You know what I hate?
I hate when people act like electric bikes are cheating. They're the easy way out. You're not doing anything.
At work I shared that my husband got a tandem bicycle for me for Valentine's Day and was planning on putting an electric motor on it . I got laughed at and told that that's not biking.
WTF?
It is biking. You are still pedalling to propel yourself forward on two wheels.
Electric bikes make it possible for people to go further while biking. My husband would not be able to go biking as much and for that matter, neither would I.
The furthest I went on a regular road bike was 18 miles and I hit a wall, figuratively speaking.
With multiple sclerosis, overdoing it or overheating means that I'm just done. My arms and legs feel like I'm going through quicksand and my brain feels like I've had too many shots. Not a great situation to be in when you're on a bike and about 5 miles from home.
I had to lay on someone's lawn and hold a cool water bottle to my forehead and one against my neck until I was okay enough to keep going. Then after getting home I was done for the rest of the day.
Electric biking completely changed the game for me. I have the control to use as much or as little assistance I need at that time. And yes- it is still a workout. And it's definitely more of a workout than I'd be getting without the assistance.
Balancing on two wheels puts your core to work. Pedalling with no resistance is more of a workout than I'm getting while typing this out.
So if you are thinking about getting into electric bikes, do it. Fuck the people that want to act like you're cheating.
To them, sitting in your house not getting sunlight and fresh air and excercise is winning, all because you're not 'cheating'.
These are the same people that think people who aren't fully paralyzed using a wheelchair is cheating. Just because a person can stand, doesn't mean they can walk all around the grocery store and still have the energy to unload groceries when they get home, or cook, or whatever else they need to perserve their energy for.
They are wrong and at the end of the day it doesn't matter what they think.
Getting out and enjoying yourself is always a win in my book.
Don't let anyone make you feel different.
