“I was 61 when I purchased my Surface 604 – I never thought I would ride a bike again. I went for a sixteen mile ride the other day, it keeps me positive and that helps keep me out of the hospital.”

— Dwight W., Massachusetts, USA

We didn’t design our line of electric bikes with ‘freedom’ in mind, freedom was more a consequence of our design: fat tires that take you anywhere in any terrain; electric assist that eliminates things like sweating and fill-ups; racks and towing capacity that let you haul all the stuff you need. In fact, we’re still discovering all the ‘freedoms’ our bikes deliver. This story from Dwight W. in Massachusetts takes freedom to a whole new level: the freedom to stay out of the hospital.

I first met Dwight over email – he rides an Element, our first production model, and was looking into some upgrades for his bike like a suspension fork or a suspension seat post. We went back and forth a bit discussing some options, and in one of those exchanges, Dwight shared an amazing story with me, a story that I think will resonate with anyone who rides a bike.

It turns out that when Dwight was a youngster he rode around town on a ’72 Triumph Daytona 500 motorcycle. He rode because he loved to feel the wind in his face and to smell the fresh air. Sound familiar? Dwight’s now in his 60’s and has been forced to battle some serious health issues: he’s survived kidney cancer (twice!) and is also a heart attack survivor.

Dwight told me that the week before we began our correspondence, he’d been on a sixteen-mile bike ride, a ride that he thought he’d never do again. He explained that biking kept him both mentally and physically fit and that his doctor, surprised that Dwight was able to do so much activity given his medical history, wanted to know the name of the bike. Perhaps he’ll consider prescribing some ‘Surface 604’ to his patients along with the ‘Rivaroxaban’.

Thanks Dwight for sharing your story. It’s given the whole team at Surface 604 a lift to know that our bikes can make lives healthier and happier. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories from Surface 604.

Got a great bike story to share? Send it on in – we’d love to read it.

Written by
DAVE HEIGWAY