Are E-Bikes a technological step up or down from horses?

[Hwy89]

There is nothing that can compare with riding a scenic trail on a good horse. The horse is more than just a mode of transportation, he provides companionship and contributes to the decision making and route choices along the way. When you have been together long enough he realizes that it is in his best interest to take care of you and get you home safely because his next meal depends on it. No mechanical device can come close to the pleasure of riding a horse.
That said, the cost per mile on a horse is at least a hundred times greater than an ebike. The bike is faster, more comfortable and can have a much longer range. You can transport the bike on a hundred dollar rack mounted on a compact car instead of a thirty thousand dollar diesel pickup pulling a ten thousand dollar horse trailer. You may spend three or four hours a month doing bike maintenance and tending batteries instead of twenty hours grooming, feeding and cleaning stalls.
I loved my horses and my donkey but discovered that as time went along, I was doing less horse back riding and more ebike riding and it wasn't worth the cost of keeping them any more, so I found them a good home.
I can still find the solitude and tranquility of a quiet trail on a quiet bike and it is good. But it is not the same as doing it on horseback.

 

[LockH]

AH HA! (I was wondering where those "road apples" had disappeared to.)
:lol:

 

[LockH]

AH ha! Found that pic of my Zeppelin (mentioned earlier in this thread:


Hehe... OK, not MY Zeppelin, but in service about 100 years ago, in commercial service between two cities in Germany. (One might hope perhaps that none of the ladies splashed any cup of tea.) So yeah, not strictly ebike-related, but at least the Zeppelin could fly a lot higher than any horse (better tea service as well).

And yeah, air props spun by fossils, but today Li might be waaaay quieter/more civilized.