9 Comments
Sep 28, 2023Liked by Andy Boenau

77 years old with irregular heartbeat. Put the car in storage 3 years ago. The 40 year old bicycle my daughter left behind is now my primary vehicle. I average about 3 miles per day. I push the bike up the steep hills of Seattle. I generally ride on the sidewalk - further from cars - despite the fact that Seattle has fairly decent bicycle infrastructure.

Then there is the anecdote related to me by a nurse while I was in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. She said her hundred year old grandfather in China had his bicycle taken away from him after he had an accident on it. He is countering with an attempt to get a tricycle.

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This is the best thing I've read all day.

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Sep 23, 2023Liked by Andy Boenau

My E bike makes getting to work from Avondale to Auckland City Hospital a breeze .. Pretty much on a lovely cycle path way the whole way .. Thanks Auckland Transport 👏👏👏

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I love to hear it!

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Great piece. Fear of biking alongside traffic on narrow, unprotected bike lanes was certainly a barrier for me in Harrisonburg before I got an ebike. Since going electric (two wheels, not four) we've been able to get rid of one of our two cars and go car-lite.

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Love hearing stories like that. E-bikes make car-lite a possibility that didn't exist just a few years ago.

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We’ve had analog bikes forever at our place, but we live up a hill, so riding back is daunting. I bought an e-bike BC (before Covid) and it was great for getting out and getting some fresh air during lockdowns when we could get out for some exercise.

Yes, it’s cheating and I cheat whenever and wherever I can now. I get out more often and for longer, on my e-bike.

The city when live is completing a bike path around our long harbour here in Dunedin, New Zealand. You will be able to ride all the way around (on your own or a rented e-bike) and take a water taxi across the harbour to where you started (it is equipped to take bikes). I think there’s a bright future for e-bike tourism.

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I’m generally in support of escootets, but there is one problem for which I haven’t heard any genuine solutions. When left on paths and walkways, which is where they are usually left, they block access for people with physical disabilities, particularly wheelchair users. I research in this space, and obstructed paths by scooters is almost always a top three issue for wheelchair users. Im hopeful for a solution.

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That’s a big problem and I can recall my mother in law talking about this recently as where she lives in Northampton, they are scattered far and wide; abandoned, not even parked out of the way. I can see why people dislike them.

I would use one though if I didn’t have other modes of transport to use.

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