Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the saddle, the ‘real’ road maggots are out to get you. If you ride an e-bike you are clearly not a ‘real’ cyclist and thus you should be shunned / banned / regulated / or something.
It all bubbled to the surface when a ‘real’ cyclist collided with an ‘a***hole’ on an e-bike when both were using a designated cycleway.
No one remembers exactly what happened but the ‘real’ cyclist is calling for a ‘crack-down’ on ‘a***holes’. (Sorry!)
A cyclist who was badly hurt in a collision with an electric bike is begging Auckland Transport to clarify rules around cycleways before someone is killed.
Dr Tony Hickey had a serious head-on crash with a man on an e-bike on May 14, while he was riding on the NorthWestern cycleway’s Rainbow Path next to Unitec in Mt Albert.
Hickey was knocked out, so he doesn’t remember much apart from riding down the hill and meeting a rider standing up in the saddle, biking uphill at speed. He understands the man was on the wrong side of the path and was on a motorised e-bike – although he can’t prove it.
Gadzooks – an e-bike with a motor! What will they think of next?
What happened next is pieced together from photos and damage to the bikes and his body. Hickey suspects he flipped and landed on his back, his bike snapping clean in half.
Luckily, an unknown paramedic was riding to work and stopped to help. The other rider involved also stuck around and left a phone number, but had limited recollection of events when Hickey spoke with him two days later. […]
Despite everything, Hickey says he is a big fan of e-bikes because they get people out of cars.
“But there are a few numpties who haven’t ridden for a while. It must be an amazing sensation…but they’ve got to realise they can come a cropper.”
The Northwestern cycleway is billed as a safe way to get around the city while avoiding busy roads.
But Hickey is worried that the cycleway has become “awash with a***holes” who are endangering legitimate users, including children. […]
Hmmm? What is the definition of a ‘legitimate’ user?
AT “[expects] everyone using our shared paths to take care and be mindful of other users”, Glasswell said – but the rules for e-bikes and scooters – including where they can be ridden – are set nationally by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
NZTA spokesman Darryl Walker said e-bike power is limited to 300 watts.
“There are no speed limits on cycleways but on the road ebikes are subject to the speed limits for all vehicles.” […]
A Newspaper
My e-bike stops providing assistance at 27kph, there are plenty of ‘real’ cyclists who would call that ‘slow’.
We can’t win.
Oh, one last thought …
Exactly what speed was Hickey dawdling along at on his racing bike to cause this much damage?
