Should I be building an Ark Instead of an Electric Bike?

We are currently having torrential rain. I've had to reassure my husband that this is 100-year flood-type weather, not normal Colorado weather.

It makes me wonder if we should be building an ark instead of an electric bike.

home-made (unsuccessful, sort of) foam and duct-tape boat.

Because of the weather, I took the moped today. Usually he'd take it, because he has further to go, but in inclement conditions, the exposure counts for more than the gasoline. It was a wet ride. The water stung, and I only get to about 40-45 mph.

The bike would be more comfortable, because it's slower. Of course, I also need to waterproof the electronics.

Hubby did a good job milling down the part we needed in order to replace the sprocket on the motor. I need to tighten it up, but it occurred to me that I can just run the thing and hold the nut and it'll torque itself on pretty well. Of course, that occurred to me at my 9-5, so I can't test this hypothesis until I get home.

Fun with Electronics

So the plan is to assemble the bike once it stops raining. It does me no good to short the connections (most of which are not covered, and will not be until I am sure everything is placed correctly).

And I am still trying to decide which frame and which wheels I will be using.

Fun with prototypes, right? I never claimed the road to Revolution was a straight or tidy one.

Revolting Project 0: Mo' money, Moped

It occurs to me that our very first "Buck the American Dream" project was purchasing a moped. It's a beauty, too. It gets about 85 miles/gallon, the insurance is like $100 a year, and the registration is next to nothing.

Hubby and I can ride it together, so our excursions are on the moped. So far the thing is saving us around $50/week on gas or more.  I'll have the numbers next month. That, by the way, is including the insurance cost and the cost for the registration. The gas savings pay for the whole thing in less than 4 months. And because we live in Colorado, where the skies are clear pretty much all the time, the precipitation is not much to worry about, meaning we can use the moped all year round.

Of course, our next one will have to be electric :-) and I'll rig up solar panels for it to re-charge during the day.

Do you have any super-energy-efficient tools/toys? Tell me about them!