Originally Posted by
pierce
I live up a 6-8% grade with narrow shoulders, blind turns. at my pedal speed in granny gear, my exposure to being clipped by an inattentive car is just too much, I'm more likely to be wobbling side to side as I'm panting, etc. with the ebike, I'm gliding up that hill, pedalling with light effort in a fairly high gear, and maintaining 10-15 MPH, that makes me much safer. I just have to be sure to save 2 bars before I get to the bottom of the hill.
I know the feeling. I have a climb on two of my routes. Thing is, they're both on or near my final leg back home and at that point they are grueling. Even worse, they're both on high-speed roads with no clearance. So not only do I have to take the lane (if I were to the right I'd be killed since the road curves to a blind corner), but I do so at an absolute crawl. Luckily, these are multi-lane so I'm not obligated to pull to the side.
Coincidentally, it was on one of these climbs which was the first time I encountered an e-bike. There was a granny riding up the hill at the same time. And when she began to pull away from me at a leisurely pace -- while my ears were bleeding -- I knew then that something wasn't right in the world. A humbling experience? Only if you're unaware of the details.