So I sent her a (non-lustful) letter ...
Hey Amy -
I thought I'd respond to your request for other thoughts on e-biking. So here goes.
E-biking isn't cheating any more than wearing lycra, sporting aero bars or plopping down serious coin for a superlightweight road bike or super shock-absorbing mountain bike is cheating. You are merely buying gear with different uses in mind. Same goes for an e-bike.
I built mine (CraigsList used bike plus e-bay wheel kit) to make commuting practical. Years ago I used to commute regularly to work and back home. Nine miles one-way on flat roads was pretty doable in my 30s - even in hot Phoenix summers. Great exercise. I'd commute by road bike 2-3 times each week.
Now fast forward about 25-30 years. I live in hilly Fountain Hills. I work 16 miles away in Scottsdale, AZ. I'm 58. I'm still pretty fit, but at 58 I don't recover as quickly from exercise. And we have hills with a 10% grade here. Also 16 miles is twice as far as I used to commute. Even though I absolutely love cycling and have ridden many 50-100 mile rides, 32 miles per day with hills just ain't gonna happen ... unless I maybe use an e-bike? So I made one.
I call it my "hill flattener." But it also gets me where I'm going faster than my standard bike. So it is also my "trip shortener." Put simply, it expands how far I can go without using a 3000 lb car.
Here's a track showing my trip home last night. It's late. I'm tired after 12 hours. The trip is uphill for long sections. But with my e-bike, I'm home in about 50 minutes and I get some good exercise without taking time out to go to a gym.
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/wturber/e-bike/commute-home/ebike/2450602
And yes, I said "good exercise." My effort in assisting the bike typically elevates my normal 60 bpm heart rate to the 100-110 range. 50 minutes of that twice a day three to five times a week is pretty good exercise. Here's a track showing my heart rate on my commute home.
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/wturber/Cycling/Commute-home-/ebike-/2378916#/heartRate
On my 32 mile commute I use about 650 watt hours of electricity. That's less than 10 cents compared to the $3-4 in gas my car would consume. Commuting this way is more fun. It's healthier (so long as some car doesn't run me over).
Every weekend people come to Fountain Hills at sunrise to begin bike rides. Its a wonderful place to start a ride. But few of these people ride their bikes here. Most haul them with cars, trucks and SUVs. That seems sorta like taking the escalator upstairs at the gym so you can get to the stair-climber machine. Is that cheating?
E-bikes are not just for commuting. The weekend (Super Bowl Sunday) before I had a fairly major surgery I de-stressed by going on a 50 mile bike ride. This trip would have been completely impractical on a regular bicycle given my physical condition and fitness level. (See photo attached)
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/wturber/e-bike/long-ride/ebike/2406284
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/wturber/e-bike/long-ride/ebike/2406281
This isn't a competition. E-bikes aren't "cheating." They're just a nice way to get where you want to go ... assuming that you want to enjoy the journey.
Jay Turberville