""Most of the guys are supportive, a few claim I'm 'cheating'. I look at it in that I would probably be sitting at home instead of biking around if it weren't for an ebike. I've also told them that biking 50 mile son an ebike is like biking 35 miles on a regular bike - and most of them never ride THAT far. But the persist and are now avoiding me because I'm a 'cheater'.""
You tell them you have already ridden all of the hills, but now you are going to ride them on an ebike and just enjoy the ride. There isn't any cheating..... you can get more of a workout on electric if you want to by shutting it down. They are just jealous.
It's a fast lonely existence on an ebike. You need to ride with your own kind now, and don't look back.