This morning's commute and other commuting stories

or disabled people?

We were talking about the people who delimit their e-bikes, not all e-bikes. Electric assistance by law is limited to 15.5mph:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/electric-bikes-uk-law-234973

It's easy to override this, though, and some people do. I've met about half a dozen riders like that in London. Not all had met hippy and were hanging their heads in shame.

The utility of e-bikes for certain purposes, e.g. for people with mobility difficulties, is evident. Another area where they have a definite purpose is for rural (or very long) commutes.

However, the limit is proposed to change:

https://www.eta.co.uk/2017/01/17/fast-electric-bicycle-are-coming-new-laws-for-speed-pedelecs/

While I personally think this is better than people using cars, it brings another couple of problems. I think 30mph is too fast in an urban centre, irrespective of which vehicle is moving at that speed. I also worry about perfectly fit riders using them and no longer gaining the health benefits of unassisted cycling. It's different for people who would otherwise not be doing exercise at all. Also, e-bikes (not even fast ones) have been a contributing cause to a lot of additional crashes in the Netherlands. There is also always the issue of ever-increasing mobility; it means that the need to travel continuously increases, and this trend (the spreading out of destinations) continues apace, when economies should be more locally-centred to be sustainable. Obviously, e-bikes are only one contribution to this overall trend, which is much wider, but still one that concerns me.