Zorba Paster: Riding an e-bike is not cheating

I love to bike. When I was younger, I biked all the time. As a kid, before I was 16 and discovered cars were cool, I biked everywhere.

When I was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an undergraduate, I biked to and from classes all the time. I had a junky cruiser bike with just three speeds, but that was enough to get around. Then, when I’d saved enough money, I got a Raleigh bike made in England — boy, could I fly with that puppy.

Now that I’m older, bikes like that Raleigh seem to have tires thinner than ever, and the bikes themselves seem shakier. Could it be my age?

Obviously, it’s not the bike that’s not balanced, it’s me. And that’s where my infatuation with e-bikes started. Since I bought mine last year, I’ve put on nearly 400 miles. That’s more than I put on my traditional bike in the last decade or so.

I know e-bikes sometimes get a bad rap and there are those who think these motor-assisted bikes give you the easy way out. They say you’re selling yourself short on your workout and your fitness will deteriorate because you’re using a motor.

Really? I can pedal as hard as I want on my e-bike, but with motor assist, I don’t care about hills. And if that gets me out more, I’m game.

It’s just like when I was a young ’un and a member of the jogging lobby. I thought walking was a cop out. My, oh, my, the things we think about when we’re younger. It’s called hubris, my friends, clear as day.

Are you cheating on your workout and compromising your fitness levels by using an e-bike? Just hop on one before you decide. But first, let me tell you about a study out of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, where the hills are common and steep.

For over a year, researchers surveyed 10,000 people — half e-bike users and half traditional bike users — asking how much they biked, how hard they biked, etc. Every two weeks, the bikers logged their miles and effort.

What researchers found was that e-bike users biked much more often than the traditionalists, with many clocking in at moderate activity.

Now, I’m not talking about those serious bikers, the ones who only ride in Lycra outfits. I’m talking about everyone else, especially people who are past their prime, so to speak, physically.

The other revelation of the Swiss study was that e-bikers tended to use their cars less. And taking fewer car rides means less pollution, which is better for the environment.

One of our daughters lives in Seattle. She has three kids and can put them all on her bike. It’s so cute to watch: The two older ones are in seats and the baby, a 2-year-old, is in a tag-along trailer. She goes from place to place with them, without having the hassle of finding a parking place. She gets exercise, the kids have fun — they laugh and sing.

What’s not to like in that picture? Wouldn’t you sing if you were on the back of a bike with your mom or dad peddling you around? I bet you’re smiling now just thinking about it.

Back to e-bikes. I’m not dissing traditional bikes, but I think they’re not for everybody. When I bike these days, I don’t think about hills or how far I’m going, I just think about when I have to get home to prepare dinner. Nothing else matters.

Now, I have friends who say biking is dangerous, especially at my ripe old age of 76. I agree. They say I’m running a risk of a subdural hematoma, brain bleed, if I fall off the bike. They are absolutely right. But my favorite aunt, Myrtle, suffered a fatal brain bleed when she fell while walking to the mail box at 2 in the afternoon on a fine summer day. Does that mean we shouldn’t go to the mail box either?

My (bike wheel) spin: There’s a risk with everything you do in life, including not doing anything. Choose your risk. My choice is an e-bike — and, by the way, downhill skiing in the winter. But that’s a different column. Stay well.

This column is the opinion of the author, © Copyright 2024. Dr. Zorba Paster is a family medicine physician practicing in southern Wisconsin. Consult a health care provider for personal health information. The opinions expressed aren’t meant to reflect the views of Wisconsin Public Radio, its employees, the University of Wisconsin-Madison or the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

Zorba Paster On Your Health airs on WPR News Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.