For anyone who doubts the benefits of e-bikes for senior adults, just listen to how electric bike owners, all over age 60, describe their life-changing experiences.
The following quotations are all from e-bike riders who belong to a Facebook group titled Ebike Cyclists Over 60. These comments were all made on Facebook posts during the past week. To just say these comments are inspiring is an understatement. I suspect many of you will want to go take an e-bike ride immediately after reading this article!
I’m not using names or locations since I do not have their permission to do so, but I assure you these are all recent quotes from real e-bikers.
By the way, if your city or parks department has banned e-bikes or is considering it, please forward this story to them or print it out and distribute it. Let them know how much e-bikes mean to senior adults. Let them know why banning or restricting e-bikes is discriminatory and harmful to seniors and those with certain health disabilities, who happen to also be voters and taxpayers.
Inspiring Words from Senior E-Bikers
OK, let’s here it from real-life e-bike owners over age 60, in their own words:
“Even if walking is difficult for you, you can probably ride an e-bike. It is painful for me to walk very far, but I can ride an e-bike for miles. It’s great exercising and fun.”
“Our e-bikes are our fountain of youth. We ride like we are kids, with no worry about distance, headwinds, or hills. Best thing? We can keep up with our grandkids!”
“I have had both knees replaced and have been afraid to ride a bike. A neighbor purchased an e-bike, and I tried it. It’s a game-changer! In addition to the awesome trails … I ride everywhere I can: grocery, drugstore, hardware, etc. It makes you feel like a kid (with) a freedom I cannot express!”
“They are just plain fun to ride. You feel like a kid again when you’re riding.”
“I have arthritis in both knees which makes walking painful. I can ride my e-bike many miles. I often go 20 to 30 miles pedaling 100 percent of the time … I find that when I ride just a couple of times a week the pain nearly goes away and I am able to walk for much longer distances.”
“We are out in the fresh air, balancing on a bike, keeping core strength, moving joints, and releasing stress.”
“I have been in a battle with cancer since 2010. It moved to my lungs in 2014. When the pandemic hit, I stopped going to the gym. I needed a way to exercise safely and had no stamina for a regular bike. With my e-bike I can do so much more.”
“I needed something to do after retirement besides drinking every day. So I quit drinking and started riding e-bikes. I lost 30 pounds and ride almost every day … E-bikes have been a life-changing experience. I thank God for e-bikes!”
“I can keep up with my husband on an e-bike. It makes it much more fun to go on rides with him.”
“We are getting out and seeing things and getting some exercise that we never would (had) without our e-bikes. Camping is so much more fun too!”
“A very delightful benefit are the new people in my life. People on the trail wanting to learn more about the bike or the trail. People who love nature as much as I do. New friends, new riding buddies. E-bikes allow us to ride together without our physical limitations hampering the ride.”
“I have a severe degenerative disc disease and my doctor told me that riding the bike would be good in that I’m not pounding the pavement like in running or walking, but it’s been able to provide constant non-pounding exercise … I feel great and I am doing great. My doctors cannot believe how well I’m walking and my mobility is terrific.”
“I used to ride my bike all the way to work and back. I also used to ride bicycles to exercise. Now as I’m getting older, I can’t ride as far anymore. So I decided to get an e-bike … Now I do 25-mile rides all the time. It’s a lot of fun.”
“We bike 60 to 100 miles a week. We love our e-bikes and the adventures we can go on.”
“I had a double lung transplant two years ago. I started looking for an e-bike just recently. I enjoy the bike so much. I am not just walking on a treadmill. Now I can see the beauty while using my new lungs.”
“E-bikes open a whole new way to explore the great outdoors without destroying my knees. I can go farther, faster, and easier than if I didn’t have pedal assist. Hiking is great, but there are so many places out west where a bike is almost essential.”
“I originally got an e-bike so I could see more of the trail without physically wearing out after just a few miles. I like that I can set the assist levels to meet my physical needs and get a good workout, without the hills and headwinds making it misery.”
“We old folks like riding the trails.”
“I loved riding my bike, but for the past couple of years, I haven’t been able to. My knees have gotten so bad I can’t pedal a regular bike. With my e-bike, I am back on a bike and am loving every minute of it. Pedal assist is a gift from God.”
“(E-bikes) opened my whole world. I joined a Saturday riding group, met many neighbors and others. (It’s) a solitary activity that opened social doors for older retired and relocated retirees.”
“Before I got my e-bike, I would ride occasionally, but this really changed my life. I now ride LONG distances at a time, and it’s all I think about when I’m not riding. Last summer, some friends and I rode 200 miles in five days on a bike tour, something I never would have attempted (without an e-bike).”
“I have A-fib. The e-bike allows me greater range and no worries about headwinds and hills. You can’t explain the fun factor until you experience it yourself.”
“My husband is 70 and I am 67. Since getting our e-bikes, we are riding on the beach several times a week.”
“Riding my e-bike is fun. I have always loved bicycling, but I live on a steep hill. Sometimes the thought of coming back up that hill stopped me from riding. With my e-bike, I don’t even think about it. Riding makes me feel young and energetic. It is FUN.”
“While many older e-bikers are concerned that their balance might preclude riding, I have had a personal bonus from e-bike riding in that my day-to-day, walking-around balance has improved because I have been able to return to biking via e-bikes.”
“I can’t walk down the street due to arthritic knees. They also keep me from riding a regular bike. An e-bike gives me the freedom to roam for miles.”
“Riding bikes is a great way to get out and about. I enjoy traveling at a much slower pace. I can stop often, whenever I want to rest, take pictures, chat with people.”
“E-bikes facilitate connections. They allow us to experience the great outdoors more freely and fully. They enhance our physical, mental, and spiritual needs. They provide a community of like-minded zealots to share our experiences with!”
“Adventure, adventure, adventure! Mobility without worry. Adrenaline that I haven’t had in years.”
“E-biking allows me to get out and exercise. My arthritis limits me to very short walks, but I can ride for hours.”
“I have a disability and balance issues. My e-trike gets me out having fun and exercising in the outdoors.”
“I can ride for hours in nature on beautiful trails. It may not be an intense cardio workout, but it’s joyful and beautiful.”
“He (husband) is so proud of me (for riding an e-bike). He jokes that he hasn’t seen me so excited since that first prescription of Viagra.”
“With e-bikes, we are able to ride on paths (hills and mountains) that would otherwise be too challenging for us. We can also go longer distances. We can see more and get more exercise.”
“Biking is a better alternative for hip pain than walking.”
“One thing I notice when I’m out riding … other e-bikers my age are always riding with a huge smile on their faces! Never fails.”
“E-bikes help my bone-on-bone arthritis. The movement oils the joints. Riding also helps all my joints so I don’t have aching back and legs while sleeping.”
“Feel like a kid again. Exercise that is fun!”
I am 67 years old and need to have double knee replacement surgery. When I bought my ebike last Spring I wasn’t sure I made the right decision. Trust me, it’s one of the smarter decisions I made. My knees improved. My PA said it’s because the biking keeps the fluid moving. While I can only walk around a large block in my neighborhood, I bike a minimum of 12 miles at least every other day in good weather! Some days I come home and I’m not ready to stop, so I turnaround and keep riding. I can no longer ride a regular bike, but the ebike – not a problem. I highly recommend it!
That’s great to hear, Marcia. E-bikes have really been revolutionary for the health and well-being of seniors like us (I am 69). I hope you can keep pedaling for many years. By the way, my wife had double knee replacement surgery a few years ago and is doing great. It’s not an easy or quick recovery, but with PT and persistence, you’ll get there when the time comes and be back on your e-bike again as good as new. Best wishes to you.