Complaint(s)

My husband (58) is very fit, loves cycling and hiking, and is not the least bit a competitive ahole. Here in Michigan, he does long bike rides (60+ miles) when he has time, and he likes hilly roads when he can get to them. But it's still Michigan, altitude usually less than 1000. We recently were in Colorado visiting our son who is constantly biking up crazy steep roads. They were excited to ride together, and my son arranged an ebike rental so my husband could join him on some favorite routes. Without the ebike, it wouldn't have happened, even though my husband is in great shape. The ebike doubled his effort, and he was still pushing quite hard. I'm sure some ebike riders act like jerks (just like some regular ones do, too), but maybe this situation will make you feel a tiny bit less negative about the benefits of ebikes, at least for some people!
 
Bob Wire said:
I thought 1974 SLC was just about perfect. I’ve lived in 5 different states since then and have had these general kind of complaints about the way this whole Slinky has unraveled since then. You will notice a big uptick in your shit detector about the 60 year mark and thereafter you can rant about just about anything and people write it off as some crazy old man and ignore it. You’ll love it
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Can't wait. :)
 
The Trout Whisperer said:
Egads man! Methinks wisdom has jumped up n smacked ya across yer kisser! I too, found major issues with what you experienced..( try a trekking pole in th ebikes spokes next time for a trill or two). The ole 32 oz drink that’s 20% less than two 16 ouncers has been used many times with me n my two girls…( along with no supersizing drinks at th burger shop cuz ya can walk over n refill th small ones for free)…where was I going with this?…ah yes change…I hate change as much as th next fello( crept if it is for $100)…

I am not a doctor, but I’ve cowboy camped numerous times…so, let me diagnose ya..

You, my friend, have a bad case of nostalgia( not to be confused with giardiasis) as nostalgia cannot be cured with antibiotics - or anything else for that matter..the only help for this…let me be clear…

is sitting over a cold brew and waxing poetically about the good ole days with another who has the same diagnosis…
so..the first beer’s on me! See ya soon..we can even sing Memories of the way we were if th brew pub has karaoke.
!LOL
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Hey, I don't need karaoke to sing Memories. :D

Nostalgia just might be it.
 
napatony13 said:
I was right there with you on the Ebikes. I put the people who rode them in the same category as the folks who cheat there way through their workouts at the gym. (doing reps without any range of motion, towing themselves uphill with a death grip on the console, etc). Then a few months ago a friend insisted I try his bike. I swear it was magical, zipping along with minimal effort, the thing made you feel like a damn super hero! I've been toying with getting a bike to take me deep into some backcountry spots I'm a little hesitant to take my truck and popup camper. Before that ride I never would have considered an Ebike...now I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea.
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So you are saying don't knock till yo try it? :thinking:
 
Janice said:
My husband (58) is very fit, loves cycling and hiking, and is not the least bit a competitive ahole. Here in Michigan, he does long bike rides (60+ miles) when he has time, and he likes hilly roads when he can get to them. But it's still Michigan, altitude usually less than 1000. We recently were in Colorado visiting our son who is constantly biking up crazy steep roads. They were excited to ride together, and my son arranged an ebike rental so my husband could join him on some favorite routes. Without the ebike, it wouldn't have happened, even though my husband is in great shape. The ebike doubled his effort, and he was still pushing quite hard. I'm sure some ebike riders act like jerks (just like some regular ones do, too), but maybe this situation will make you feel a tiny bit less negative about the benefits of ebikes, at least for some people!
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You make some good points @Janice. I hadn't thought about those circumstances before.
 
napatony13 said:
I was right there with you on the Ebikes. I put the people who rode them in the same category as the folks who cheat there way through their workouts at the gym. (doing reps without any range of motion, towing themselves uphill with a death grip on the console, etc). Then a few months ago a friend insisted I try his bike. I swear it was magical, zipping along with minimal effort, the thing made you feel like a damn super hero! I've been toying with getting a bike to take me deep into some backcountry spots I'm a little hesitant to take my truck and popup camper. Before that ride I never would have considered an Ebike...now I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea.
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That's an awesome application I had never thought of. You could get through a lot of rough road on one of those.

I was looking at them out of curiosity at a bike shop here, and the Trek e mountain bikes were like $10,000. I don't think that'll ever happen for me. Haha.
 
Not as eco friendly as walking.....
 
scatman said:
I don't want to categorize all rotten mountain bikers and super cool trail runners. All trail runners are good people and all bikers aren't. I'm assuming by your reply that e-bikes are also on the trails? My observations have nearly all been on the road.
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Honestly I’ve never seen an ebike but I can’t argue with your message and I’d like to donate to your campaign.
 
Rockskipper said:
Not all are MAMILs. I have a very good friend who rides an ebike around Chicago in the buff - he tells me there's even a special day for it. It's called the World Naked Bike Ride.
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So, I thought you might be joking and looked it up. It's real! The pictures I saw are highly entertaining!!!
 
Janice said:
So, I thought you might be joking and looked it up. It's real! The pictures I saw are highly entertaining!!!
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Stupid....anything goes world...
 
Jackson said:
That's an awesome application I had never thought of. You could get through a lot of rough road on one of those.

I was looking at them out of curiosity at a bike shop here, and the Trek e mountain bikes were like $10,000. I don't think that'll ever happen for me. Haha.
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Yeah the Maze in Canyonlands is one place that I thought it might work. But if I do it I think I'll probably just take an old beater bike. I won't worry as much about leaving it hidden in the brush as I would an expensive Ebike.
 
@scatman , that was hilarious to read. You just had a grumpy day…. that’s ok (once in a while). My guess is there’s something entirely else than e-bikes , that’s bugging you.

You asked: “what needs to happen to change attitude?“ How about I introduce you to our good friend? Seeing him helps me reduce the grumpy days, as it forces some perspective. He was always super active, at the gym lifting weights, biking, hiking, etc. Then one sunny day at Cape Cod he had a freak boogie board accident, was airlifted out and is now in a wheelchair with a spine injury. It’s been a very long recovery and his wife is now his full time care taker, so her life was also turned upside down. He can now 3 years later get up from the wheelchair and with a walker get to the bathroom himself. His main goal is being able to walk without a walker from his front door to the mail box. He recently got an expensive e-tricycle with a battery and he was just ecstatic to be back on the bike! Big smile on his face. We were all very happy to see him back on a bike. Any bike.

Remember-you’re getting in shape for your big upcoming trips! You have already accomplished a ton this year with biking & hiking. The e-bikers will just not be in great shape like you, but they probably don’t care about that, they just want to be outside.:cool:
 
Titans said:
@scatman , that was hilarious to read. You just had a grumpy day…. that’s ok (once in a while). My guess is there’s something entirely else than e-bikes , that’s bugging you.

You asked: “what needs to happen to change attitude?“ How about I introduce you to our good friend? Seeing him helps me reduce the grumpy days, as it forces some perspective. He was always super active, at the gym lifting weights, biking, hiking, etc. Then one sunny day at Cape Cod he had a freak boogie board accident, was airlifted out and is now in a wheelchair with a spine injury. It’s been a very long recovery and his wife is now his full time care taker, so her life was also turned upside down. He can now 3 years later get up from the wheelchair and with a walker get to the bathroom himself. His main goal is being able to walk without a walker from his front door to the mail box. He recently got an expensive e-tricycle with a battery and he was just ecstatic to be back on the bike! Big smile on his face. We were all very happy to see him back on a bike. Any bike.

Remember-you’re getting in shape for your big upcoming trips! You have already accomplished a ton this year with biking & hiking. The e-bikers will just not be in great shape like you, but they probably don’t care about that, they just want to be outside.:cool:
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Okay, I'll chalk it up to a grumpy day. :D

I would never begrudge someone who is disabled from using an e-bike. That seems like the perfect use for them. And your story does add some much needed perspective to the situation.
 
Actually there are just some places things/some people shouldn't be going....
 
My presidential platform will be based partly on making everyone ride ebikes instead of using vehicles. All the nation's vehicles will be stacked in a big pile in a new national park, as we need more national parks.
 
You can ride an e-bike to Carhenge for now, until the fabulous new Stacked Vehicles National Park is completed. I'm not sure what that would do for a grumpy Scatman but it would at least give him something to do.
 
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