E-bikes
What’s the deal with……electric bikes?! Or as they’re referred to by the in-crowd…e-bikes!
I must confess, when my older brother mentioned to me that he was looking to buy an electric bike, I chuckled and thought to myself, “no matter how old I am, I’m never going to give up and ride one of those wimpy e-bikes!” I would never be caught dead by my cycling friends sporting an upright bike that had electric gears to “help” you on a hill. It hardly seemed like a workout and seemed like cheating to me. Then one of my friends, Lisa Miller, told me about her fantastic trip through Italy using electric bikes. She explained that when “a good friend invited us (she and her husband) on a cycling trip to Italy, we thought Italy? Yes! Cycling not so much. With the e-bike option though, it became realistic for our group of six to go on the same rides without getting separated. Four of us rode e-bikes and the other two stuck to road bikes. It was so much fun to have the power when you wanted it for the MANY hills in Tuscany. The ‘boost’ is silent and easily controlled with a switch so you’re still getting all of the exercise of cycling. When I easily passed my friend on an incline, I had to smile as I called out ‘On your left!'”
“Hmmm “, I thought. “Sounds like an interesting concept and It certainly piqued my interest, but no – I could never cave in and use one. Too bulky, too heavy, and too embarrassing!” So when my 16-year-old son and I dropped my daughter off at college in VT, we stopped at my brother’s place in Wilmington, VT for the night on the way home. “Feel free to use the e-bikes,” my brother said. “Well, we would be in VT where no one would see me”, I thought. My son thought the same thing -“ haha… no one will see me riding a bike with my mom. Let’s do it! “
So we powered them up and rode the back roads through hill after hill to Mt. Snow. I had ridden this 10-mile route many times before on my road bike and it was hilly! Well, my son and I had a blast! I felt like a little kid. Big hill, no problem – just turn up the juice! I was giggling and loved it and my son and I could ride together with no problem, even though we had different riding skills. It was a hoot and I still got a workout if I wanted to. Of course, the spin instructor in me couldn’t resist barking out orders to my son to add resistance here, and back it off there. “Mom, I got it. This isn’t your spin class!” Haha, he was right! It was very easy to learn.
As I’ve gotten older and hopefully wiser I’m come to the realization that there are times when you should grind away on the hills huffing and puffing and there are other times when you should ease up. It’s okay to get a little help once in a while, either up that steep hill or in life. You should enjoy the beautiful flower on the side of the road, the view from the top of the mountain, and enjoy the company that you’re with. Just relax and power it up!
So in reference to e-bikes, as Ferris Bueller once said (if you’re my age you know who he is), “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”Hahaha – for a mere $1800. Did I mention that?