Didn't connect ,last emailÉ

What i was saying is always check your six-means a lot more than what it seems.

Just like there are a lot of bold pilots and a lot of old pilots

But there are not a lot of -old-bold pilots!

Just like a superior pilot -uses his superior knowledge-


To stay out of situations that require his superior skill!!

End of the day we are on the same page and t is a privilege to have your back .my friend

Cheers-lets hope we find that good looking pooch!

Thanks David and to the rest for your comments. I guess it was my anger at the situation was showing through. I would have never really did that stuff anyways, too much to lose (my job and/or my kids being a single parent and all).

Ken Finch

It's possible this person that assaulted Ken was high on crack or something else, or mentally unbalanced due to some other reason. We do experience negative reaction as e-bike/bike riders from motorists and other cyclists, such as car drivers or passengers opening their doors on us, cutting us off, honking horns at us for being in the lanes, being sworn at, etc.

1) it is possible that in this case it was the mental state of the person that attacked Ken was more at issue than typical anti-e/bike sentiment. This may be splitting hairs but it may pull us back from the threshold of thinking that the world has gone totally against e-bikes (since WE KNOW e-biking may be the sanest thing that can be done to deal with a number of problems). My aged mother had her purse recently snatched by a person who was evidently high. It is a sad fact of the times and our economic situation that we are encountering people in this unfortunate condition. While we may suffer from their state, I don't think we are particular targets of their behaviour.

2) this might be a bit off topic, but others have touched upon it, and I don't think it would have saved Ken from this encounter, we are constantly reminded to be vigilant in our awareness on the roads, and to maintain our equipment to ensure our ability to react to situations involving ANYTHING else on the road, i.e. cars, bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, scooters, pedestrians, pot holes, weather conditions, etc. Using the roads and getting around is never going to be a cake walk. That does not mean the e-bike experience isn't enjoyable, it just means we may have to thicken our skin a little (even more so with the cooling weather!)
and ensure we know as much as possible about what is going on ahead of us, and behind us.

3) I encounter intersection stand-offs with some cyclists (maybe steroid use is what drives their aggressive side glances and manic starts on green lights or worse yet, their red light running ), or being cut-off by them, but increasingly I am having positive experiences regarding my helmet lighting (motorists appreciate multiple and bright flashers cable tied to helmets), and the consistency of forward movement of my bike is getting more positive cyclist attention (I wish I had the muscle to power my bike like some of the folks on the road, but in the end (at least for about 18-20K!!) my motor and battery move me along more consistently and from a standing start (thank you electric motor torque!), so it's a case of the tortoise getting ahead, even beside the latex crew or single speeders cause they just can't maintain pace for the long haul. And maybe a few more cyclists or motorists will embrace the 'e-'!

A good week ahead to all!

Just like there are a lot of bold pilots and a lot of old pilots

But there are not a lot of -old-bold pilots!

So true! And I'm an old pilot that has always kept it safe.

It's too bad the pedal-cyclists couldn't find comraderie with us e-cyclists, we're both 2-wheelers aren't we? Why the rage? Why the hate? I thought we had one enemy in common, the 4-wheelers. I have yet to come across a rude ebiker. Yet there are more renegade pedal-cyclists than not it seems. Sad.

I'm guessing that it is just pure jealousy which causes them (m-bikers) to show off that they can go faster without an electric motor assisting them. Lazy and unintelligent motorists are often unconsciously very jealous that bikers, (who are often healthier/fitter than motorists) who don't pay insurance/registration can do many things they can't, especially when they are stuck in traffic....

At any rate people pick fights for all sorts of reasons, from mental illness, steroid/drug abuse, or maybe his girl/boy-friend left him for an e-biker so he hates all e-bikers..., or maybe he is just very upset that his mommy won't buy him an e-bike telling him to get a job and move out! ;-)....

Very little good can come out of conflict, and usually only very bad things do(usually both sides lose), so conflict is usually best avoided at almost any cost.

If the guy is a psychopath, steroid abuser/druggie or some form of violent criminal etc. chances are he has far less to lose than you would regardless of who "wins" any fight or who does the most damage to the other. If you fight him (if a fight can be possibly avoided), you become more like him.

Ken, I'm sorry some troglodyte loser assaulted you and damaged your bike. If it were me I probably would have escalated the situation and pursued him until I rode my E-bike's front wheel up his rear. So I commend you for your restraint and I'm glad you weren't hurt.. I've had a couple of nasty verbal insults and an empty coffee cup thrown at me this summer, all by cyclists so my patience with them is considerably diminished. Nothing warrants throwing garbage at people because they stop for a red light and you can't go by them fast enough. Motorists have been pretty good.,ironically even taxi cabs have given me the right of way even when I was in the wrong.

That is why I decided to let it be. His life is miserable enough. Plus I did not want to give him free room and board at the tax payers expense in jail by having him charged with assault and myself having to take time off of work to go to court over it. I would rather fix up my E-Bike and move on in life which I already have done.

Ken Finch