#!markdown
I can't help but feel like so much of the hate-on against e-bikes is from the
butt hurt that riders have about people, who they think are "unworthy" of the
trails, coming out and enjoying the ride. This crowd carries on as if, by
having muscles strong enough to make the climbs, some riders deserve to be on
the trails, and others don't.
Personally, I can't stand it when there are riders on the trail, who are
slower than I am. I have actively wished terrible things on other riders,
simply because they're slowing me down, especially when I'm descending. Then I
remember that I'm not the fastest rider in the world. Hell, I'm not even the
fastest rider in my neighborhood. More importantly, if I'm focusing on how
much better I think that I am than another rider, then I'm missing the whole
point of the ride!
E-bikes give people like my dad the option of riding trails that he could
never rider otherwise. He's no where near the shape he needs to be to actually
enjoy a lot of trails in our area, but, with an e-bike, he can. A climb will
no longer exhaust him so badly that he now needs a 20-minute break, and then
to walk down the other side of the hill, because he's still too gassed. Now,
he can make it up the hill, enjoy the view, and speed down the descent,
hollering like a teenager, In time, I'm sure that his fitness will improve,
and maybe, one day, he will cast his e-bike away in scorn, and shake his fist
of superiority at the other e-bike riders…but more than likely, he will just
keep adding miles and altitude to his rides.
Dec. 19, 2016, 1:20 p.m. - Douglas Crossman
#!markdown I can't help but feel like so much of the hate-on against e-bikes is from the butt hurt that riders have about people, who they think are "unworthy" of the trails, coming out and enjoying the ride. This crowd carries on as if, by having muscles strong enough to make the climbs, some riders deserve to be on the trails, and others don't. Personally, I can't stand it when there are riders on the trail, who are slower than I am. I have actively wished terrible things on other riders, simply because they're slowing me down, especially when I'm descending. Then I remember that I'm not the fastest rider in the world. Hell, I'm not even the fastest rider in my neighborhood. More importantly, if I'm focusing on how much better I think that I am than another rider, then I'm missing the whole point of the ride! E-bikes give people like my dad the option of riding trails that he could never rider otherwise. He's no where near the shape he needs to be to actually enjoy a lot of trails in our area, but, with an e-bike, he can. A climb will no longer exhaust him so badly that he now needs a 20-minute break, and then to walk down the other side of the hill, because he's still too gassed. Now, he can make it up the hill, enjoy the view, and speed down the descent, hollering like a teenager, In time, I'm sure that his fitness will improve, and maybe, one day, he will cast his e-bike away in scorn, and shake his fist of superiority at the other e-bike riders…but more than likely, he will just keep adding miles and altitude to his rides.