Go ahead and ‘exercise’ on your fancy e-bike. I’ll stick with my traditional bike
He was on his moving bicycle and talking out loud on his cell phone.
It was a breezeless, hot, sticky summer evening in O’Fallon, and he was wearing blue jeans and a ballcap on his bike.
He passed me on my bike at a brisk pace, effortlessly, and I noticed his bike was moving a lot faster than he was pedaling.
As he passed me, still on his phone, he turned around slightly and waved as an acknowledgment.
He was not pedaling his bike.
He was still on his phone.
Welcome to a new era of bicyclists.
Or e-bicyclists.
The fastest growing sector of the electric vehicle economy in America isn’t Tesla or the new electric Ford Mustang cars. It’s electric bikes. E-bikes are outselling their four-wheel counterparts 2:1. The boredom of two COVID seasons caused a pandemic bike boom that boosted e-bike sales more than double the rate of traditional bikes, according to the market research firm NPD Group.
I see more e-bikes on the bike trails in St. Clair and Madison counties. I’ve learned to recognize e-bikes because the bike often looks vintage and too small for the person riding on it. Or maybe the person looks too big for the e-bike.
Usually, it zips past me — effortlessly.
And the rider isn’t pedaling.
Sometimes, they look back at me and wave.
Sometimes I wave back, but usually I don’t and mutter something that I wouldn’t say to my grandson and keep pedaling.
I’m OK with bikes passing me on the bike trail. I’m used to it. For the record, I pedal my traditional bike. I pedal it because I want the exercise. And I’m more tortoise than hare. I’ll finish the bike ride but I won’t win a race. Generally, in life and on the bike trails, I’m never in a hurry to get nowhere, really.
I don’t own an e-bike, yet. Someday, maybe. I’m a proponent of them because they have put more people on bikes, outdoors and onto the trails.
E-bikes are like self-propelled lawn mowers. You still cut the grass. The option is that you can press the bar if you need a little boost of power. Or you can keep the bar pressed and go along for the ride. Coast. Your choice.
I pedal my bike because I enjoy it. Plus, running hurts. Walking fast is a lot like running. Pickleball? Maybe someday. But I’ve never enjoyed tennis. I was taught to hit a ball over the fence.
I like riding my bike
For me, pedaling a bike is relaxing. There are few things in my life that I can do as well or better today as I did when I was a kid. Eat ice cream. Get bored at lectures. Cheer for the Cardinals and Blues. And ride my bike.
I like riding my bike because I can ride it alone, or with someone.
I like riding my bike because you can cover a lot of ground in an hour. It’s not a five-hour commitment, like golf. Or a hike in the woods, especially if you get lost for awhile. Yep. That’s why I don’t hike much. And I get easily bored looking at tree limbs, rocks or an occasional lizard.
I like riding my bike because it allows me to daydream. My mind wanders from here to there, from childhood to grandparenthood. It allows me to get lost momentarily in my own thoughts. And while I may struggle on steep hills or strong winds, I feel incredibly good when I’m finished with a bike ride.
I’m happy people are riding
I set a goal last spring to ride my bike 100 miles a week. I’ve made it most weeks, usually in 25-mile increments on the local bike trail. I like the safety of bike trails. They are peaceful. And there are no less-than-forgiving drivers in trucks wider than the highway who can swerve and make me consider jumping into the ditch.
I don’t listen to music or wear headphones when I ride my bike. I like to hear what’s near me, for safety and aesthetic reasons. I want to hear a car’s horn, or a dog’s bark, or the chubby guy on his e-bike talking on his cell phone.
I am glad to see so many e-bikes on the bike paths.
So many new people are getting out of their homes and learning the therapeutics of a good bike ride — at any age — whether they choose to pedal or not.
No need to turn around and wave
If you have an e-bike, leave home with a full charge so you don’t have to worry about running out of juice and pedaling up that huge hill.
Advice: When you pass an aging guy on the bike trails, and he’s pedaling, huffing, puffing, sweating, and you are on your cell phone and not pedaling, or sweating, please ride on and don’t turn back and wave at him.
He knows you are being friendly, but it irks him a little bit.
