With power comes confidence

 As I rolled into town one day this week, I saw three riders coming toward me on Center Street.

Center Street is also Route 28 coming north out of Wolfeboro. Thus, it channels not only local traffic, but through traffic as well. Because Wolfeboro is off the direct line to much of anywhere, the volume of things like truck traffic and through travelers is fairly small, compared to a hell run like Route 25 on the other side of the lake. But Center Street is one of Wolfeboro's arteries. I do not ride it northbound to get out of the downtown area, because the slope, the lane width, and the temperament of the drivers make it one of the more stressful and unpleasant stretches, and it can be avoided. The Cotton Valley Trail lies to the right of the corridor, easily entered and exited when headed out of town. For anyone who doesn't want to ride the trail and can handle a bit more of a diversion, a road route goes out Route 109A to Beech Pond Road to Trotting Track Road, which intersects Center Street/Route 28 North just beyond the narrow bendy bit.

When I see riders coming out on Center Street, I always want to explain their other options to them, but I never can. We're both in the flow, paying attention to our survival. They're virtually always roadies or the odd occasional misdirected mountain biker. 

In the shop, I hear from many people that they avoid the road at all, let alone intimidating stretches like that part of Center Street, because they're afraid of motor vehicles. That's probably the biggest deterrent to riders. Imagine my surprise then when the riders I saw tooling merrily up the slight grade, taking the narrow lane in a chatting, amorphous formation were three women on upright comfort bikes. But they were on e-bikes. They were not blazing along at 30 miles per hour, but they had considerable assistance to maintain a speed that looked to be no higher than the low 20s. They felt like they were moving well, so they didn't worry about going at about half of the average motoring speed through there. Their demeanor might have changed if some irritable asshole had harassed them. But they looked completely at ease in that moment. Motorists were handling it well, for the brief time in which I could observe.

I will get glimpses of other smokeless moped riders on Main Street, which is also a state highway, and Wolfeboro's other artery. Most of them probably have summer homes outside of the downtown area. Some of them used to ride bikes powered by muscle alone, but age or convenience have persuaded them to accept assistance. The people best able to afford a car alternative around here also can afford -- and do own -- multiple cars. The e-bike is only a baby step toward a future that actually has fewer full-sized motor vehicles in it.

From a motorist standpoint, it matters little whether the pedaler in their lane has electric assistance or not. The riders are no more maneuverable than someone relying solely on their legs. A bike moving faster up a hill actually takes longer to pass, making it marginally more inconvenient for drivers to get around. Someone in the mood to go faster than 40 mph will find 25 just as aggravating as 20. They might even find 12 or 15 more acceptable, because they can get by more quickly.

With motor-assisted riders occupying a bicyclist-shaped space on the road, all riders gain as more motorists get used to dealing with more riders. It backfires if too many of the riders blaze around like no laws apply to them, but if the increase is mostly riders behaving more or less vehicularly it might serve to shift the balance of power as a beneficial but unintended consequence.

If the percentage of riders to motorists shifts in favor of riders, the pressure to have separated infrastructure drops, because pedaling on the existing system becomes more of a norm. If pedalers become the majority, all infrastructure becomes bike infrastructure. Then we will no doubt end up fighting among ourselves based on who goes faster with less effort. You could have some little old lady beating you with her umbrella as she paces you on her pedelec. It's a bright future indeed.