Danville Historical Society Gives Tour on E-Bikes

Danville, VA– The Danville Historical Society gives tours every day in Danville, but on Sunday they used them as an experiment to see if riding e-bikes on the tour would add a fun new element.

There are only three things that make an e-bike different from a regular bike: It has a battery, a motor and a controller.

Jerry Franklin, the director of Technical Services at Danville Community College, believes those components are a nice addition to the tour.

“He said you know, ‘I’ve been meaning to call you because I think this would be a good compliment to your tour,’ so it was his idea but I’m all for it,” said tour guide Joyce Wilburn.

Franklin said it could make the tour a lot easier.

“Especially in a place like Danville because we’ve got a lot of hills, Main Street hills are pretty tough to climb with a bike but with a e-bike you can go right up it with no problem whatsoever.”

“Maybe if you’re a little skeptical about walking a mile, you wouldn’t be so skeptical if you could have a bike that helped you along,” Wilburn said.

The ride was an experiment, but if the feedback is great, they hope to make it a regular thing.

“People from outside would maybe come in and see our beautiful city and no matter what their fitness level would be able to ride a bike around town,”  Wilburn said.

“When we get more people involved in it and as a group and we’re moving up and down the streets, it’s going to be fun, I can feel it in my bones,” said rider David Slayton.

Slayton say it’s a great way to stay active.

“I could use the exercise of course, so I’ll become smarter and healthier hopefully,” Slayton said.

“That’s the key too it makes exercise fun,” Franklin said.

If you want to give the e-bikes a try, you can visit the Spin Bike Shop on Craghead Road in downtown Danville.