I have been in Durango for 44 years and I will finish my 41st season soon as a mountain biker. I have worked with Durango Trails over the years, helping build many miles of soft surface trails in our area. Now at the age of 68, I have purchased an electric peddle assist mountain bike that I feel will allow me to continue to ride our great trails. Oops, I mean the Twin Buttes trail only. It sure would be nice to ride some other soft surface trails in town.
I have ridden the Twin Buttes trail system with my ebike many times. I don’t go faster than with my regular bike. If anything because it is a hardtail, I would say that I’m a bit slower on the downhill. But the uphills remind me what it was like 30 years ago. In fact, I call my electric mountain bike The Time Machine because I push a few buttons and I go back in time 10, 20 or 30 years.
I’m not flying past anyone. After all, for me, mountain biking has always been about the journey, not the destination. Like The Durango Herald editorial said, the rowdy knuckleheads will still be rowdy knuckleheads regardless of whether they have a small pedal assist motor or not. We must all be considerate of one another. It doesn’t matter if you are biking, hiking, hiking with a dog or riding horses.
Joe Sargent
Durango
