Originally Posted by StephenDedalus

In 2008 I was t-boned while riding my bike. The recovery was long and I put on over 130 lbs. I had previously had a lot of success losing weight cycling. I went from around 400lbs. to 230lbs. in the early 2000s and got my life back by commuting by bike. Back then I did 35+ miles a day round trip. After my accident getting started again was really hard. Low back pain, shoulder pain, you name it. I bought an e-bike to try and get my life back and so far it's worked. I now bike between 15 - 25 miles a day and I'm losing weight again. We'll see where this takes me, but my hope is that it's not too late to live a healthy, long life. For my family and for myself. The e-bike has become, as someone said earlier, my crutch to make sure I can "just keep riding" and stay moving.

Oh, and for the OP. You mentioned that the same thing could be gained by pedaling the bike yourself. I would actually agree that bikes with throttles aren't as enjoyable. That's my personal preference. The bikes I've preferred and the bike I bought are pedal-assist bikes. Meaning I have to pedal. The bike is simply going to make life easier. It isn't going to get me where I'm going for free. And that's how I want it. I want to feel the wind on my face and all that good stuff, but I still want to ride a bike.