e-bike to help a marriage?

[Dirtyhip]

I literally have a cry lump in my throat right now.  Anxiety at massive levels. 

Still, if this were to help him with his fitness and allow me to continue mad crazy adventures?

City parks stance is '''let's wait and see with the e-bikes."

State and Fed parks say e-bikes are in the same class as analog.  WTF? I guess Specialized lobbied accordingly.

This doesn't change the Wilderness argument, right?  Slippery slope.

My life is going so well, and my ducks are in a row. yet, I am extremely stressed over my husband strongly suggesting that I buy one.  

What the hell happened to Enduro gal? 

I am literally only wanting to do easy shit rides with my MTB, or lame roadie rides (the road bike doesn't seem to make me flash like the bursts with MTB).  My husband is getting no fitness out of our rides.  

 

 

[Dottleshead ★]

Look, just get one and add it to the arsenal.  You aren't required to ride it each time.  It's hard for me to understand not buying one.  It make sense.  And for gawd sakes -- you're never going to have as good of an excuse than menopause.  Nobody says you have to ride it. But I think your husband might be right.  It will allow you to continue to enjoy activities together.

My point is -- once you buy one , ride it, and realize that you will still get a good workout -- you'll laugh at the resistance you are putting up now.

[Wilbur ★]

e-MTB's are seriously fun. 

[Dottleshead ★]

26 minutes ago, wilbur said:

e-MTB's are seriously fun. 

I wanted to rent them for Boise next week.  We are not in good bike riding shape and there are a lot of hills surrounding that city.  But they're city trails and you can't ride them on the ones right out of town.

[Dottleshead ★]

@wilbur you ever been to Boise, ID?

[ChrisL]

29 minutes ago, Dottie said:

Look, just get one and add it to the arsenal.  You aren't required to ride it each time.  It's hard for me to understand not buying one when in your case.  It make sense.  And for gawd sakes -- you're never going to have as good of an excuse than menopause.  Nobody says you have to ride it. But I think your husband might be right.  It will allow you to continue to enjoy activities together.

My point is -- once you buy one , ride it, and realize that you will still get a good workout -- you'll laugh at your resistance you are putting up now.

Well stated.  

@Dirtyhip Something else to consider is your situation is a perfect example of why e bikes can be of value and maybe you can also become an advocate for responsible e bike riding.

But your situation may not be permanent. Maybe on good days you can schralp on your power, if you are not feeling it break out the e bike.

[Dirtyhip]

I am not selling my commuter.

I am not selling my CruX.

I am not selling Brutus.

Enduro was 4 years ago. 4 years.  The only thing that changed was peri-menopause and a car accident that affected my right leg. I healed, but really was never the same. Then age progressed seemingly quickly,

[maddmaxx ★]

Downhill racing.

Just sayn.

[Dottleshead ★]

3 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

The only thing that changed was peri-menopause and a car accident that affected my right leg. I healed, but really was never the same. Then age progressed seemingly quickly,

Yep, another good reason.  You won't be getting any younger now and in my view this will extend your riding career.  For more evidence, ask @late

[Wilbur ★]

18 minutes ago, Dottie said:

@wilbur you ever been to Boise, ID?

Many times.  

[Dottleshead ★]

2 minutes ago, wilbur said:

Many times.  

You ever bike ride there?  We have a place up against a main park and mile and miles of trails.  The greenbelt there along the river also offers near 25 miles of paved trail as well.

[Dottleshead ★]

Also, we're taking restaurant recommendations. 

[Wilbur ★]

Just road riding.  Road bikes are easier to travel with.  

[Wilbur ★]

3 minutes ago, Dottie said:

Also, we're taking restaurant recommendations. 

I almost always go to Coalcoman.  Another hole in the wall Mexican place but amazing food.   Can't remember the the first name of the place.. Carne or something. 

[Dottleshead ★]

3 minutes ago, wilbur said:

I almost always go to Coalcoman.  Another hole in the wall Mexican place but amazing food.   Can't remember the the first name of the place.. Carne or something. 

Carniceria Coalcoman

[Wilbur ★]

Just now, Dottie said:

Carniceria Coalcoman

Yes, that is it.  It is a cafeteria at best plus a small store.  Food though... wow!

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, wilbur said:

Yes, that is it.  It is a cafeteria at best plus a small store.  Food though... wow!

We aren't renting a car this short trip.  Just bikes, feet, and bus.  Probably an uber or two as well. It's on the other side of town for us but we liked your Red Iguana joint you recommended in Salt Lake so I might be able to convince the wife to go.

[Dottleshead ★]

It''s a $7 uber ride from the Boise airport to our destination. I don't think we can do it, man.

[Further]

5 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

Enduro was 4 years ago. 4 years.  The only thing that changed was peri-menopause and a car accident that affected my right leg. I healed, but really was never the same. Then age progressed seemingly quickly,

At 20 I was a terror on a motorcycle, pushed the limits and crashed regularly, on the dirt & the street. Walked away laughing.

At 60 I had a crash that I might have limped for a week at 20, I missed a month of work and limped for a year.

Age is real.

[late]

If an ebike bridges the gap, why not?

I did.

[Square Wheels]

We all need to overcome obstacles, you've been dealt your fair share of them.  I am a quitter by nature, the only way I can survive is to fight the instinct to quit.  Every day.  Every day it's a struggle.  So far I have been winning.  It won't last forever, but for now, I do not let adversity win.

[smudge ★]

Ya, my knee healed, but the whole leg ended up affected. I can finally "dance on the pedals," but it's still awkward. Uphill MTB pedalling is not what it was. 

I know in a few years I'll be needing an e-bike too. Will be interested to see how they have "advanced" by then. 

[Longjohn ★]

Harley Davidson now makes an evoke.

[Dirtyhip]

1 hour ago, Square Wheels said:

We all need to overcome obstacles, you've been dealt your fair share of them.  I am a quitter by nature, the only way I can survive is to fight the instinct to quit.  Every day.  Every day it's a struggle.  So far I have been winning.  It won't last forever, but for now, I do not let adversity win.

That are you saying here? Are you talking about yourself in this post or referring to me letting adversity win?

[Square Wheels]

3 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

That are you saying here? Are you talking about yourself in this post or referring to me letting adversity win?

Both you and me.  You have been an inspiration to me in what you overcome every day.  I am the quitter, I look to people like you to keep me going.

[Dirtyhip]

20 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

Both you and me.  You have been an inspiration to me in what you overcome every day.  I am the quitter, I look to people like you to keep me going.

e biking is an ego killer. K keeps saying it is a way for me to keep going.  I do still ride Brutus better than lots. 

This is kinda depressing.  You see it the other way of inspiring?  Not. 

Inspiring would be if I healed my foot with PT, started a yoga habit for maintenance, and kept rocking analog and riding with boys.  This is just becoming more and more difficult and painful to deal with. 

[Further]

The important thing is to keep on keepin on.

what you use to keep on is secondary

[AirwickWithCheese]

We all appreciate your moxie, DH.  City Mouse's love for all things simple; DH's passion for adventure. 

I thought of you with this song. 

 

[late]

42 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

ego

Your enemy.

Exercise is additive. You start where you are, and add to that. But when you've lost a lot of fitness, it's one of the hardest things to do.

 

[Dottleshead ★]

3 hours ago, late said:

Your enemy.

Exercise is additive. You start where you are, and add to that. But when you've lost a lot of fitness, it's one of the hardest things to do.

 

Correct.  Maintaining shape is easy(ier).  But regaining fitness from close to zero is much harder.  If you use a jump starter, why not? I have been telling folks in here for sometime that it's my cardio that is getting a hard workout even if I am on an e-bike. I ride the same way, just maybe faster.  I also ride hills more.  But my heart rate stays about the same.  And at my age, the only thing I care about is whether my heart is getting the workout or not.  My thighs are secondary.

[Zealot]

Original post sounds cryptic , but reading all the following posts I garner that you can’t ride as you once did, so you are considering purchasing an e-bike to ride with K a little more the way you used to?

I get the struggle.  Im not one either that would want to admit I couldn’t get back to where I was.  

But there are realities we will all eventually face.  

Advice - make peace with whatever your situation is and do what you need to do to e with whom you love and love what you do.  ?

 

[Dirtyhip]

39 minutes ago, Zealot said:

Original post sounds cryptic , but reading all the following posts I garner that you can’t ride as you once did, so you are considering purchasing an e-bike to ride with K a little more the way you used to?

I get the struggle.  Im not one either that would want to admit I couldn’t get back to where I was.  

But there are realities we will all eventually face.  

Advice - make peace with whatever your situation is and do what you need to do to e with whom you love and love what you do.  ?

 

Yeah, I'm all fucked up now.  Th car accident and menopause.

and @maddmaxx I was solid after the enduro.  I was riding strong and winning @ CX. This is hot flashes, MS spasticity and an arthritic foot that seems to be more tight now.  My DH fun has nothing to do with this.

Also, I really think that I worded this thread wrong.  Our marriage is tight.  We are happy.  There are no stresses.  Life is usually a breeze, but he is losing his fitness and wants me to do this so I can ride at his desired level.  He wants to keep up with an e-bike in eco mode,.  ?  

[Zealot]

You’re also a warrior, @Dirtyhip.  Warriors always fight.

[Dirtyhip]

@Zealot sorry about the cryptic thread.  You have not been here as much. We missed your presence, BTW.  Anyway, I have had a long time disdain of e-bikes. The regulars here likely saw a thread where my husband asked me to buy one and it wasn't a well received discussion.  I fear their problem with access and I imagine that I will be moving much faster than I can physically, and is that a good thing?  Not so sure, myself.  I am talking about the dirt.  I am concerned about more erosion and top soil loss. More and more riders on these and dirt may get ground into a powder.  Now, we are cooking with gas.  Going over the same rock crawl will be a breeze and done much faster. I will MOB on one of those.  Millions of people doing so.  ?  Thinking of the impact.  

[Dirtyhip]

I am certain that people are already figuring out how to make these things into electric MOMOs. 

[Zealot]

@Dirtyhip, I share your e-bike concerns, especially with regards to mtb.  There is a good reason that most hiking and biking trails do not allow motorized vehicles.  I am assuming that mtb specific venues, not state parks and such, will have to individually contend with what access e-bikes are given as time goes on. I think state and national parks will maintain their ‘no motorized vehicles’ policy and classify e-bikes as such.  But I could certainly be wrong.

For me personally, I am still all about self propulsion on a bike. ?  And will be that way for as long as I can. But when the time comes that I cannot, my thoughts may change.  The issue for age is that as my strength/endurance wans, my ability/skill will most likely do so as well. So if an e-bike gave me the strength/endurance edge back I could foresee getting myself in serious trouble... 

But there are other considerations, like the handicapped and those cyclists who’ve sustained injuries that do not allow them traditional cycling methods.  Technological advancements always seem to create social/environmental/ethical issues that we are collectively left to figure out. And we will. 

Thanks for the welcome, btw.  ?

 

[sheep_herder ★]

I assume you have all read this news brief. Allowed speeds seem a bit excessive for the venue.

[Zealot]

3 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

I assume you have all read this news brief. Allowed speeds seem a bit excessive for the venue.

Nope, I hadn’t seen that.  Wow.  Like I said above, I could be (and apparently am) wrong.  

We’ll see what happens.

 

[dinneR ★]

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a28819663/e-bike-fitness-levels-study/

I have found that for my GF and myself, her e-bike is the equalizer. She rides with no assist sometimes and eco-mode when needed. When she wants to, she just drops me.

Another option we use are love laps. While mt biking, I ride at my pace and when I get to far ahead, I circle back and find her. This allows us both to ride at our own pace and I get some extra riding in. We will also do a ride together and then when she is spent, she will head back to the trailhead and I will continue on for a longer lap.

Personally, I am glad the NPS has allowed e-bikes in the parks. The parks here are too congested with cars. Soon, more parks will be headed the way of Zion. Bikes and e-bikes are part of the solution to getting more people out of their cars and pedal through the parks. If e-bikes get more people on bikes, I'm all for it.

[Dirtyhip]

4 hours ago, Zealot said:

Nope, I hadn’t seen that.  Wow.  Like I said above, I could be (and apparently am) wrong.  

We’ll see what happens.

This was why I mentioned in the first post that Specialized must have done their lobbying, cause they (the fed) deem analog and e-bikes as the same animal for rec areas, natl. parks, etc.

[Kirby]

18 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

Inspiring would be if I healed my foot with PT, started a yoga habit for maintenance, and kept rocking analog and riding with boys.  This is just becoming more and more difficult and painful to deal with. 

To me, inspiring is dealing with obstacles with courage and making the most of the situation. And you've always been an inspiration to me for the way you've handled the challenges you've faced.  If an ebike is useful sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that.  You can still ride your other bikes at other times if you prefer them. I hope the doctors can find something to minimize the effects you're feeling, but you're being a kick ass inspiration has much more to do with the person you are than the bikes you may  ride from time to time.

[Zealot]

4 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

This was why I mentioned in the first post that Specialized must have done their lobbying, cause they (the fed) deem analog and e-bikes as the same animal for rec areas, natl. parks, etc.

I am so ‘not in the know’ these days.  I can’t say I agree with the decision. But I suppose we’ll see how it all plays out.

[Zealot]

3 hours ago, Kirby said:

To me, inspiring is dealing with obstacles with courage and making the most of the situation. And you've always been an inspiration to me for the way you've handled the challenges you've faced.  If an ebike is useful sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that.  You can still ride your other bikes at other times if you prefer them. I hope the doctors can find something to minimize the effects you're feeling, but you're being a kick ass inspiration has much more to do with the person you are than the bikes you may  ride from time to time.

Well spoken, Kirby.  ?

 

[dinneR ★]

14 hours ago, Zealot said:

I am so ‘not in the know’ these days.  I can’t say I agree with the decision. But I suppose we’ll see how it all plays out.

I think it's a smart decision. They can still restrict where e-bikes can be ridden. NPs do not have singletrack. We are talking about paved and crushed rock bike paths in most cases.

You don't hear many people talking about banning cars and rvs in our parks, but some want to ban e-bikes. Think about that.  With auto traffic and congestion in the parks, banning cars and moving to a busing system like Zion is getting closer in many parks.

Here you can ride from town to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center 20 miles(40 round trip) all on bike path. Most avg people won't do they so they drive. On an e-bike that is doable for the avg person. One less car. 

Zion is magnificent on a bike. Riding a bus through a NP seems miserable to me.

This:

and this

vs this:

or

[smudge ★]

Good point @dennis. I didn't know about that. 

[Zealot]

11 minutes ago, dennis said:

I think it's a smart decision. They can still restrict where e-bikes can be ridden. NPs do not have singletrack. We are talking about paved and crushed rock bike paths in most cases.

You don't here many people talking about banning cars and rvs in our parks, but some want to ban e-bikes. Think about that.  With auto traffic and congestion in the parks, banning cars and moving to a busing system like Zion is getting closer in many parks.

Here you can ride from town to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center 20 miles(40 round trip) all on bike path. Most avg people won't do they so they drive. On an e-bike that is doable for the avg person. One less car. 

Zion is magnificent on a bike. Riding a bus through a NP seems miserable to me.

This:

and this

vs this:

or

This works! ?

 

[Square Wheels]

1 hour ago, dennis said:

With auto traffic and congestion in the parks, banning cars and moving to a busing system like Zion is getting closer in many parks.

I went to Danali about 12 years ago.  There is one road in, it's a little over 100 miles.  You can drive the first 20, then it's bus only.  The bus will stop anywhere you want and let you off, then pick you up on it's way back.  My wife and I did that for a picnic lunch, which ended up being terrifying due to bear likely close by.  They have a lottery where once a year a small number of cars can drive all the way in.  

Not sure what their policy was on bikes, e bikes probably didn't exist then.

[Dottleshead ★]

Hey @dennis my wife and I plan on heading your way next summer.  I expect all the best rates on e-bike rentals and bike tours of the surrounding area.  We may even fly in -- in which case I'll expect the red carpet treatment too.  If all goes well, we'll just keep riding across southern Idaho and into southern Oregon and track down DH.

[dinneR ★]

7 hours ago, Dottie said:

Hey @dennis my wife and I plan on heading your way next summer.  I expect all the best rates on e-bike rentals and bike tours of the surrounding area.  We may even fly in -- in which case I'll expect the red carpet treatment too.  If all goes well, we'll just keep riding across southern Idaho and into southern Oregon and track down DH.

Everything is expensive here and my carpet is not red. This place is a hoot though, awesome riding.

[Dirtyhip]

9 hours ago, dennis said:

Everything is expensive here and my carpet is not red. This place is a hoot though, awesome riding.

 You can buy him some red carpet insoles so he is always walking on red carpet. Problem solved.