Citi Bike has added e-bikes to its fleet in New York City. I had been waiting to snag one and finally got the chance on Monday on the way home from a job interview. It was a little weird, but I enjoyed it. It might have a speed limiter at 16 mph, as my record in ridewithgps shows me lingering at that speed quite a lot, even into a headwind. If that's the limit, I think it's fine. I must admit, it was quite a lot of fun. The motor doesn't kick in unless you're pedaling, and it kicks out as soon as you stop. It makes me feel powerful, as the bike lunges forward when I pedal.

The last I heard, the docking stations don't charge the bikes, so the staff have to pull them out to charge them. That's not a good system. I suppose if the company decides the e-bikes are a success, they'll put charging into the docks.

Today I got to ride one again, this time without a headwind, and it was even more fun. Again my speed maxed out at 17 or 18 mph, which is really plenty.

There is a Facebook group called Bicycle Commuter, and in a discussion about e-bikes, one guy told his story. He is 17 miles from work (each way), and he's in his late middle ages. It is not at all practical to do that commute on a regular pedal bike. He does it on an e-bike, and this way, he gets more exercise than he ever would, so in cases like that, it's definitely not cheating. I don't even know what cheating is. There are lots of success stories. I'm still not interested in buying an e-bike, but I'm not opposed to them at all. But we do need rational laws governing them.