Blog Dis
To maim...
2025-09-25
To main is to mutilate, to dismember or remove limbs.
I will not go quietly into this dark night nor silently into the sunny day either. I will go with my outrageous opinions and prejudices intact like all people who are alive, independent, co-dependent or otherwise. I suspect I'm not alone. I know for sure that a number of my friends feel the same as me that e-bikes and e-scooters are the scourge of cycle paths and there's just no getting around this fact.
I could always stand off to the side, wait patiently, and then throw at them a handful of tiny, pointy rocks or use a long pointy stick, to lay directly onto the path, to cause a spill or maybe spit balls from ten paces as they pass. A super-soaker squirt gun fired from the hip would also do the trick or to release a pack of wild dogs to chase them down or the tried and true method of pelting these persons with rotten tomatoes — all these ideas could potentially work wonders to cut down on the dangerous traffic of e-bikes and e-scooters. Progress sometimes means that new and potential hazard to pedestrians are created, and by extension persons with kids or dogs in tow.
Cyclists are expected to observe a speed limit of 20 kph or 12 mph, which seems slow in comparison to the e-bikes and e-scooters that fly by as they please.
Rotten tomatoes is the gold standard for displaying disdain, by the way. I speak from experience, you see. When I cycle the paths in Ottawa (we're blessed with over 300 km of cycle paths) it will typically occur multiples times each ride that an e-scooter running at top speed will whiz by without ringing their bell. Same goes for the e-bikes that can reach top speeds of 110 kph or 68 mph, when the observed speed limit for city sanctioned e-scooters is set at 12 mph. Lemme tell you that even 50 mph is too fast, a lightning speed to bomb down a shared path that isn't wide enough to comfortably accommodate two cyclists, cycling side-by-side, much less an e-bike or e-scooter, both of which are the fastest things on wheels.
I've been cycling on Ottawa's official cycle paths since the late 80s. I've seen a lot come and go, the changes in the sports industry, adopting new designs such as the birth of the mountain bike and the hybrid bike, not as mean and cranky looking but nonetheless hard not to notice. I've watched as skateboards evolved from short and noisy hard-wheeled boards to the elongated variety made from maple wood for durability or flexible carbon fiber with plastic. I've watched as rollerbladers went from four chunky wheels at each corner, to a streamline construction of wheels in one line, thereby allowing them to take their sport from traditional indoor rinks to the great outdoors. I've seen cross-country skiers on wheeled-skis for use on the paths, admiring their graceful stride and quick-like speed as they glide down the paths like mad bunnies. Yet, no one can tell me otherwise that any other brand of sports equipment can match the speed of e-bikes and e-scooters.
Egalitarianism is a really big word that should only be ingested with a strong cup of coffee. Essentially, it means that a logical and democratic mind should make all reasonable allowances available to everyone. We are all sharing the same world and therefore all of us should be entitled to the same treatment. This is just plain wrong when it comes to sports equipment, if I may digress. Not all of us are deserving of the same treatment because not all of us treat those around us with the same egalitarian attitude. The closest analogy I can come up with would be to mention the arrival of snowboarders on the ski slopes, which happened sometime around the late 1970s. Once snowboarders had taken over the slopes, skiers realized their day had come and gone. Now skiing on some slopes feels like a battle between sleek, slim pieces of waxed wood versus the short, compacted and hard, wider boards that wash away layers of light and fluffy snow, to leave behind ice-snow, compressed and harder to ski on, which had meant a new solution: split the slopes for snow-boarders exclusively and the other slopes are for skiers. Seems like a reasonable solution.
However, there is only one version of the cycle path with a yellow line down the centre, to observe two lanes of traffic, and e-bikes and e-scooters have now altered this landscape with their zippy presence. In response, Ottawa enacted a city bi-law that prevents e-bikes from being ridden on local cycle paths, unless there are pedals that spin like a normal bike. Only, when I experience an e-bike whizzing by me, they're not using their pedals and are instead relying solely on the bike's motor to propel them forward at a faster rate that a cyclist can cycle.
I don't expect life to be fair. On the contrary, I expect life to challenge me and more to the point to break my heart. My job is to find the joy in every day living and to live it to the fullest of my capability. I plan to do just this each and every day. The wheels of life will keep on spinning along. While I appreciate that those with mobility issues are happy to use e-Bikes, it is the healthy young crowd that have whole-heartedly adopted the e-Scooter and e-Bike. City sanctioned e-scooters have their speed capped at 12 kph. But not the privately owned e-scooters, some of which can reach up to a top speed of 110 kph on the city roads.
Cars don't want eBikes on regular roads, because they make little noise if any, tho' I see them often enough. These e-bikes can travel up to 80 km on one fully-charged battery. They're ideal for getting around town and I see the value in them, and I also think they look pretty cool. By comparison to motorcycles, a top of the line eBike can cost $30,000 for the fastest, which is fairly in line with the cost of a top motorcycle, but motorcycle riders have to show a registered licence plate, and are restricted to the roads. Not eBikes. So, if I had my druthers, I'd restrict their use to the roads and keep them off the cycle paths. And I'd also restrict the e-scooters to the 12 kph speed observed by the city.
Funny how no one has bothered to consult me on my opinion because if they did, I'd point out that it's near impossible to police this activity, and speed monitors can only do so much. So while the end of summer has come and gone, as of September 22nd, when the first day of Autumn was recognized, I ask you to wish me luck that I don't roll headlong into an e-bike, and tumble into a dance to the pavement. Last night's cycle was no exception. A number of eBikes buzzed past me and not one could be bothered to have lights shining, their horn blaring when passing every runner, walker, cyclist.
I will not go quietly into this dark night nor silently into the sunny day either. I will go with my outrageous opinions and prejudices intact like all people who are alive, independent, co-dependent or otherwise. I suspect I'm not alone. I know for sure that a number of my friends feel the same as me that e-bikes and e-scooters are the scourge of cycle paths and there's just no getting around this fact.
I could always stand off to the side, wait patiently, and then throw at them a handful of tiny, pointy rocks or use a long pointy stick, to lay directly onto the path, to cause a spill or maybe spit balls from ten paces as they pass. A super-soaker squirt gun fired from the hip would also do the trick or to release a pack of wild dogs to chase them down or the tried and true method of pelting these persons with rotten tomatoes — all these ideas could potentially work wonders to cut down on the dangerous traffic of e-bikes and e-scooters. Progress sometimes means that new and potential hazard to pedestrians are created, and by extension persons with kids or dogs in tow.
Cyclists are expected to observe a speed limit of 20 kph or 12 mph, which seems slow in comparison to the e-bikes and e-scooters that fly by as they please.
Rotten tomatoes is the gold standard for displaying disdain, by the way. I speak from experience, you see. When I cycle the paths in Ottawa (we're blessed with over 300 km of cycle paths) it will typically occur multiples times each ride that an e-scooter running at top speed will whiz by without ringing their bell. Same goes for the e-bikes that can reach top speeds of 110 kph or 68 mph, when the observed speed limit for city sanctioned e-scooters is set at 12 mph. Lemme tell you that even 50 mph is too fast, a lightning speed to bomb down a shared path that isn't wide enough to comfortably accommodate two cyclists, cycling side-by-side, much less an e-bike or e-scooter, both of which are the fastest things on wheels.
I've been cycling on Ottawa's official cycle paths since the late 80s. I've seen a lot come and go, the changes in the sports industry, adopting new designs such as the birth of the mountain bike and the hybrid bike, not as mean and cranky looking but nonetheless hard not to notice. I've watched as skateboards evolved from short and noisy hard-wheeled boards to the elongated variety made from maple wood for durability or flexible carbon fiber with plastic. I've watched as rollerbladers went from four chunky wheels at each corner, to a streamline construction of wheels in one line, thereby allowing them to take their sport from traditional indoor rinks to the great outdoors. I've seen cross-country skiers on wheeled-skis for use on the paths, admiring their graceful stride and quick-like speed as they glide down the paths like mad bunnies. Yet, no one can tell me otherwise that any other brand of sports equipment can match the speed of e-bikes and e-scooters.
Egalitarianism is a really big word that should only be ingested with a strong cup of coffee. Essentially, it means that a logical and democratic mind should make all reasonable allowances available to everyone. We are all sharing the same world and therefore all of us should be entitled to the same treatment. This is just plain wrong when it comes to sports equipment, if I may digress. Not all of us are deserving of the same treatment because not all of us treat those around us with the same egalitarian attitude. The closest analogy I can come up with would be to mention the arrival of snowboarders on the ski slopes, which happened sometime around the late 1970s. Once snowboarders had taken over the slopes, skiers realized their day had come and gone. Now skiing on some slopes feels like a battle between sleek, slim pieces of waxed wood versus the short, compacted and hard, wider boards that wash away layers of light and fluffy snow, to leave behind ice-snow, compressed and harder to ski on, which had meant a new solution: split the slopes for snow-boarders exclusively and the other slopes are for skiers. Seems like a reasonable solution.
However, there is only one version of the cycle path with a yellow line down the centre, to observe two lanes of traffic, and e-bikes and e-scooters have now altered this landscape with their zippy presence. In response, Ottawa enacted a city bi-law that prevents e-bikes from being ridden on local cycle paths, unless there are pedals that spin like a normal bike. Only, when I experience an e-bike whizzing by me, they're not using their pedals and are instead relying solely on the bike's motor to propel them forward at a faster rate that a cyclist can cycle.
I don't expect life to be fair. On the contrary, I expect life to challenge me and more to the point to break my heart. My job is to find the joy in every day living and to live it to the fullest of my capability. I plan to do just this each and every day. The wheels of life will keep on spinning along. While I appreciate that those with mobility issues are happy to use e-Bikes, it is the healthy young crowd that have whole-heartedly adopted the e-Scooter and e-Bike. City sanctioned e-scooters have their speed capped at 12 kph. But not the privately owned e-scooters, some of which can reach up to a top speed of 110 kph on the city roads.
Cars don't want eBikes on regular roads, because they make little noise if any, tho' I see them often enough. These e-bikes can travel up to 80 km on one fully-charged battery. They're ideal for getting around town and I see the value in them, and I also think they look pretty cool. By comparison to motorcycles, a top of the line eBike can cost $30,000 for the fastest, which is fairly in line with the cost of a top motorcycle, but motorcycle riders have to show a registered licence plate, and are restricted to the roads. Not eBikes. So, if I had my druthers, I'd restrict their use to the roads and keep them off the cycle paths. And I'd also restrict the e-scooters to the 12 kph speed observed by the city.
Funny how no one has bothered to consult me on my opinion because if they did, I'd point out that it's near impossible to police this activity, and speed monitors can only do so much. So while the end of summer has come and gone, as of September 22nd, when the first day of Autumn was recognized, I ask you to wish me luck that I don't roll headlong into an e-bike, and tumble into a dance to the pavement. Last night's cycle was no exception. A number of eBikes buzzed past me and not one could be bothered to have lights shining, their horn blaring when passing every runner, walker, cyclist.
