Originally Posted by linberl

Part of the problem I think is that people assume if you have an ebike (or add a motor as I did) you ride motorized all the time. That's not true. I rode 12.4 miles today, only 2 miles with the motor turned on at all. But that two mile climb with the motor allowed me to take a route I otherwise would not have considered due to my knee deterioration. And that was a short ride for me. I typically ride 20 miles, with maybe 1 or 2 miles of assist.
They also assume that people with ebikes ride them at maximum power all the time. That's not true, either. I see elderly couples on ebikes on our local pathways pootling along at 12mph, sometimes even slower. For them, it's not about the speed, they're chatting with friends riding along and enjoying the views. But the little bit of assist means they have the breath to chat, instead of using everything to ride, and they are motivated to ride longer. The fear of the overpowered crazy ebiker is just that - a fear, mostly unrealized. As a % of people using e-bikes, it's miniscule. Just spend some time watching or riding along urban pathways.