"I like to move on my daily commute"

Lieke van Balen works at Maastricht University Medical Centre+ and uses the speed e-bike for her daily commute. Here, she shares her experiences.

'I recently moved to Limburg for my new job at the Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+) and now have a 19-kilometre commute. For the first two weeks, I attempted the commute on a regular bicycle, but it took me an hour to get to work, which is way too long. My new speed e-bike gets me there in 33-45 minutes, depending on visibility and traffic. I love cycling to work.

To me, the biggest advantage of an e-bike compared to a regular bicycle is time: it saves me 50 minutes every day, which is great on long workdays. More importantly, it's good for me. If I cycle fast enough, I'll get enough exercise in during the day that I don't have to hit the gym at night. The only downside of an e-bike is that you're dependent on electricity. You need to charge the battery every two rides in order to reach maximum speed. And the e-bike I have is hard to ride on an empty battery. It only happened once due to a power outage in the bicycle parking at work. Fortunately, there are usually plenty of charging points around.

I couldn't be happier with my e-bike; it was really liberating that first week. I plan on cycling to work year-round, even in winter. After all, cycling is a great way to stay warm.'