I rented an e-bike and it changed my life

My fondest childhood memories live around bicycles. My siblings and I were inseparable from ours.

I remember my first bike so clearly. It was yellow, with training wheels, I think I was about three when I got it. My older sister had a red one. I remember that just as vividly, mostly because it eventually became mine. lol

We rode everywhere. Around the yard. Up and down our street, 15th road. To the shops when we were sent. Everywhere.

One memory that always comes back is riding with my dad. We took our bikes and rode a little outside Tsumeb, to his friend’s farm. It turned into such a wholesome, special bonding moment between us.

And then there was the pure joy of speeding down 15th Road - the freedom, the thrill, the wind in my face.

Those were some of my happiest moments.

I’ve lived in Windhoek for over a decade now, and for all that time I kept saying, I’ll get a bike one day. But I would never get to it. Also because, why do the good ones cost the same as a basic car? Oh my days!

Still, I always knew I’d get one eventually. For daily commuting, exercise, but also just.

Then I heard about e-bike Africa. They make and sell e-bikes, and I was already a fan of their brand, their work, their ethos. And then I found out they also rent them out? SOLD!

That’s when it clicked.
Instead of buying, I could rent. Try it out. See if I’d actually use it and then decide if I would buy one.

So when my birth month, July, rolled around, I decided to gift this to myself. I applied, got approved, and had my partner pick it up for me.

I was only meant to have it for the month.
It’s December now, and I’ve had it since July.

If I’m being honest, my biggest fear was Windhoek traffic. Both roads to my house are main roads. I live on a main road. I knew that navigating traffic would be the hardest part. And because I wanted to use the bike for daily commute, it meant peak traffic hours would be the actual nightmare.

Before my first proper commute, I asked my partner to do a test run with me over the weekend. Just to figure out the route, get comfortable, and see how the bike felt. We turned it into a fun little day and accidentally created a new core memory.

My first commute was nerve-wracking. I left the house at exactly 6am, just to get ahead of the school-run chaos.

It was still dark, but the bike has a really good light, so I could see clearly. One of the things I love about an e-bike is that you can glide - you pedal, yes, but you don’t have to all the time. And in a mountainous city like Windhoek, that makes all the difference.

I ride with traffic, not against it. Someone on TikTok once said to do the opposite, but I realised early on that drivers don’t want to hit me either. They make space for me. They let me pass. It actually feels safer.

Moving with traffic just makes more sense to me. Facing traffic would be too distracting for my neurospicey self.

My favourite moments are when drivers smile at me. Give me a nod. Give me way at the 4 way stop. Roll down a window to ask about e-bikes. So wholesome.

My commute is about 15 minutes. I pass four busy traffic lights. Sometimes I see other cyclists, but most days it’s just people on their way to work or doing school drop-offs.

I’m usually at the studio by 6:20.

On some mornings, I take the highway, and when it’s clear, I let myself glide down the hill and feel the wind rush against my face. It feels so, so good.

But my favourite memory so far wasn’t a commute.

One Saturday morning, my client was reopening her store in Klein Windhoek. I decided to kill two birds with one stone… go support my client and finally do a non-commute cycle in the city.

It was the best ride. The best way to experience Windhoek.

I passed through the CBD. Rode past my old studio. Slid through the quiet streets of the affluent.

Before I knew it, I had arrived - unscathed - and the car that hooted at me earlier was already a distant memory.

I spent about an hour there, then hopped back on Tabby, stopped by The Project Room to buy some art and then rode all the way through the city to the studio in Southern Industrial. I caught up on some work, and later rode home at sunset.

I loved that day. Watch the video here

So… how did getting an e-bike change my life?

The first half of this year was heavy. High stress. Business pressures. The economy. When winter arrived, I was just coming out of the hardest season I’ve had running a business. My nervous system was completely dysregulated. I was exhausted, disconnected, and stuck in terrible habits.

Getting this e-bike turned that around for me.

It brought movement back into my life (I had stopped going to the gym). Endorphins. A sense of calm. I didn’t have time to work out, so my commute became my workout.

But more than that, navigating Windhoek traffic gave me confidence. The kind that reminds you that you’re capable of more than you think.

Riding a bicycle in the city, as a grown Black woman, comes with reactions. Smiles, yes. But also stares. And the occasional “oh my god, I would never.” in conversations or in my comment section.

But strangely… that fuelled me.

It stitched something back into the fabric of who I am - doing whatever the f*ck I want, and not caring what people think. Which, honestly, has always been part of my life’s trajectory.

This e-bike carried me through a season when my mental health and wellbeing were genuinely under threat.

I’m really glad I chose to rent it. And even happier that I decided to extend my lease indefinitely.

For anyone curious, I rented it from e-bike Africa. You can find more details on their website.
I ride the Africrooz-E and pay a monthly rental fee of N$500.
Their customer service has been great too.

When I got a puncture, they sent someone out to fix it for a small fee.

If you’ve been thinking about doing something like this, I honestly 10/10 recommend it.

I’ve had the best time with my bike “Tabby,” named by my nephew. Because Tabby is the opposite of Betty lol 🤍