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My brother the retired fire guy and my sister-in-law the retired teacher each has one.
Mostly, they take them on trips so that they can park their camper van and use them to tour all over the place.
They love them.
C., my wife, has one.
Mostly she uses it to go to the market, and knitting, and various other sundry places in our part of Lotusland, travelling pretty much all the while on bike routes.
She loves it.
Me I do not have one.
And it is not because I would not enjoy riding such a thing pretty much everywhere.
It's just that once I get one I know that will pretty much be the end of real peddling for me.
So.
For the foreseeable future (and/or until my knees finally give out) elderly ladies will continue to blast past me going up that damnable 16th avenue hill every morning.
OK?
My brother the retired fire guy and my sister-in-law the retired teacher each has one.
Mostly, they take them on trips so that they can park their camper van and use them to tour all over the place.
They love them.
****
C., my wife, has one.
Mostly she uses it to go to the market, and knitting, and various other sundry places in our part of Lotusland, travelling pretty much all the while on bike routes.
She loves it.
****
Me I do not have one.
And it is not because I would not enjoy riding such a thing pretty much everywhere.
It's just that once I get one I know that will pretty much be the end of real peddling for me.
So.
For the foreseeable future (and/or until my knees finally give out) elderly ladies will continue to blast past me going up that damnable 16th avenue hill every morning.
OK?
______
Truth be told, most mornings I actually go up that damnable hill on 12th...It's almost straight up but the trade is that it is much shorter.
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8 comments:
My wife and I are holding off in getting e-bikes for the same reason as you, Ross. We wish not to suffer the consequences of stopping real peddling - the quickening of the aging process. DJF
You guys, c’mon.
Get one of the brands of e-bike that requires one to peddle to get the assist. I worked at a Giant brand store for a couple summers and they have several models of e-bike, probably even more now as my last summer was the one where covid had started to show up here. Yes, there are some brands that have a go button and so one doesn’t have to peddle, those are often the cheaper brands.
As for Ross get it just for commuting and go for pleasure or exercise rides on your conventional bike. All the people I sold e-bikes too said they very much appreciated getting to work and not being all sweaty etc.
Truth be told I don’t have one either but I can see it in my future. I currently have a cycle cross bike and a road bike and storage is a bit of a problem. The wife has three bikes.
I have tried them of course and I really enjoyed using the one I convinced my friend near Kamloops to buy. They live out near kilometres and kilometres of crown land forest service roads and the exploring is virtually endless. On a fat tire e-bike it was possible to do 50 km dirt rides, even during that heat dome, that would have been difficult on a conventional bike.
You folks are regular and avid riders and no coaxing is needed to get you out on a bike. For most people, like my friends near Kamloops, getting an e-bike meant they were now riding more, increasing their milage, and getting more exercise so it was a good thing.
If you do ever get an e-bike then you can justify getting a nice carbon fibre road bike for pleasure/exercise rides.
After always having a hybrid bike or a no suspension mountain bike or some lead alloy road bike but I finally got a used carbon road bike a couple years ago and it has really invigorated my riding experience. I now go for a good long ride and pretty much don’t stop until I get home again. The performance level over the other bikes I’ve had is noticeable and enjoyable.
You know what they say about how many bikes one needs.
One more than you currently have.
DJF--
We are definitely on the same page but I hear what Graham is saying.
As for the 'how many bikes does one need' question...Sounds like Graham's answer is kind of like mine when it comes to guitars!
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The excercise is great when you use those legs! On the other hand, I consider using a bike a good way to get run over by a vehicle. I see a lot of people going by on electric bikes and many use them for short runs so they don't need to use their vehicles.
With a previously broken leg and fractured pelvis, I'll just get in my vehicle with its air bags and seat belts and drive. For exercise I will walk.
Of course using a bike will most likely get you through a lot of traffic a whole lot faster than your vehicles these days.
e.a.f.--
To be honest, safety is a huge concern for a commuter rider like myself.
I am lucky that I can ride almost the entire distance from home to work and back on bike routes which is great.
But...
I am noticing more and more side street auto traffic on said routes, particularly where they parallel choked major arterials, that is making things scary even there...A good example is the 10th Avenue bike route anywhere from Burrard to Main.
There is one road I NEVER ride on during my commute, which is the Boulevard between Blanca and that big school at the far Western end of town...Even with the painted on bike lanes, the whizzing by of the articulated busses is too much for me to stomach.
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Would 29th be of benefit?
Vancouver Bike Route Planner:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi_udHuwu-AAxV1ADQIHUgDC6MQFnoECCAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvancouver.bikerouteplanner.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw3csAtKIWWmaHQEa7jvIV00&opi=89978449
Thanks NVG--
Definitely - I stay up in the high 20's for as long as I can, although 14th is also good - littler e. convinced me of that route also.
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I have one, I have been using it for 12 years. I only use it for commuting to UBC. Live in East Van, so it's great to get to work without needing a shower. I still find though, that I need to go unplugged for the first 5k until the heater starts blowing warm air. The big thing with the e-bike though, is that there's no excuse not to ride.
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