Last year, when I was 81 years old, I bought an e-bike. I had no clue that it would open me up to scorn from across the country. There’s a steep road that I often travel in the Gatineau Hills, leading to a lookout. I thought that my biking days on this road were over, but last fall, when the leaves were in full colour, I rode there once again on my e-bike. Lots of cyclists were present, decked out in lycra shorts and colourful jerseys. When I ventured among them, their noses turned skyward. I was clearly being shunned.

It comes down to a turf war. Since the days of the horse and buggy, people have competed for use of roads, particularly in urban centres. Everyone is trying to get somewhere in a hurry. Paths get crossed, toes get stepped on, fights break out and positions harden. Lawyers are getting involved—another sure sign of trouble. Toronto, especially, is in a tizzy over e-bikes; several hospitals are reporting a spike in e-bike-related injuries. The city even took out ads on billboards this summer, trying to get everyone on the roads to behave and co-exist. Out west, in Banff and Jasper, hikers and mountain-biker types are angry that e-bikes are permitted onto the sacred trails that, until recently, they only shared with grizzly bears and lesser four-legged creatures. When Parks Canada opened up the trails, they received a slew of angry emails, complaining that they were making the trails........

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