Eric F 

Valid point. My mental image was of guys who have paid their dues. You're probably right, though.

big john

The two that I ride with are very tactful, and everyone likes them and many of us have known them for years, decades in my case. They both raced for years and are highly skilled bike handlers.
They never try to blow up a ride or use the motor against others.

big john

To me, the climbing is the big factor. I don't think I want to do another 10,000 foot century but a flat one wouldn't be a problem. Probably.

genejockey 

That's also my thinking. Casual, no-drop rides? Sure. Competitive rides? Nope.

big john

Even Skarin rides an e-bike now, and he's a 2 time Olympian and won a ton of races.

WhyFi

Yeah, I can see a wide range of results, depending upon the size of the group and the individuals within the group. In some groups, I could see it being awesome - leveling ability and letting people enjoy more time together. I do think, though, that as groups trend towards larger and/or more competitive, the more problematic they could be. I'm a pretty easy-going guy, but I can also be competitive - if someone with a motor tried to beat me to a town sign or to the top of a hill, I might not be okay with that in the heat of the moment.

datlas 

Thread needs more cats.

Jackie is happy to assist:

big john

When they first got the things they would not go to club rides but did come to our smaller group rides which were no-drop for my (and others) benefit. They would go to the front and the strongest rider would then be the limiting factor. In other words, the speed increased until we backmarkers were struggling. They had no sense of how difficult it was for us because it was so easy for them. They have figured it out since then.

indyfabz

The late, great Reds, aka Stinky McSqugglebutt, in kitty jail. I was having flooring work done, and he was due for a checkup, so he spent the day at the vet who fixed him up when he was rescued.

genejockey 

A few weeks back, I was riding the Canyon, and there was a rider who was taking much the same route as I did. It was one of those things where I'd passed him, then he caught up at stoplights, then I passed them again. The third time, he said something like, "It's nice when the bike does the work for you", which didn't initially register, but I think he thought I was on an e-bike.

big john

I've had that on my mtb. It has a bulky bottom bracket area which looks like it could hide a motor.

genejockey 

The guy was about my age, +/- 5-10 years, skinny, and riding an old Kestrel. I think he didn't want to think an old fat guy was faster than him. But that was one of my "Cycling God" days. Another day, I wouldn't be.

WhyFi

Uh huh - whatever you say, motor-doper

WhyFi

I have the opposite problem - people seeing my glorious legs and wondering why I'm not faster.

MoAlpha

An ebike would be good for smoothing out the effort on the hills on the 80% of training one is supposed to be doing at very low intensity. Some experts, e.g., Iñigo San Millan, speculate that a single excursion out of zone with a lactate surge can flip you out of aerobic metabolism and preferential fat burning and into glycolysis for the rest of the ride.

WhyFi

Damn it - I have enough things to work up my anxiety and now you tell me this? ​​​​​

genejockey 

Not me! I'm just a garden variety dope.

WhyFi

Oh, and FYI, I've been doing some intermittent fasting. Might try some real deal, multi-day fasting, too - I've got enough stores.

Eric F 

I know a few guys who plant dope in their garden.

Mojo31

May have to get a Vivax motor for the comfort bike.

Mojo31

I know a few who plant it in their 10 to 20 acre gardens.

genejockey 

I'm more the intermittent overeating kind of guy.

Eric F 

I resemble this remark.

genejockey 

This must be why I'm still over 200 lbs. There are too many climbs on my Sunday route, causing me to flip into glycolysis.

Yeah, that must be it. It's not the ice cream and chips. It's the hills.

MoAlpha

Right?

And on my extended commutes through the park where all the weird, out of shape, aggro riders are, I am now a soft target for anyone with something to prove.