E-bikes: I'll die before I buy one.

I see many more e-bikes on the streets these days.
A shocking number of my friends who used to ride human-powered bikes as primary transportation have switched to e-bikes.
Some of them genuinely need the electric assist to get up hills more often as they've aged.
Others simply like the convenience of riding without having to sweat so much, or ride farther than legs alone could handle.

That's great for them.

An e-bike starts at around $3,000 for something decent and durable. The average e-bike owner spends upwards of $250 a year on maintenance and repairs.

A safe, functioning pedal-powered bicycle can cost as little as $25 used. In some cases, I've seen ads for FREE bikes that people no longer ride. The average regular bike owner spends between $50 and $75 a year on maintenance and repairs, and most regular bike owners can fix their own flats and adjust their own brakes,

E-bikes discourage self-sufficiency. You can't easily fix a flat on an e-bike by yourself, at home or on the road, without using Slime-in-a-can or Fix-a-Flat, or some other unsustainable and noxious chemical aid. Shops that do fix e-bike flats charge upwards of $30 for the service, plus parts. Many newer e-bikes are belt-driven, and there is NO way to deal with a drive belt on the road. You need special tools that cost more than the belt itself.

Now, to be fair, self-sufficiency for bicycle riders was being discouraged long before e-bikes blew up. While I worked at Citybikes, the number of bike riders actually willing to get their hands dirty doing basic upkeep was already dropping, due to demographic and generational shifts that reflected decreasing self-sufficiency across society. But the steep rise in e-bike ownership definitely accelerated that shift, especially in the last four or five years.

I no longer work in the bike industry. Arthritis has done a serious number on my hands. But if I were stuck by the side of the road I could still fix a flat and get home. I've taken steps to ensure that, which include carrying a patch kit, levers and a pump on my bike and choosing to ride 26"/559 wheels because those tires are easier to remove and reinstall. Simple stuff.

This is a rambling rant, inspired by a recent BikePortland.org article about the rise of e-bike ownership and rising demands for electric-powered car infrastructure.

I certainly can't afford to buy an e-bike. But if I could, I wouldn't. And I won't ever own one.
I think self-sufficiency is good for society and good for communities, and technology that discourages both is bad for us. I'd rather fix my own flats on a bike that's simple and efficient, than have to rely on someone else to maintain my bike for me.

Bicycle used to be simple and elegant technology. I will fight the good fight to keep mine going for as long as I can.

(My Centurion Super Le Mans. Eugene, Oregon 1997. I learned how to repair and rebuild bicycles using this as my laboratory, and rode it until it was totaled in a collision. Then, I used my skills to build up a replacement bicycle from parts.)

(The bike I ride now. Still simple and elegant, and repairable at home.)

The pitfalls of being too disabled or not disabled enough

My doctor says that I should ride my bike and/or walk in order to keep my heart and lungs health, and to keep my blood pressure under control and maintain a steady weight.

All good.

I am awaiting a disability decision on a claim I filed last winter.
I filed for disability because a combination of multiple health issues prevents me from doing what I know how to do even half-time anymore, and because retraining programs for anyone over 60 years old are not government subsidized.

There are penalties involved for anyone trying to move around a little to keep from getting sicker, when getting sicker is exactly what the government expects one to do when they are disabled.

Being disabled according to the government's standard means:

-- you're not supposed to medically improve.
-- you're not supposed to medically stabilize.
-- you're not supposed to have fun or laugh or have a social life, basically ever.
-- you're supposed to keep getting worse and die quickly so we don't have to pay you any of the Social Security you've put in over the course of your working life.

On top of that, Social Security will make it so hard for you to see your claim through to a positive outcome that eventually you give up (and please die already).

Well, FUCK that.

I'm still here.
I can't do what I used to be able to do, but I can still laugh and cry and enjoy my time with my beloveds and engage in the life and well-being of my city.
If I can do that sustainably, then by God I will do that.

See you at Bike Happy Hour.

(below: part of a quit I made by hand over 20 years ago. I can't hand sew like this anymore, but I'm glad I was able to make this and I cherish it greatly. Because I'm a human being and I get to have a life, however small and local it may be.)