The Short, Strange Trip of Nathan Abbott: A Cautionary Tale
Ideas often seem better from ten-thousand feet. But even at that altitude, as his plane tracked across the sky from Atlanta to Oregon, 38-year-old Nathan Abbott knew he was embarking on a fool’s errand: A 25-day, cross-country motorcycle journey in November and December. It would be a grueling trip, even on a luxury touring motorcycle like a Honda Gold Wing. Abbott would do it on a Brammo Enertia, the all-electric motorcycle manufactured in Ashland, Oregon. No one had tried pushing the bike’s limits that far before. He would have to make frequent stops to power up. His speed would top out at just over 60 mph. It would be epic, but also held the potential for disaster.
The tagline for his weblog summed up the adventure in 99 characters: “One idiot, 3,800 miles, & an electric motorcycle with a 42-mile range. What could possibly go wrong?” The answer to that question would horrify all those who have ever known him.
Nathan Abbott is no idiot, but he is an adventurer. I’ve known him since high school. After not speaking in more than a decade, we reconnected over Facebook. The guitar-playing metalhead I had known in high school had grown into a true Wired archetype. He was interested in technology, committed to science, and an utter gearhead. His constant Facebook updates indicate that he spends hours online every day. He’s the kind of guy who carries both an iPhone and a Motorola Droid. The kind of guy who jumped at the chance to be the first to buy an all-electric motorcycle and drive it across country.
Nathan (or “Nush” as many of his friends affectionately refer to him) had eschewed a traditional career path after college, and instead opted for a life as an entrepreneur and web professional. After toiling for several years as an executive recruiter, the young Atlantan decided he could do better on his own. A habit of throwing epic parties became a successful business, attracting thousands of young professionals who would pay upwards of $150 each at the door, and even more at the bar, to let loose in private venues across the City to Busy to Hate. These events were pure hedonism. At a crowded outdoor St. Patrick’s Day party in 2009, I watched an inebriated and shirtless twenty-something nose dive from the back of a chair face-first into the gravel. He staggered to his feet, bloodied, and then wandered back to the bar for another can of beer.
Although Abbott also sipped beer, he stayed sober, constantly checking on head-counts from his staff at the door and monitoring how much alcohol had been sold. He wanted to know why the band wasn’t playing yet, and generally acted the businessman amid a bacchanalia. He also made sure the photographers were circulating. Every photo meant money in his pocket, thanks to his other business, Atlanta Illustrated, an events guide to the city and day-after photo site. Loaded up with pictures of Atlanta’s young pretty things, the site is a click magnet, and Abbott did well from its advertising revenues.
Yet none of this was enough. He wanted an adventure
Just like the overwhelming majority of the underwhelming segment of America that’s still lucky enough to slur “Hell, at least i’m employed” over a plastic pitcher of cheap draft, these days, I’m a crispy critter. A french-fried, burnt out, workaholic human shell who longs for the good ol’ days, when an 80 hour work wasn’t considered a part-time gig. But all I ever seem to think about is how far the dust & shrapnel might slingshot out into space if a comet smashed the planet like a lightbulb on a baseball bat. This could be a clue. Maybe it’s time for a little break.
That break would come in the form of the Brammo Enertia. The Enertia is to electric motorcycles what the Tesla Roadster is to electric cars. It’s designed to not only be functional, but fun. Powered by a permanent magnet AC motor with 13kW peak power and 29.5 ft-lb of torque, with a top speed of about 60 mph. It’s sexy to look at, and by all accounts fun to drive. So when the company dropped the price from just under $12,000 to $7,559, that–coupled with a tax break from the federal government–was enough to pique Nush’s gadget lust. He called a Best Buy store in Portland, one of the few places the bikes are available, to inquire about buying one. And although it would be easy to ship the bike to Atlanta, he mulled the idea of buying a $99 one-way ticket and driving it back himself.
Do you know where I could find data on the range to speed curve for the Enertia? Maybe a chart or whatever you have? Otherwise, is there a way I can calculate range at a given speed with a rider who’s weight is remarkably similar to mine (190lbs)? Additionally, is there an easy way to mount an aerodynamic fairing on the Enertia? Does Brammo sell one as an accessory?
To understand why he would want to drive an electric bike cross-country you have to understand “Nush.” Always an iconoclast, he has never fit easily into boxes. In high school, he had long hair, and played guitar in bands, yet wasn’t into our high schools drugged-out music scene. He was friends with everyone. Jocks, hippies, rednecks, nerds; everybody loved Nathan. He remains the same unclassifiable creature today. His politics are a mix of conservative and liberal. He doesn’t count himself as a member of either party, and though he reads Ayn Rand, he doesn’t refer to himself as a libertarian. He bemoaned the Bush administration’s disastrous handling of the economy. He doesn’t feel Obama is faring much better. He frets about America’s debt: It’s unsustainable, he argued to me one night in Atlanta, and will lead to disaster. While recognizing the interdependence of the global economy, he is also an America-first kind of guy. A patriot, even, in his own way.
In the Enertia, Abbott saw not only a cool toy and an environmentally responsible alternative to internal combustion engines, but also a way to make a statement about American dependence on foreign oil. Driving this bike across America wouldn’t just be an adventure, it would be a statement
America may not have much oil, but we have plenty of coal and natural gas to produce electricity. It’ll sure be nice when we can keep the gazillion dollars we spend on energy HERE in the US, instead of sending it to the middle east so the Saudis can buy gold-plated palaces & fund terrorism.
Ever the science geek, Abbott calculated his journey was going to require about 257 kilowatts of power, which at the rate his utility company Georgia Power charged, would work out to a cost of $11.57. He posited a gas-powered trip on his BMW 540i, on the other hand, would set him back at least $490. “Of course,” he noted, “if I did that, I wouldn’t be on the road for 25 days. Idiot.” In his mind, however, this was just a start. He reflected online about the possibility of using roof-top photovoltaic cells to power the charge. He would have to do it himself, but that was okay. Nush does everything himself.
Existing PV technology won’t juice the battery, however, the pace of breakthroughs for PV cells amped up around 2006 when gas prices started diverting venture capital to PV startups. In a few years, PV film or even PV paint might provide some decent recharge while your ride. Still, portable PV will probably never give a full charge. A PV array on your roof would juice the bike. Not a portable solution, obviously, but a good answer to the problem of juicing with coal power from the grid you mentioned earlier. Concentrated solar is where it gets fun. Like frying ants with your magnifying glass except the beam is 750C+ & would instantly vaporize anyone who walked into the light. These things produce a shitpot of power. Check it:
Source: The Short, Strange Trip of Nathan Abbott: A Cautionary Tale
The tagline for his weblog summed up the adventure in 99 characters: “One idiot, 3,800 miles, & an electric motorcycle with a 42-mile range. What could possibly go wrong?” The answer to that question would horrify all those who have ever known him.
Nathan Abbott is no idiot, but he is an adventurer. I’ve known him since high school. After not speaking in more than a decade, we reconnected over Facebook. The guitar-playing metalhead I had known in high school had grown into a true Wired archetype. He was interested in technology, committed to science, and an utter gearhead. His constant Facebook updates indicate that he spends hours online every day. He’s the kind of guy who carries both an iPhone and a Motorola Droid. The kind of guy who jumped at the chance to be the first to buy an all-electric motorcycle and drive it across country.
Nathan (or “Nush” as many of his friends affectionately refer to him) had eschewed a traditional career path after college, and instead opted for a life as an entrepreneur and web professional. After toiling for several years as an executive recruiter, the young Atlantan decided he could do better on his own. A habit of throwing epic parties became a successful business, attracting thousands of young professionals who would pay upwards of $150 each at the door, and even more at the bar, to let loose in private venues across the City to Busy to Hate. These events were pure hedonism. At a crowded outdoor St. Patrick’s Day party in 2009, I watched an inebriated and shirtless twenty-something nose dive from the back of a chair face-first into the gravel. He staggered to his feet, bloodied, and then wandered back to the bar for another can of beer.
Although Abbott also sipped beer, he stayed sober, constantly checking on head-counts from his staff at the door and monitoring how much alcohol had been sold. He wanted to know why the band wasn’t playing yet, and generally acted the businessman amid a bacchanalia. He also made sure the photographers were circulating. Every photo meant money in his pocket, thanks to his other business, Atlanta Illustrated, an events guide to the city and day-after photo site. Loaded up with pictures of Atlanta’s young pretty things, the site is a click magnet, and Abbott did well from its advertising revenues.
Yet none of this was enough. He wanted an adventure
Just like the overwhelming majority of the underwhelming segment of America that’s still lucky enough to slur “Hell, at least i’m employed” over a plastic pitcher of cheap draft, these days, I’m a crispy critter. A french-fried, burnt out, workaholic human shell who longs for the good ol’ days, when an 80 hour work wasn’t considered a part-time gig. But all I ever seem to think about is how far the dust & shrapnel might slingshot out into space if a comet smashed the planet like a lightbulb on a baseball bat. This could be a clue. Maybe it’s time for a little break.
That break would come in the form of the Brammo Enertia. The Enertia is to electric motorcycles what the Tesla Roadster is to electric cars. It’s designed to not only be functional, but fun. Powered by a permanent magnet AC motor with 13kW peak power and 29.5 ft-lb of torque, with a top speed of about 60 mph. It’s sexy to look at, and by all accounts fun to drive. So when the company dropped the price from just under $12,000 to $7,559, that–coupled with a tax break from the federal government–was enough to pique Nush’s gadget lust. He called a Best Buy store in Portland, one of the few places the bikes are available, to inquire about buying one. And although it would be easy to ship the bike to Atlanta, he mulled the idea of buying a $99 one-way ticket and driving it back himself.
Do you know where I could find data on the range to speed curve for the Enertia? Maybe a chart or whatever you have? Otherwise, is there a way I can calculate range at a given speed with a rider who’s weight is remarkably similar to mine (190lbs)? Additionally, is there an easy way to mount an aerodynamic fairing on the Enertia? Does Brammo sell one as an accessory?
To understand why he would want to drive an electric bike cross-country you have to understand “Nush.” Always an iconoclast, he has never fit easily into boxes. In high school, he had long hair, and played guitar in bands, yet wasn’t into our high schools drugged-out music scene. He was friends with everyone. Jocks, hippies, rednecks, nerds; everybody loved Nathan. He remains the same unclassifiable creature today. His politics are a mix of conservative and liberal. He doesn’t count himself as a member of either party, and though he reads Ayn Rand, he doesn’t refer to himself as a libertarian. He bemoaned the Bush administration’s disastrous handling of the economy. He doesn’t feel Obama is faring much better. He frets about America’s debt: It’s unsustainable, he argued to me one night in Atlanta, and will lead to disaster. While recognizing the interdependence of the global economy, he is also an America-first kind of guy. A patriot, even, in his own way.
In the Enertia, Abbott saw not only a cool toy and an environmentally responsible alternative to internal combustion engines, but also a way to make a statement about American dependence on foreign oil. Driving this bike across America wouldn’t just be an adventure, it would be a statement
America may not have much oil, but we have plenty of coal and natural gas to produce electricity. It’ll sure be nice when we can keep the gazillion dollars we spend on energy HERE in the US, instead of sending it to the middle east so the Saudis can buy gold-plated palaces & fund terrorism.
Ever the science geek, Abbott calculated his journey was going to require about 257 kilowatts of power, which at the rate his utility company Georgia Power charged, would work out to a cost of $11.57. He posited a gas-powered trip on his BMW 540i, on the other hand, would set him back at least $490. “Of course,” he noted, “if I did that, I wouldn’t be on the road for 25 days. Idiot.” In his mind, however, this was just a start. He reflected online about the possibility of using roof-top photovoltaic cells to power the charge. He would have to do it himself, but that was okay. Nush does everything himself.
Existing PV technology won’t juice the battery, however, the pace of breakthroughs for PV cells amped up around 2006 when gas prices started diverting venture capital to PV startups. In a few years, PV film or even PV paint might provide some decent recharge while your ride. Still, portable PV will probably never give a full charge. A PV array on your roof would juice the bike. Not a portable solution, obviously, but a good answer to the problem of juicing with coal power from the grid you mentioned earlier. Concentrated solar is where it gets fun. Like frying ants with your magnifying glass except the beam is 750C+ & would instantly vaporize anyone who walked into the light. These things produce a shitpot of power. Check it:
Source: The Short, Strange Trip of Nathan Abbott: A Cautionary Tale
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