Happy Feet

I think most people do get it but some, on either side, have firmly held opinions and probably won't change them. I'm not sure it is even the point to try and change those opinions. I think they won't change until (if at all) they are faced with a change in their circumstance. At that point they may have to face a choice between giving up an activity they currently enjoy or reaching for some form of assisting technology, just like people with lower back issues sometimes seek shock absorbing seat posts. They seem rather pointless until you actually need one. That is when their beliefs about what is worth talking about may change (If at all). I can say my experience in this way has been accelerated because of the work I do and the many people I encounter who are trying to regain some form of normality. I am, as they say, sensitized to the topic.

The bigger point is whether a bicycle touring forum will survive if those people are allowed to participate in it or if they will some how corrupt the meaning or intent of the forum. I don't see that happening but that is the point to consider. Is the shift too great, are people unable to understand the differences, will current topics be marginalized due to the influx of new topics... Those sorts of issues.

We just had a rather spirited debate here by two members who hold vastly differing views on the subject and, while it did get heated at times, both have survived and the forum is still intact. I suspect the same thing will happen if the occasional E bike touring topic shows up and is allowed to run its natural course without people trying to stamp it out like a wildfire. I believe the stamping will do more damage than the topic itself.

It will be new, novel, attract attention for a while, just like the UL topic did last winter, and then it will fade into the vast diaspora of bicycle touring topics.

That's just my opinion of course.

Would you believe that while I am not considering an E bike at the moment I have been putting a great deal of thought into building/buying/fundraising for a rickshaw type bike so I can start a therapeutic bicycling program for the seniors in my facility. So many of them respond positively when I discuss cycling and there is a beautiful lake with cycling paths right next door. If I had been more on the ball I would have attached that financial goal to my upcoming tour as people have really tried to donate to it and I tell them I am not fundraising and to donate to the Alzheimer Society. If I am still there I will probably do it next year.

Nothing to do with cycle touring but I thought it was funny that there are several ways people can be "assisted" in cycling.