I’ve been arguing with people online. Maybe I should do less of that and ride my bike more. But I’ve also been trying to call out ableist behavior, which I think is important.
People have also given me grief because I ride an ebike. Here’s my question to those people…
First, imagine you like to ride a bike. Now imagine you get older, you get injured, or your body just doesn’t do what you want it to do without pain.
Do you give up riding a bike, or do you figure out a way to keep riding a bike?
Because of my nerve pain and spinal surgery I just started riding again after 6 months of not riding. I rode 11 miles today, which is a good ride. A few times my knee hurt. Either a twinge or a short shooting pain. I still want to ride my bike. Do you know what helps? An ebike.
I still love to pedal a bike. Mine has no throttle, it’s only pedal-assist, so if I want to move I gotta do some work.
But the thing is, I don’t have to ride so hard it starts to hurt. I can ease up by increasing the assist. Hills? Wind? Knee acting up? I can get some help. Listen, don’t we all need some help sometimes?
And look, I get it. 2026 is the summer of ebike panic. People are riding irresponsibly. Kids, some adults, people who have never rode an acoustic bike before or last did so years ago. People who are ignorant, or inexperienced, and yeah… all of that is a problem.
But I also read posts from people in their 60s and 70s who say things like “I’ve had both my knees replaced but I love riding my ebike!” and “Haven’t ridden in 30 years and now I ride an ebike 15 miles each day.” And shit like that, more people on bikes, is what we need. If you actually care about biking more than gatekeeping, I hope you agree.
Here are some posts from about a year ago. The first time I rode a modern ebike, some thoughts, and then getting my own.
Here’s what I wrote 10 months ago:
Yeah, my knee occasionally acts up. I’ve canceled rides because of it. Earlier this year I was doing physical therapy for it. It’s actually difficult for me to go up a flight of stairs, so you know… maybe an ebike with pedal assist is something that will ensure I can keep riding.
But guess what? In the 50 days I rode an ebike to work last summer/fall my knee never got too bad. Huh. Okay.
So I don’t care if people give me shit, because it won’t stop me riding an ebike. My own body is the thing that will stop me, but for now I’m not letting it. I just need a little assistance sometimes.