Cycling in Waterloo Region

[jamincan]

And, really, most of the people who ride the 160 km race do put in less effort than I do, because they're riding lighter faster (more expensive) bikes and they're riding in a pelaton to draft off each other.

I'm not discounting your effort, why do you feel the need to discount other riders' effort? Effort is entirely independent of equipment. Averaging 35+kph over a 160 km route is in part due to equipment, skill and cooperation with other riders. It's also very much due to working really hard.

E-bikes are relatively new, so it's going to take time to figure out how they fit in. I personally have mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, it lets people bike who otherwise wouldn't or couldn't. It might let a couple of differing ability ride together. I don't think I need to list all the benefits.

On the other hand, in the context of riding in a group, I'm quite a bit more reserved about e-bikes. There are certain skills that you need to ride safely in a group. As your speed increases, those skills and experience become ever more important. Prior to e-bikes, sticking with faster groups meant you had to be strong enough to stick with the group. Over the course of become stronger on the bike, you also became more experienced and skilled.

E-bikes remove this barrier. Yes, they are restricted to 32 kph, but that potentially massive boost in power below 32kph will still make an enormous difference. In an event like the Tour de Grand, you could see a situation where a reasonably fit but completely inexperienced rider stays in the mix with a group where the required skill level is well above their head.

Going back to my first comment, though, I know many riders who are far more skilled than me, but due to their physique struggle to keep up with more powerful riders with less experience. An e-bike could act as a really useful equalizer in situations like that.

And then finally, in the context of the Tour de Grand, my guess is that most people on e-bikes wouldn't be mixing it up in a group, and even if there was a few, it wouldn't make a huge difference anyway. Events like the TdG already end up being peppered with strong riders with little group riding experience, so you have to be more vigilant than normal anyway.