Electric Bike, Stupid Love of My Life

At our worst, humans mindlessly consume, sear the earth and each other, fill our bodies with poisons. At our best we invent electric bikes. Batteries have gotten more efficient, motors smaller and more powerful. The last decade has brought great efficiency to these machines, and the next ten years will only double down on these gains.

Electric bike numbers are up, year over year over year. Tremendously so. Those who know, proselytize. We can’t help it. The charm is too great. The game non- zero sum. The more people who know, the better the world.

It’s a wild notion, this sense of goodness to be had if you just reach out for it. Goodness with no real downside. Like solar panels or wind turbines, electric bikes are machines that buoy the spirit and the earth.

I went to an event at the Minneapolis Convention Center a couple of years ago where they set up a test track and allowed you to ride several dozen different electric bikes around it.

I really, really want one.

My biggest hurdle at the moment is adopting it into my life. It’s hard enough to ride a bike in Minnesota¹, but it’s even harder to live a bike rider’s lifestyle with two kids and a house in the suburbs.

But man, I really want that lifestyle.

Also, the concept of seeking “goodness with no real downside” is yet another item to add to my list of values.