounds something like the Castle of Snow. I’ve heard about it before and the name intrigued me. Was it really covered in snow? Did it sit on top of a mountain? Was it all white? What, I wondered. And since I love a good story, I went off, to find out.



As I was planning my trip, I calculated it would take about 122 km to make the round trip, from where I started at the marshes, over the karst plane of Rakitna, down the hill to karst field of Cerknica and then all the way to Castle Snežnik and back again. It was my farthest trip yet, but I had a whole day at my leisure, so I was not pressed for time and I’ve already packed my bike’s charger.



I started, as I have before, at the edge of Ljubljana Marsh. The steep mountain road took me through Preserje and pass the interjection to Mount Krim, but I kept straight on, due South. I couldn’t resist giving a herd of horses I met along the road a pat and offered them a fistful of grass, though they seemed a little perplexed with the strange lady with the giant white head.



I hurried along through the village of Rakitna right to its edge, where a small, artificial lake lies. In the summer, people from all over the area, including Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, which lies just some 25 km away, come here to … well, breathe. Rakitna is the highest lying karst field in Slovenia and the temperatures are about 5 degrees lower than those in the city. That makes a world of difference in the heated summer weeks, when the pine breeze renowned for its healing powers, sweeps over Rakitna taking off the edge of July.

There, besides the lake, where an old mountain lodge used to be, now stands a lovely little hotel, Hotel Rakitna. It’s mostly visited by bikers, who stop for a drink and the view. So, I did the same – I am a biker, after all. A cup of coffee and a formidable chunk of Gibanica later, I was ready to go.



I still had a few kilometres of uphill road left, before my bike could relax and ease down on power consumption. The woody serpentine road made for a lovely ride, as I quickly understood why this road was so popular among bikers. All bends, no one in sight and a scenic backdrop of dozen shades of green. My quiet little bike did not break the spell of Nature and I could hear the birds chirp all around me, despite the helmet. Almost too quickly I found myself back in the valley and entering the town of Cerknica. The traffic was not bad and a good half-hour later I was facing the narrow, paved bridge leading to the castle.



It was beautiful. White, indeed. I took my time admiring its front, which was heavily remodelled in the second half of 19. Century by Princ Jurij of the Schönburg-Waldenburg family. I was warmly welcomed by the castle’s long-standing keeper and curator Ms. Majda, who let me enter the castle walls riding my trusted electric horse. We left the “horse” in the “stable”, feeding, while we set off through the main castle gate.



I have seen many castles of different shapes and sizes, but entering one is always the same – you know you are stepping into a story. Centuries of history of families and their servants, of wealth and of devastation, of tradition and the inevitable change. Some eery, others inspiring, but all thrive, lodged deeply inside the sturdy bricks of the castle walls.



Snežnik was much the same. With its complete interiors intact, I couldn’t shake the filling of somehow intruding, as if that the royal family was just called away on a stately errant and shell return in a day or so. It was everything, starting with the 130-years old bear that guards the main hallway, to the colourful bed covers and white ceramic night pots and washing basins waiting to be used, that kept up that feeling of a live household. My favourite by far was the small, but well stocked library. I could easily imagine being curled up by the open fire, snugly covered with sheep fleece, reading The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola by Slovenian natural historian and polymath Janez Vajkard Valvasor – one of the most significant books that can be found in the castle’s library to this day. Of course, at that time you’d be reading it in German, but the Schönburg-Waldenburgs mostly understood Slovenian, even if they did not speak it very well. They even kept a book of Slovenian everyday phrases to be able to communicate with the local populace more naturally.

The castle had many owners, Ms. Majda told me, the first ones called the Schneberg family. “Oh”, I mused. “So, the name of the castle has nothing to do with snow?” “Well”, said Ms. Majda, “Schneberg does translate to a Snowy mountain, so there you go”. So, the owners were of snow, not the castle itself.

Anyway, I found many more stories at Snežnik, worth telling (you read the entire article here).

Full of new stories, I finally set off in direction of lake Cerknica. Soon I drove onto the long, straight road leading to the vast area of the Cerknica karst lake. I didn’t charge my bike fully at the castle, so I decided to stop at the Visitors center to possibly charge my bike, while I had a chance to snoop around.




The center is an airly, little museum in its own right, depicting the wonder of Cerknica lake. And it is wonderous – hiding below ground in hot summer months and popping up, as the autumn rains begin, taking and bringing back with it the life of Karst. Amongst other phenomenon, it was this mischievous lake, that inspired Valvasor (or in German Johann Weikhard von Valvasor) to write the Glory of the Duchy of Carniola that won him a Fellowship of the Royal Society. The book I saw at Snežnik castle was first published in 1689 as 15 books (four volumes), totalling 3532 pages and due to the enormous cost of printing such a book in 17. Century, Valvasor had to sell his own castle, Castle Bogenšperk and the house in Ljubljana, where he was born. That is some dedication to a project, I’d say.



The lake Cerknica is an intermittent lake in the southern part of the Cerknica polje, a karst field in Inner Carniola, a region in southwestern Slovenia and it typically stays on the karts plain for about eight months a year. When full, it becomes the largest lake in Slovenia. But there’s a catch – you never know when it will fully emerge, so see it at its most magnificent glory is tricky. The lake is an important wildlife resort, especially as a nesting place for many bird species.

I would love to spend more time at the lake, but it was getting late in the day, and I had to head home. At two thirds of the way uphill to Rakitna I stopped at a natural spring at Ogrsko, called Sweet water. An endearing forest-y pit stop welcomes you with two cups, ready for you to quench your traveller’s thirst with an icy drink. There’s no sweeter water on Earth, than that which springs straight from the bosom of the rocks.

That was it for me, I was tired and hungry. My trusted companion still had enough power to get me home without another charge. We’ve seen a lot today, starting with the snowy castle, that was not made of snow and completing our quest with the largest lake in Slovenia, that isn’t really (all) there. Slovenia really is a land full of wonderful little oddities.

‘Till the next adventure!
Read the entire article here.

 

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

Here's another video on SHOPPING WITH AN ELECTRIC BIKE

 

[SlowCo]

Here's another video on SHOPPING WITH AN ELECTRIC BIKE

Please start wearing riding gloves. The first thing you do when falling/crashing is trying to "catch" the fall. Which results in severely damaged hands.

 

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

Please start wearing riding gloves. The first thing you do when falling/crashing is trying to "catch" the fall. Which results in severely damaged hands.

Hi SlowCo, I usually go slow on trips like this, but you're right! I'll do that (the gory pic did the trick )
But how did you like the videos? No comment on my trip?
What do you ride and where to?

 

[Qulbix]

Here's another video from a Qulbix Q140MD Core Race (2021) rider, from Finland:

 

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

Here's a glimpse of my latest adventure
More coming soon.

 

[999zip999]

What voltage is your battery and how big is it ah wise.

 

[Mrs. Electric Moto]

What voltage is your battery and how big is it ah wise.

My bike has got a 72V 30Ah li-ion pack.

 

[Qulbix]

Here's a short video demonstration of the acceleration and stopping power of Qulbix bikes in every-day conditions.
This is what an average rider weighing 90kg, can expect of the Qulbix Q140MD bike, on a typical ride in terms of acceleration and stopping power.