eBike Struggles

2024-08-01

About a month ago, I bought a new bicycle. One with an “e” - supported by a small electric engine.

I went on a few tours and enjoyed myself, but there was always this little voice inside my head asking if it’s still biking if supported by an engine? Is it still sport if I can just turn on the engine when cycling uphill? After every tour I was unsure with my decision - asking myself if I’d rather had picked a “bio bike”.

Last week, my brother in law came by and we went for a longer tour. 90km. I cannot remember that I ever cycled this far on a single day in my entire life. But I wasn’t scared of the distance - security giving by the electric support. I started in bio-bike-mode but it felt good to have the option to get some help, if needed.

After 50km motivation decreased. With my previous bike, I’d probably had stopped and looked for the next train station. This time, I just turned on the engine and pushed the pedals for two more hours. Great feeling :-)

And while I still struggle from time to time, I am convinced that as long as you grab your bike and go for a tour it doesn’t matter if it’s with or without electric support. In my case, I know, that in the past weeks I went for tours that I would have never even started if I didn’t had the engine. Tours with long or steep uphill distances for example. When the bad feeling comes back, I just remind myself that others drive cars in circles and call that motor sport.