2014 Zero S and SR

I recently learned how to summon the ultimate power of the universe. Perhaps surprisingly, it didn't come about by bending a knee or popping a potion, but rather, through twisting my wrist. I'll tell you more about this revelation, but first, a confession. Faithful readers may suspect that I am a bit taken with electric motorcycles. I write about them frequently for AutoblogGreen and spend a lot more time reading about them and following various racing and development efforts. Yet, despite my infatuation, I had never actually ridden one before showing up at the headquarters of Zero Motorcycles in Scotts Valley, CA a few weeks back. In fact, I'd never previously piloted any sort of motorcycle on the street. Something I may have neglected to mention to my generous hosts. I grew up in Canada, and early on my Dad decided snowmobiles would be a better sort of recreational vehicle for our family's somewhat rural existence than motorbikes. He was probably right. I raced through tight forest trails and across open fields whenever there was snow on the ground (and sometimes when there wasn't), and it opened up the great outdoors to me far more than any sort of two-wheeled vehicle could. You can't easily ride twenty miles down a frozen river on a motorcycle, for instance. Heck, in a pinch one could even power a sled across a couple hundred feet of open water after a sudden thaw of the mighty Petitcodiac. (Note to my Mom: I never did this. Especially not twice.) But I digress.