E-bikers: reckless and too lazy to pedal?

Stop! Before you start banging away at the keys and bashing me in the comments field, let me explain. After all, everything’s kind of subjective. Being a human being in general and being in traffic, i.e. traffic on the street, sidewalk and trail in particular. It’s all a question of perspective or of changing it.

You’re all numbskulls!

For a better understanding of the situation, allow me to apply a little amateur psychology. Here’s a brief self-analysis of my character: I’d love to be a philanthropist, a humanitarian, but unfortunately I tend to be a bit misanthropic. Not that I hate or despise people in general. It’s just feeling unconditional love for our species is something I struggle with more than I like to admit. Why is that? Who knows. Maybe I don’t love myself enough to let other people in. But maybe my fellow beings are all numbskulls. Who knows.

I recently read the following gem: «Cynicism is the romantic's condom.» Honestly, I couldn’t describe my state of mind better than that sentence. So what’s all this to do with e-bikes, I hear you ask? I’ll get to that in a minute.

Against the current

I always have the urge to swim against the current. I’m a bit obsessive about it. Always have been. This manifests itself in trivial things. Take movies, for example. Everyone’s dying to see the latest release? Then I don’t want to see it. I mean, if everyone (i.e. numbskulls) likes this flick, it’s mainstream and can’t be good. Period. I vividly remember Fight Club by David Fincher. «You’ve got to see it. It’s a masterpiece. Absolutely brilliant.» International film critics and my circle of friends agreed on this back in 1999. After two years of defiance, I finally watched the movie starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt for the very first time. It’s a masterpiece. You’ve got to see it. And just like Fight Club, I’ve acted the same way about the e-bike hype.

Thank gosh for Bosch

So the whole world seems to need electricity to cycle. If that’s the case, I don’t want that. It’s mainstream and rubbish. And besides: period. This has been my take on power-assisted cycling. Even though I haven’t even been using my bike in the last few years, I’ve clung to this attitude. After all, principles are there cling on to.

Since I’ve been riding around on my gravel bike without any help of extra power, my dislike for all e-bikers has only intensified. A bike is a piece of sports equipment I use to push myself to the limit. After all, it’s not like I use an e-dumbbell to do 200-kilo power-assisted bench presses. You see. But it’s still annoying to be overtaken by happily whistling elderly gentlemen with a paunch when you’re struggling up a gravel road with a ten-percent incline. It’s bad for my ego. Besides, it looks weird to see them someone speed uphill at 20 kilometres per hour while they’re pedalling in slow motion. It just doesn’t make sense. Period.

Not only has the presence of elderly gentlemen with paunches increased recently, but also the number of serious injuries after accidents with e-bikes. Your average e-bike rider is about ten years older than an unpowered cyclist, but is more likely to wear a helmet. Unfortunately, the risk of helmet failure is also above average in e-bike riders. Why? The reasons are evident: cycling at high speeds, misjudging speed, lacking knowledge of braking points, little experience in dealing with the more complex technology, equipment that’s too heavy. Add to that an infrastructure that isn’t up to date. We’re using 21st-century technology on roads that were planned and in some cases built in the mid-20th century. This allows us to reach places with our bikes, we would never have reached without power assistance. Mountain hikers will tell you all about that.

A friend of mine who’s been riding a mountain bike for 30 years also recently switched to an e-bike. Since then, we’ve had some lively to heated discussions on the subject. This summer, during a week of vacation together, we decided to go on a «Tour de Force» through the Lower Engadine. What looks like a leisurely inclination in the video, would be quite an ordeal without the help of electricity.

The leopard changes its spots

Our tour takes us from Scuol to Ftan and Prui. We continue to Alp Laret and finally, after a detour into a side valley, back via Ftan to Scuol. I’d covered a part of the route on my gravel bike a few days earlier. After 90 minutes, I reached Ftan totally exhausted. With a bit of power assistance, we managed the same stretch in 30 minutes and smiles on our faces. Past puzzled hikers, who probably had a good moan about us in front of a cosy fireplace later that day.

Wow, what a difference a few watts or a change of perspective can make. After returning to Basel, I didn’t waste time and rented an e-mountain bike the following weekend. There are two or three stretches on my home circuit I just can’t tackle with my gravel bike. Too steep, too much trail. It was an unforgettable day with lots of sunshine, sweat and a few tears of joy. That’s when the penny dropped: it’s not always about cycling yourself into a coma. It’s fine to simply have fun and take in the beauty of nature instead of panting your way up a mountain with your tongue hanging between the spokes. It’s okay to occasionally enjoy life on an e-bike, happily whistling your way up an incline with a paunch.

Note to self: change your perspective more often. Staying true to your principles is a good thing. Stubbornness is not. And mainstream isn’t always bad. Sometimes there’s a good reason why many people do the same thing or watch the same movie. They’re not all numbskulls.