The Goal

           This summer, I wanted to make a solar powered bicycle and ride from Ladera Ranch to San Francisco. This is a 435 mile ride that I hoped to do in 5 days, biking an average of 25 miles per hour.

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             After researching, I found that there have been some solar panel bicycle races such as the 2013 Sun Trip from Lyon to Kazakhstan’s capital, but there are not any commercial solar panel bicycles currently being produced - all have been homemade. I think solar panels are fascinating because they take advantage of renewable energy and I think that with improvements, Solar will become much more efficient and used to power vehicles in the future.

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           My dad and I have always biked together. We agreed that this would be a good project for us this summer because it is both a challenge to us mentally and physically and finishing the ride would be a huge accomplishment. It would also be a great way for us to spend time together.

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           We completed the ride. We did not get to San Francisco because wires in the controller connecting to the battery and the motor melted four times, but I learned a lot and I plan to continue to alter the bike and go again next year. We started our ride in Ladera Ranch and finished in Big Sur.

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          I am posting this website SolarBikeProject on what my dad and I did in our project and what we learned both so that I can look back on this project in the future and so that if anyone has ideas on what I can do better they can comment or email me @amanda.weckerly@cox.net. Also, if anyone is looking to make a solar panel bike, maybe you can learn from my mistakes! Enjoy!