Is an electric bike cheating? Well if you can manage to sneak an electric bike into a competitive event, where everyone else has a regular bike, then yes, it’s definitely cheating. If you talk about buying an ebike while hanging out with a group of people there’s no doubt there will be at least one person crying “cheating.”
My E-Bike Story
To be honest, I was one of those people that considered buying an ebike was cheating. I also thought that getting a electric bike would rob me of the valuable exercise that a normal pedal bicycle gives me. But I would soon find out that this is not the case. eBiking is definitely not cheating or robbing you of the exercise a regular bike gives you. Here is my story about my first electronic bicycle.
Back 0n February 24, 2022 I had to go to the emergency room because my back had been bothering me for a couple weeks and just not getting any better. After spending 12 hours getting tests and sitting around in the ER waiting room I got the news… I had 2 blown discs in my lower lumbar. The surgeon came to see me and we agreed on a surgery date. I laid in the hospital bed for a couple days watching the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Then surgery day came and it only took less than 2 hours to do it. When I came to, I could feel immediately relief and no more back pain other than the surgery spot soreness.
When my surgeon came in to talk to me you can probably guess where I was going for my very first question. “How long before I can ride my bike again?” I asked him. When he told me to wait at least 3 months I just stared him down like he was kidding, but unfortunately, he wasn’t. Telling me not to ride my bike is like telling a cat it wasn’t allowed to jump. So I had to figure something out. Since it was winter and I had to stay inside anyways, I spent my time riding on my indoor trainer and cycling on Zwift. See some of my Zwift riding blog posts here.
But then soon the weather started getting nice and my GP doctor still didn’t want me riding outside because she was worried about the stress of pedaling would have on my back and didn’t want me to hurt myself. So I went to my local bike shop, Hamilton Bikes, to look at the selection of e-bikes. I really liked the Trek Verve 2 (pictured above) so I purchased it. The bike shop owner wheeled it out for me and placed it on my bike rack for me and home I went. I was able to get the bike down off my bike rack and get it ready for my very first ride on an e-bike.
As I’m riding down the road and working the controls I was blown away how it was working. It took me about 30 seconds to realize that I was wrong about thinking I was cheating myself with an electric bike. Yes, it made riding a little easier but at the same time you still get a lot of good exercise from it. You really have to experience riding an ebike to understand it. The main thing about an electric bike is that most people assume you don’t have to pedal. The Trek Verve is pedal assist. This means that if you stop pedaling then you don’t go anywhere. So you are still pedaling and getting exercise. The great thing for me (since I just had major back surgery at the time) was I didn’t have to strain to ride up hills or against the strong wind while still getting a good amount of pedaling exercise in.
Now over a year later I mostly ride my regular bikes such as my Specialized Sequoia Gravel Bike or Trek 2.0 Road Bike. But I still like to take my Verve out for a spin. I usually do so the day after a long hard ride on a regular bike. So if I’m a little sore the day after a ride I get a little relief from the electronic bike.
Test Ride An E-Bike
So if you been thinking about an electric bike but are just like I used to be, thinking it was cheating yourself, do yourself a favor and go to your local bike shop to give one a test ride. I guarantee you will be blown away.
50+ year old cat dad that loves cycling, fitness, and trying to eat right. I’ve been riding bicycles since I got my very first bike, a gift from my Grandfather, on my 8th birthday on March 28, 1979. Just because you have reached the 50 year old mark it doesn’t mean that you have to slow down or quit. I started this blog so that other 50+ (or even younger) can learn from me and be motivated in their own health endeavors.
To great health and well-being.
Feel free to connect with me on the below social media platforms:
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