Last major initial test for the Innergy - can I deliver herbs on it? Not so much a test for the bike, but for the whole concept - can we can the car?
Herbs are fragile, our road is rough, Australia can be hot, and my buyer wants fresh herbs - not pesto.
The morning was cold. My hands froze as we picked the rocket and dill. But the temperature was in the high teens by the time I hit the road. We packed the herbs in buckets and then put them in the coolbox on the croozer trailer.
Six kms of bumpy lumpy dirt later and I opened the box. Riding the road had rattled me but the herbs looked fine. A few bruised leaves where they rubbed the bucket edges but otherwise undamaged.
The remaining 24 km was sealed. The herbs were just as fresh when I reached the delivery point. Total trip time was an hour and a half (I stopped to pick up some raspberry canes at the garden centre).
More important - I was still fresh. I had the energy to attend a two hour workshop before cycling the 30 km home.
The only drama was a loose nut holding the trailer mounting bracket. I had to stop and loan a spanner off someone to tighten it. I will monitor that.
I reckon I will be able to transport about 100+ bunches of herbs in one layer in my current cool box - or about 10 kg. With the trailer and cool box that would be a total load of around 30 kg. I already know I can comfortably pull 50 kg on the Innergy. With a longer trailer and coolbox I suspect I could more than double the herb payload.
