What e bike!

[migracja]

Where I currently live, it's easier to spot a bicycle equipped with a motor than one without. The city is spread along a valley. This is the place where I was first defeated by a steep incline: it wasn't so steep that I couldn't start moving, but steep enough that I couldn't make the top. My ego hasn't recovered to this day.

It shouldn't be surprising then, that cyclists want it easier. Electrical help probably supports the elderly the most, because the numbers of them on bike paths are simply incomparable to what you would see in Poland.

I don't remember who wrote it, but paraphrasing: e-bikes are an equitable technology, because they allow anyone to cycle just as well as those who are young and fit. I can confirm: the top of the nearby hill sees cyclists of all shapes.

Let me make a stronger statement: battery-powered bikes can be helpful even for the sporty types. They can make commuting easy, because thanks to them, there is no more choosing between getting all sweaty, searching for a parking spot, and waiting for the bus. The e-bike skips all 3 issues!

Nevertheless, electroskeptics exist. Those who are fit and strong could feel less special, and threatened by the encroachment of everyone else into the sphere that had been reserved just to them. I have to admit myself, that 60-year-olds overtaking me while I struggle uphill hurt my motivation. It would be similar if the end of a technically difficult route started getting overrun with masses of Sunday cyclists (I'm just guessing here. All the routes I know had already been like that since I moved in).

Others accuse e-bikes of being environmentally bad. There's one thing I can say about that with full certainty: a car is less sustainable than any bike. If e-bikes reduce the number of cars, then they are better to the environment.

There could be some surprises when compared to traditional bikes. Someone did the math, with results that indicate that e-bikes need less energy to traverse the same distance as regular bikes, despite their production being more expensive.

Note from 2021-05-18: Before jumping to conclusions, it's worth taking into account that a huge portion of food energy comes from the Sun, by photosynthesis.

I'm happy that this invention on one hand replaces cars, and on the other, opens up new experiences to those who couldn't access them before. Even despite my emotions indicating otherwise ;)

Ride on!