As a Rivendell rider I’m after all conversant in the bike store Blue Lug…
…although I had no concept that additionally they had a barber store:
I’m surprised that no person in New York Metropolis has thought to mix bikes and haircuts.
Oh wait, sure they’ve:
By no means thoughts.
In the meantime, right here in New York the e-bike backlash continues:
As ordinary, the talk revolves round the truth that on one hand e-bikes make stuff barely simpler for outdated folks, however then again they suck:
And sure, I’m being intentionally reductive, so no want for Silas to weigh in along with his anecdote about how his e-bike means he not has to take his children to gymnastics camp in an Uber.
After all, we’ve seen all this earlier than–or a minimum of our velocipedist forbears have. Certainly, from the very first many individuals thought bicycles had been a nuisance, and so they had been banned from the parks accordingly:
On the identical time, now that so many bicycles are electrified the response has escalated accordingly too. NYPD crackdowns on scofflaw cyclists are additionally nothing new, each out and in of the park:
By the best way, in the event you suppose I’ve developed into some form of reactionary curmudgeon, please be aware that I’ve all the time been a reactionary curmudgeon:
In addition to an astute futurist:
However sure, whereas there have all the time been crackdowns, now that the bikes are motorized autos used primarily for business enterprises the NYPD is supercharging its crackdowns by issuing legal summonses to riders:
And “common cyclists” are collateral injury”, because the NYPD metes out enforcement in its characteristically bewildering manner:
These dolphin-in-the-tuna-net incidents however, whereas as soon as folks despised bicyclists as a menace, now that e-bikes have taken over they might now be coming to see us as not solely benign however positively quaint. Take into account the pennyfarthing, erstwhile blight on the parks and now simply one thing you level at and smile whenever you see one on the 5 Boro Bike Tour:
Is that this a glimpse at our future as riders of purely human-powered bicycles?
The truth is in some locations we’re so innocuous we’re now thought-about pedestrians:
Clearly this gained’t cease folks from hitting us, however perhaps they’ll cease hating us.
Simply kidding:
They’ll all the time hate us.
