Upoffmebum

By Upoffmebum

Coast To Vines

So today it’s on the ebike for a ride from McLaren Vale to the little town of Willunga, about 8kms along the bitumen-paved Coast To Vines Rail Trail.
The more serious cycling enthusiasts - and particularly the MAMILs (Middle-Aged Men in Lycra) - take delight in gently chiding the ebike fraternity for getting artificial battery-powered assistance when riding. There’s a discernible tendency to look down their collective nose at these new-tech parvenus for the heinous crime of cheating on their bikes, and not getting the maximum benefit from their cycling exercise.
Not responding at all to such imputations is probably the best management strategy, although a prolonged, innocent blank stare can sometimes reap big rewards.
Truth be told, ebike riders ride more often, and often further, precisely because they know they can dial up the power assistance anytime the going gets a bit tougher. Without that option, the thought of a head wind or a long incline or a hot day can more often than not put you off going for a ride in the first place.
So I have a private little smile to myself - could be a silent chortle, on occasion - every time I come across a Lycra-clad chap breathing heavily but making slow progress into a steep incline or a lusty headwind. The Red Letter Day comes, of course, if you happen to be able to gently sail past the struggling Lycra without raising a sweat - the guilty pleasure of schadenfreude at its finest.
But the MAMILs and all the other Lycra purists certainly had the last laugh today: on the outskirts of Willunga, at the start of a long incline into town, my fully-charged bike battery suddenly and inexplicably gave up the ghost, and could not be resurrected. More egg-on-face than smug defiance, but that’s karma for you.

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