Mason: Yikes on e-bikes

If you open up mountain bike trails to any e-bike, you will open the flood gates to terrible behavior and horrible accidents.

In a letter to the editor on Friday, Tony Caine’s suggestions for regulations are great and would work wonderfully in a perfect world — just not this world. I am not a mountain biker; I am a road biker. I am very appreciative that e-bikes are allowed on the path. I bought one last year to avoid the traffic into town and save gas. Mine is a pedal-assist with no throttle. I do love it all the more after I was hit by a car when crossing the road on the RGT on my road bike last fall. My road bike isn’t ridable yet, and my leg just isn’t strong enough to make it up the Cemetery Lane hill, so thank goodness for the e-bike.

But when the tourists arrive, the path becomes very dangerous. They ride in huge helmetless gaggles, pay no attention to anyone else on the path, stop and block it completely, they ride way too fast for their sketchy biking skills, and to top it off, they toss trash everywhere they ride. For every good rider who follows the rules, there are 10 who don’t.

Now, imagine that mess on the mountain; it is nothing but a recipe for disaster. You can regulate the hell out of it, but you know as well as I do that it’s far easier to ask for forgiveness than permission or, in true Aspen fashion, just pay the fine.

Gail Mason

Aspen