Grant Perry turned his love of bikes – and now ebikes – into a whole new lifestyle

Sep 29, 2022
Grant Perry turned his love of bikes – and now ebikes – into a whole new lifestyle

Charmaine

Bikes have been an important part of Grant Perry’s life for a long time. He cycled to work for
many years and also took part in a number of cycling events including Around Lake Taupo
and Hamilton to Whangamata.


Grant’s enjoyment of cycling waned as he aged (sound familiar?). But then he discovered
ebikes. “After trying an ebike, I realised that they open up a whole new world. I could ride
further without burning all my energy. An ebike rekindled the joy of cycling for me. Plus, I
discovered that there’s a pretty amazing network of trails in Auckland, where cyclists don’t
have to battle with cars.”


“It’s easy to live in a city like Auckland without realising how much natural beauty there is all
around you,” says Grant. “My e-biking has taken me onto trails throughout the city which
are incredibly scenic, yet you’d never know about them if you only ever travelled by car.”
Ebikes brought about a dramatic change in lifestyle for Grant.


“My partner Soopy and I owned a carpet cleaning franchise in Auckland which took us out
into the busy Auckland traffic… We were not ready to retire, but we did want to kick back a
bit and take more of a work-to- live approach to life,” says Grant. “We spent quite some
time considering options for changing our lifestyle, and the MeloYelo franchise option
eventually became our top choice. It allowed us to work from home, part-time, and be
involved in a sector that is exciting, growing quickly, and that can have a real impact not
only on peoples’ lives, but on helping Auckland meet its ambitious emission reduction
targets.”

On August 18, 2022, Auckland Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee
adopted the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway. One of the actions required to achieve
Auckland’s 2030 transport emissions targets is a tenfold increase in active travel (walking
and cycling). Safe cycling infrastructure continues to improve, and we can expect to see
some ambitious programmes aimed at getting more Aucklander’s onto bikes.

Now on a regular basis, Grant is getting to do something he loves: Ride his ebike. “When
someone arrives, we spend time getting to know them and trying to
understand how they will be using an ebike. When we go for a test ride, we don’t just go for
a ride around the block. I take the customer on a ride that often lasts for an hour or more,
stopping along the way to educate them on how to ride the bike and making little
adjustments that will improve their riding comfort,” says Grant, pointing out that he is
introducing his customers to cycle trails that they did not know existed. “Of course, a huge
fear factor for many is the danger of riding bikes on suburban streets,” says Grant. “I love to
point out to them the safe cycling infrastructure that’s out there. Lots of our customers tend
to be older people and some of them may not have ridden a bike in 20 years, so they’re not
the most confident about riding on city streets.”

Grant with Leslie

One of our first customers, Chris, was overweight and was concerned about his health. He
discovered how easy cycling on an ebike is with the help of power assist. He’s out riding
every second day now and wishes he’d got a bike years ago. He loves it, and is feeling healthier.

Another of our customers who had just lost her partner decided that she needed to get out
and do something different. She came for a demo ride and found it exhilarating. As a result
she has now joined a bike group where she has met many new people and discovered other
parts of Auckland. She is about to take her ebike with friends and ride trails in the South
Island.”

Grant and Soopy love the people they’re meeting, without even having to leave home.
“We’re both more relaxed now than we’ve been in 20 years,” says Soopy. “I tend to take
care of the administration side of things while Grant takes care of the test rides. But, we
both enjoy not only meeting all these new people, but getting to know them, usually over a
cuppa, and hearing their excitement about what they plan to do once they have ebikes.”

This blog was sponsored by Melo Yelo. If you’re interested in becoming a franchisee, contact ebikes@meloyelo.nz

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