Ebike madness

Winky and Kadizzle took off into the Sedona wilderness near our vacation rental on the ebikes.  Two people pushing 71 were about to be on trails ment for teenagers.  It did not take too long before Winky had a pretty good crash.  Fortunately nothing but pride was hurt.  Parts of the trail were a lot of fun, and parts were from mountain bike hell.  Gradually Kadizzle began to realize ebikes were not supposed to be on these trails.  The way we entered there were no signs restricting the trail, but the little stickers showed up too late. 

Now this brings us to the question, why does the Forest Serviced want to keep ebikes off these trails?  The ebikes enable old goats to do what they could do twenty years ago.  It is good exercise.  In every sport you have the purist.  The peddlers are so proud of their physical ability they want exclusive access to the wilderness.  There is a bit of a dilemma here.  Very few people want noisy motorbikes, or four wheel buggies in a nice forest.  In general the Forest Service has done a good job of regulation.  Anything can tear up the natural setting when used with abuse.  Horses can ruin a trail, as can the jeeps, and four wheel gang.  However, Kadizzle would argue ebikes are no harder on a trail than regular bikes.  The bottom line is people need exercise.  Kadizzle is a bit of a lumper.  You do get a good workout on an ebike when you are 71.  Remember these bikes are called peddle assist.  That means you do have to peddle, and sometimes very hard.  Secondly, you can adjust the amount of assist.  So if you want the battery to last, you better peddle to the best of your ability.  At the top of an incline Kadizzle is breathing hard and the heart is pounding.  That means some work was done.  

Last, but not least the ebike enables people with heart conditions, or other physical limitations to get out and have fun.  Kadizzle read of a family that had one son with heart problems.  He could ride with the family on an ebike.  Why not?

We do need to protect our environment, and if you have seen the damage done by dingers with four wheelers you know what the Forest Service is up against.  There are people who will not wear mask, drive loud noisy trucks, and have no respect for the rest of us.  We all live on this one piece of rock circling the sun, and we all need to respect each other and the rock.