The world can be a tough place these days, taking a real toll on our mental and physical health.
That’s why it’s important to always be on the lookout for game-changing ideas, things that may make life legitimately better for a wide swath of the population. The express bottle return that lets you just drop off a bunch of bags and have the bottle folks sort it all out for you instead of standing there for 45 minutes with all the wasps? That is one of those great ideas. So is the backup camera for parallel parking. So is a good night’s sleep. And doughnuts. And Nutella. And Nutella doughnuts.
In the last few months I’ve stumbled upon another one that could make the world a really fun, really great and super healthy place. I didn’t invent it, but I’m happy to promote it. It’s just three little words: E-bikes for everyone.
Seriously – if everyone had an e-bike, this place would hum. Literally.
North Shore mountains a daunting climb
I’ve seen many sides of the commuting divide, walking, driving, busing and riding, and nothing really comes close to the e-bike in its combination of ease, exercise, entertainment and environmental friendliness.
Back in my spry 20s I used to ride a regular bike to and from work quite often, a 45-minute trip that started out as painful – you don’t realize it’s a steady climb all the way from the start of Stanley Park to the top of Lions Gate Bridge until you do it on a bike – but became routine as I worked my way into shape.
Since then my office and my home have moved a couple of times each, ending up where I am now with work at the bottom of a mountain and home much closer to the top of that same mountain. Last fall I finally got up the courage to try riding to and from work again. The “to” part was incredible. Zoom! So fast. The “from” part though? I’m not in my 20s anymore, but I’m not an old man either. I feel like that attempted ride, however, put me closer to death than I’ve ever been.
There was swearing, there was sweating, there was lactic acid, there was walking, there was defeat, and there was a hunt for any nearby bus with a bike rack. And that was just the first eight minutes.
I’m happy to report that I did not quit – I eventually made it home without a bus, triumphantly cycling the last two blocks after spending around 90 minutes either pushing the bike very slowly or riding it even slower. It literally would have been faster to walk the whole way – I know, because I’ve done that too.
It was on that trek – at about the eight-minute mark, in fact – that I decided I needed to go electric. I’m just trying to get home, not win the polka dot jersey. I shopped around a bit, saw the prices, shopped around a bit more, and then started praying. And lo, those prayers were answered by our great friends and neighbours at Norco North Shore, who hooked the North Shore News up with a very cool e-bike to help us get to assignments in style.
First a whooosh, then a wheeee!
I had to test it out to see how it fared making the same trip home. About six minutes into the ride I hit the same hill that made me very sad the first time around. This time, it made me very, very happy. Whoosh! Wheee! Up the hill I went with a little pedalling and a lot of guffaws. Honest-to-goodness guffaws. It was the most fun I’ve had on a road in anything not named Ferrari.
It was faster getting me home than any major mode of transportation except a car, but it was oh so much more satisfying. And it would, no doubt, be faster than a car on those certain days when traffic grinds to a halt. No grinding on the e-bike, just grinning.
And just like any good scientist, I’ve replicated that same test over and over again, with similar results, even in the rain or with temperatures hovering around zero. You still get a good workout, but it’s manageable, even for a desk jockey who lives life in second gear.
It was magical, is what I’m saying. And I think the world would be a better place if everyone could do that.
North Vancouver is already on a great track with a program run through local libraries allowing people to borrow e-bikes for free. Can we go even bigger?
That darn North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant is costing us in the neighbourhood of $3.86 billion. For that much money, you could basically offer every B.C. resident of ridable age a $1,000 rebate for an e-bike. Incentives have been offered before with massive waiting lists quickly forming. Can we make it easy and accessible for everyone? Take cars off the road, improve fitness and health, add a major wheee factor to life…?
I know that many people will obviously think this is an insane idea, and they have a point. But I hope everyone has a chance to at least try one out. Don’t make any final judgments until you hit that first hill.
Andy Prest is the editor of the North Shore News. His humour/lifestyle column runs biweekly.
