User Blog: Story of a Dog, Bad Knees, and the eBike That Changed Everything

Everyone sees people walking their dogs, right? But how many do we see BIKE-WALKING their pups? This is a true story about how bikes saved – and continue to save - two lives.

PART ONE – As Luck Would Have It

Anyone who's ever had a rescue dog knows who really got rescued. Just look in the mirror.

At this point in my 72 years, I have felt that deeply with eight different canine companions...ALL special and loving in their own, unique ways. Portraits of six of them hang in my office. All I have to do is look up to see them.

Finn is my current four-legged mate, and the bond we share is unlike any I've known before. Bar none.

And it almost never happened.

Had it not been for an over-abundant helping of luck and happenstance, Finn and I might never have even met.

In fact, he wouldn't have been Finn at all. His name was Marcus.

For reasons unknown, he was dumped at a high-kill shelter in the high desert of southern California. A woman from one of the local shelters was there to pick up a different dog when, uninvited, Marcus stood up on his hind legs... slipped his paws through the kennel... and got her attention.

Two pups saved for the price of one...new adventures await!

First adopted by an elderly husband and wife, Marcus was returned to the shelter within a week.

“Too much dog,” they groused.

The next would-be adopters didn’t have adequate fencing around their home so they never were given the chance to bring him home.

Happenstance played its part in the discovery of the third and final almost-adopter.

On the second day after bringing Marcus...now Finn...home from the shelter, I took him to the local dog park. While standing around watching the action, I was chatting with a fellow park-goer.

"Your dog looks a lot like the one I was going to adopt," she said, a little dubiously. "What was his name...do you remember?" I asked.

"Marcus, I think," she replied.

"That's HIM!! THAT was his name!!” I was almost giddy.

“So, what happened, why didn't you take him?" I asked.

"My Aussie sprained her leg about a week before I was supposed to get him and, with her recuperating, I couldn't have another dog here...especially an active one. So I canceled."

Suppressing a smile I said: “I am sorry that happened to your dog but...wow...THANK YOU!!!! His name‘s Finn now.”

Sorry, not sorry inside...I had no idea this was only the beginning of his rescue journey. And mine.

PART TWO – A Real Keeper

Finn is a handsome, gentle, funny, playful, sometimes rambunctious, 65-pound puppy. His DNA test revealed a predominant Golden/Aussie.

A Golden Retriever in body and personality...with the coat of a ‘black-tri' Australian Shepherd - black, tan, and white. Mostly black...a shock of white starts under his neck and spreads as it makes its way down his chest. Tan shins. Paws dotted with perfect little black spots. A Golden's feathery tail. And those playful tan-splotch eyebrows.

A canine stud and occasionally a shameless crotch hound.

Ever had a dog with a double coat? Finn is the shedder-in-chief. From what we pick up off the floor daily, we could knit two large sweaters and a queen-sized blanket.

All pooches need exercise. Some more than others. Others more than those. That‘s Finn.

For the first six days after bringing him home from the shelter on December 29, 2015, he and I walked every day...morning and afternoon...about a mile or so each time.

By day seven, my bone-on-bony knees hurt SO badly, I was afraid – scared - I'd have to return Finn to the shelter. That thought upset the hell out of me...but I kept it to myself. I couldn’t tell my wife. Uttering it out loud would have made it real so I chose to stay in denial...and take Tylenol.

That morning, wrapped knees in hand, I took Finn back to the dog park and, once again, he loved it. Running and wrestling with new friends was FUN!! Stop playing and Finn would bark incessantly...pleading with his new buddy to come back.

On that day he found a big, friendly Bernese Mountain Dog...also with gorgeous black, tan, and white coloring...and wonderful family dogs.

Watching them play was gratifying, but I was feeling increasingly horrible at the prospect of losing him. In one short week, he had already gotten to me. What the hell was I going to do??

On the emotional drive home, we stopped at an intersection. While waiting to make a left turn...in my peripheral vision...I saw...bikes and dogs???

Once focused, I saw two people standing next to their bikes while holding the leashes to three dogs. I quickly rolled down my window.

The light changed...” THANK YOU!!!” I yelled excitedly and turned without crashing.

When we got home, I gave my bike a thorough once over to make sure it was ridable. It had been a while.

That next morning, I nervously clipped Finn into his harness...attached the leash...put my hand and wrist through the loop...mounted my bike...and tentatively took off.

Within seconds Finn proved that woman a genius...a soothsayer!

As he was on our walks, give or take a few inches, he assumed the proper heel position: on my left, barely a foot away...his nose about even with my hip.

Our first bike-walk was a success!! And fun!!! I get to keep Finn and my knees won't burst into flames!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

PART THREE – Big Changes Ahead

The next ten months saw Finn and I bike-walking twice a day, every day...once in the morning and again later that afternoon. Living in southern California made it effortless to maintain that schedule.

During that time, not only did Finn stay fit...but I shed about 30 pounds, as well. In the subsequent years...with cycling my sole exercise...30 more pounds have disappeared...never to return.

I specifically marked those first months because, on November 8, 2016...just slightly more than ten months after Finn rescued us...I lost the love of my life...my beloved wife...to brain cancer.

Tamie was first diagnosed with glioblastoma in June, 2013. We were told the five-year survival rate was 5%. It‘s the same aggressive, indiscriminate cancer that took John McCain and Beau Biden. It spares no one.

Tamie and I had as perfect a relationship as any two people could have. To say that I needed rescuing now is an understatement of the highest order.

Finn, more than ANY human, was there for me.

He was the one constant in my life who kept me going...who gave me a reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He kept me outside and moving...breathing fresh air...reminding me there was still a lot of life ahead.

I'm sure this was the primary motivation behind enrolling Finn and me in the local Therapy Dog program just three months after her passing.

After ten weeks of training classes followed by eleven weeks of successful monitored visits to a rehabilitation and memory care facility, Finn proudly became a Certified Therapy Dog. His newfound mission: Get petted...and often. As expected, he threw himself into the job with reckless abandon and tail wags.

Training with Finn was an unexpectedly enriching experience. We were taught that EVERYTHING flows down the leash. A psychic conduit between companions, if you will. They feel what we feel...whether we realize it or not.

I now know this to be true because, no less than a dozen times during our hour-long training sessions, Finn and I would look at each other. Like we were checking in. And with each successive look, the trust between us grew.

Fellow dog people know what I'm talking about. The rest of you rolled your eyes. It's OK. We love it!

Sometimes I genuinely feel that, if I were to ask Finn to fetch my slippers, he'd look at me with those big amber eyes...offer up a paw...and lovingly respond, “Get off your dead ass and get'em yourself. I got tail chasing in five. Woof.”

PART FOUR – A Different Kind of Help

Fast forward to December, 2021: My new wife and I (YES...I got lucky...again!!!) move into a VERY hilly community near Austin, Texas...where riding a bike was akin to entering the Tour de France.

Remember those bad knees I told you about? Well, a mere ten days into '22, my left one decided that exquisite pain was the best way to ring in the new year.

Prior to this incident, I walked like a penguin with a stick up its butt. Now, that stick had its own stick firmly implanted up in that same vicinity.

The only fix: a total knee replacement. Recovery time: too long. But I was bound and determined to keep it as short as possible. “Two weeks max!” I naively declared to my wife.

Not so fast, Rocky. The hills in our neighborhood are stupid steep and, while riding for enjoyment was a tall enough task...rehabilitating my new bionic knee on an analog bike was out of the question.

Again that familiar query: What to do??

I genuinely don't remember where it came from but, the answer was quick and clear: Buy an electric bike...an ebike.

But which one? There are a lot of them out there.

Days of online research and a neighbor's in-person recommendation led us to choose two Lectric XP2s. One for me and one for Melody, the beautiful bride I mentioned a short while ago.

At only a grand apiece and delivered to our door...it was a no-brainer! But could Finn and I do our thing on it?

It was taking a bit longer than I'd hoped to regain my range of motion and I was getting antsy. I wanted, no...I NEEDED to ride my new bike and get to know it.

Melody had a great suggestion: Just use the throttle until pedaling was possible...and for two weeks, that's what I did.

Zooming around the neighborhood like a kid showing off his shiny, new Christmas or Chanukah gift...I got increasingly comfortable...and had a blast doing it!

The first few attempts with Finn were...to be kind...sketchy as hell. Part of it was my lack of familiarity with the bike. The other wrinkle was unique to the bike.

A quick nerdy aside:
When it comes to ebikes and their motors, there are two types: cadence and torque.

Since this ebike was equipped with a cadence sensor...the lowest assistance level would rocket me up to 9mph. Finn's relaxed, casual trot became an uncomfortably fast canter.

Hitting the brakes...even lightly...cuts the motor...then quickly kills momentum. And so the cycle goes: start fast, slow down. Wash, rinse, repeat.

On a 20-minute ride, I'm fairly certain that pattern recurred about thirty-seven thousand times. I stopped counting after three. While Finn's getting a decent workout, all I'm getting is frustrated.

Then I discovered the bike had cruise control...and that did help.

At its lowest engageable speed of about 7 miles an hour, Finn was barely able to keep pace. I, on the other hand, was still burning zero calories.

This was not a problem on the solo rides I took after Finn and I were done. I was able to enjoy the bike at whatever speed I chose...and get a good workout, to boot.

But there was no doubt in my mind: this cadence sensor was taking the joy out of our bike- walks. I refused to let that happen...they're too important to us.

Well, this is an easy fix: A new ebike!

But which one? A lot of them out there. Back to the Internet.

We loved our smaller Lectrics but it was time for an upgrade. Better quality...some bells and whistles...full-sized...and it MUST have that torque sensor. I needed it to ride more like a regular bike so, could this be the answer?

A friend referred us to a small father-daughter shop in Tucson and, after some good discussion, the owner recommended Velotric (VEL-o-trik)...a company I'd never heard of.

Some quick research revealed a company founded in June, 2021 by one of the men who made Lime a success in San Francisco.

Talent from Giant, Specialized and other top brands was assembled with the goal of making a premium bike at an affordable price.

Their 'Discover 2' had what we wanted: larger 27.5” wheels and that all-important torque sensor.

Melody ordered one in cool Mint; mine was Cherry Crimson. Remember the metallic Candy Apple Red muscle cars way back when? Yeah...like that.

It sparkled in the sun, rode like a dream and, as fervently hoped...allowed me to ride as quickly or, more importantly, as slowly as my balance would allow. No more chaotic stopping and starting. As advertised, it was more like riding a regular bike! Wow...what a difference!! WHAT a pleasure!!

CONCLUSION – Until He Can't

Finn and I have been together over ten years now. As I've bragged for the majority of that time: He started off great...and just got better from there.

His daily routine continues to include two rounds of tail-chasing-and-sometimes-catching and...knock on wood...Finn's only visits to the vet have been for his vaccines and annual checkups.

We've been bike-walking together all but one week of this past decade and, I KNOW it has played a big part in maintaining his good health. And mine.

That indispensable electric bike keeps us both moving and active.

The harsh truth is that my boy just turned 11 this past New Year's Day...and his age is catching up. Our original two-mile-twice-a-day jaunts have been cut in half. Sometimes I think he can do more...but, why push him?

Our bike-walks continue to be the first thing we do in the morning...and, for as long as Finn keeps poking his snout forward so I can secure his vest; and for as long as I see him smiling when we check in with each other...we will continue.

Until Finn tells me he can't.

Thank you for taking this journey with us.