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It’s a beautiful thing…

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Platensek-po:

--- Quote from: guardian on June 29, 2022, 10:29:26 AM ---I'm not sure how old some of these folks are that oppose pedal assist bikes, but it has nothing to do with the cost of the bikes. It has everything to do with still be able to get out enjoying the outdoors. We put our time in hiking miles riding horses riding peddle bikes behind closed gates for years probably longer than some of these folks on here have been alive. We're not young guns anymore. Thats one of the problems with society now days. We need to look out for each other, stay united instead of this selfishness. It seems there's no compromise anymore. Really a sad deal.

--- End quote ---
Because there are already areas that Allow you motorized access. Why do you need a motor to access non motorized areas?? I don’t get it. I agree that an electric motor is better than a atv but it still has a motor. No selfishness here I’m happy to share with whoever. I just don’t see why we should make special exceptions for an electric motor over a gas one. Non-motorized seems very explanatory. Why should your motorized vehicle be allowed in a non motorized area?

guardian:
High grouse agreed been there many times. Walked in miles to have dirt bikes zip on by me. But like you said you dont see any old timers like us ripping by you. So with that being said would you agree with maybe having a little compromise for folks of older age to access these areas with a pedal assist bike? Yes i agree we go to the woods and ride these areas as well as you to get away from people noise phones. 

Platensek-po:

--- Quote from: guardian on June 29, 2022, 11:16:27 AM ---High grouse agreed been there many times. Walked in miles to have dirt bikes zip on by me. But like you said you dont see any old timers like us ripping by you. So with that being said would you agree with maybe having a little compromise for folks of older age to access these areas with a pedal assist bike? Yes i agree we go to the woods and ride these areas as well as you to get away from people noise phones.

--- End quote ---

I guess my question would be why not just a pedal bike then? Why does it have to have a motor to assist? If you can pedal then pedal. This whole topic feels like people asking for special exceptions to a very clear rule. There are places in the woods you can take your bike right?

HighGrouseHunt:
Gaurdian, I completely understand where you are coming from, and  I might consider a compromise like that if I thought it would actually work. Instead, I envision some bloated inefficient bureaucracy that is in charge of deciding if you are indeed "old enough" to get your E-bike permit. Whenever someone was denied, there would inevitably be accusations of discrimination and threats of litigation etc. If it ended up being some sort of doctors note sort of situation, then I can easily imagine the doctors out there writing notes to everyone who asks (I had a roommate in college who miraculously ended up with a medical marijiuna prescription signed by a real doctor too). 

I might be a simpleton, but I tend to lean toward the simplest, most obvious, and least loop-holey way to address these issues. Does it have a motor that provides any sort of assistance? It does? Great! Then its motorized. You get access to all of the motorized areas, and you can still access those non-motorized areas too. You just have to leave the bike at the boundary.  :dunno:

I don't mean to sound like I don't care that people can't get back as far as they use to. I honestly just wonder why the younger generation shouldn't be afforded the same opportunities as those old timers from the Pre E-bike era to put some distance between themselves and the crowds. (The population of Washington is larger now than it ever was, so those crowds are even bigger than they used to be).

I am fully aware of the benefits of getting deep into places with no-motorized access. I think most E-bike proponents on here are too, less pressured game more solitude etc. But I worry that cracking the door will quickly erode those benefits as it turns into an arms race. Soon everyone will have an E-bike to access those non-motorized Shangri-las, and they won't be so special anymore.

It seems like there is this continual march forward that no-one notices. In the 70s and 80s it seems like not that many people had ATVs or Snowmobiles, and most hunting was done on foot. Hunters eventually started incorporating those motorized vehicles into their hunts so they could get farther from the others. Then came trail cameras, laser range finders, cell-cameras, drones, night-vision scopes, OnX, E-bikes. All of these things putting more pressure on the same landscape that used to just have a handful of boot hunters out there tromping around with their 30-06 and 3-9 leupold scope. Of course its getting harder to get away, we keep making it easier for everyone else.

Dysfunctional Vet:
Do these e bikes never break? I’d be concerned about being old or physically limited to the point you can’t walk into an area. Then cruise back behind a gate for miles just to have my e bike take dump. Then what? Sounds sketchy

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