To My Fellow Cyclists: Quit the E-Bike Hate [Bicycling.com]

Let's be honest here. It's only men who get upset about ebikes.
That's not true. Not too long ago I was on a date with a so called avid cyclist, and she just kept saying that I was cheating. But I said I've lost an additional 10 pounds since adding a motor because I can now ride longer and hills don't wipe out my bad knee anymore... But she just kept repeating.. "yeah, but you're cheating"
So I finally replied... "that may be so, but you're the one with the fat ass" 🙃
True story
 
That's not true. Not too long ago I was on a date with a so called avid cyclist, and she just kept saying that I was cheating. But I said I've lost an additional 10 pounds since adding a motor because I can now ride longer and hills don't wipe out my bad knee anymore... But she just kept repeating.. "yeah, but you're cheating"
So I finally replied... "that may be so, but you're the one with the fat ass" 🙃
True story
watched a lass with a large posteirer extremity totally put on my trim looking acqaintence,now i hear she is looking at ebikes.
 
Yep, I often hear the word “cheating” thrown around when I mention e-bikes among my peeps. And I often tell them that I learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using an abacus, but also cheated, eventually, by switching to a calculator.
 
I thought I would revive this old thread to relate a short but interesting conversation I had today.

I was riding Pennsylvania's Lehigh Gorge Trail this morning and came up to a middle aged, spandex clad rider on a conventional MTB. He was stopped at a trail turnout, admiring the view. I pulled up next to him and tried to start a casual conversation. From the look he gave me, it was obvious he didn't care for e-bikes, so I asked him why. He thought for a moment and said "They dilute the perception I have of my own abilities." I had to think about that one until he added, "When someone twice my age can ride twice as far, twice as fast and stay on the trail twice as long, it lessens the way I feel about my own abilities". I tried to explain he was comparing apples to oranges when talking about conventional vs e-bikes, but he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation and just rode away.

Most of the conventional bike riders I encounter on the trail are friendly. Most are indifferent about e-bikes and others are curious. Some ask questions which I try my best to answer. Very few say it's cheating or display any animosity. That's why this particular encounter was so strange to me.

In thinking about it, I suppose the guy has a point. I thought back to my earlier days when I rode a conventional bike, and tried to imagine how I would feel if my favorite trails were suddenly invaded by hordes of these new fangled e-bikes. It's hard to be sure, but I might just feel the same way.
 
I was told I was a “cheater”. I was riding up a 12-14% grade by my house. The guy that told me that later got an ebike. I’ve known him for a while and knew he was ribbing me, so I didn’t take it personal. He got some Specialized eMTB that cost 3 times what I paid for my bike, but he likes it.
 
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