When Erich Ryll moved to Bend several years ago, he immediately became immersed in the mountain bike community. In 2020, Ryll, age 74, developed a cardiac issue, which came with a shortage of breath and difficulty doing the physical activities he was used to. His situation, however, didn’t stop him from wanting to continue riding his mountain bike.
After discovering his health issues, mountain biking suddenly became more challenging for Ryll. He found himself having to get off of his conventional mountain bike to walk up hills. One day, he saw an REI ad for a pedal-assist mountain bike.
“I bought it and it just changed my life,” said Ryll, relieved to find something that could help him continue to comfortably take part in a sport he loved so dearly. It was soon after Ryll had discovered pedal-assist bikes that he began seeing signs at every trailhead, warning riders that e-bikes of any kind were not allowed on the trails.
Ryll, disappointed he wasn’t able to legally use his electric mountain bike on the trails he wanted to ride, decided to make a post on social media app, NextDoor, about his situation. From there, he met others who were in a similar position and wanted access to the trails they loved.
Since then, Ryll has done hours of research and outreach and started an advocacy group – Bend e-MTB Access. “We’re making progress. It hasn’t been very rapid, but I think we’re going to get there,” Ryll said.
Bend’s mountain biking trails attract people of all ages. Currently, e-bikes of all types are only allowed on roads or trails designated for motorized vehicles. A new proposal from the Deschutes National Forest, however, could change that.
A proposal for e-bikes
On July 2, DNF released its draft environmental assessment on a project that would allow Class 1, pedal assist e-bikes on select, existing trails near Bend, Sisters and Sunriver. The project includes 67 existing trails, totaling 161.4 miles. Areas with proposed trails include Peterson Ridge, Phil’s, Sunriver, Wanoga and paved paths.
DNF has been hearing about the use of e-bikes on trails from all sides of the issue for several years now, according to Lisa Machnik, the recreation, heritage and lands staff officer with DNF. The agency received direction from the national office in 2021, giving staff the tools to do an appropriate analysis and consider amending the rules.
From 2021 to 2023, Central Oregon Trail Alliance, a volunteer organization that helps build and maintain trails throughout Central Oregon, did extensive research. Shortly after the release of the DNF proposal, COTA released a statement supporting the proposal, citing research studies on e-bikes and their overall impact on trails. A number of studies, including one from Tahoe National Forest, which recently began allowing Class 1 e-bikes on trails, reported no impact on trails.
“We have found through the years that when you provide recreation opportunities, if you don’t provide what people are looking for, then they’re just going to go off and figure it out themselves,” said Machnik. “We wanted to make sure the proposal was adequate in scope and scale, but also made sense from a user’s perspective.”
Longer, stronger rides
The proposal identified select trails that could allow Class 1 e-bikes. With over 2,000 miles of trails across the forest, DNF staff wanted to select trails that met people’s needs while also taking into consideration connectivity and impacts on natural resources.
One of the main reasons for this proposal is to increase accessibility out on the trails. Class 1 e-bikes allow people who may not have the ability to ride a traditional mountain bike, to continue taking part in the activity while adding some comfortability and ease.
According to Sara Perry with Cog Wild, a local mountain biking business, most people she sees using pedal assist bikes are using them to get uphill in a more efficient manner, so they are not as exhausted for the rest of their ride.
Perry noted that some individuals prefer e-bikes for various reasons – they have some type of injury or ailment, like a hip replacement or a spinal injury, or they are in their 80s and want to keep up with their family or friends who ride the trails.
“It does allow access for people that need it. It allows you to get longer rides in. I think that accessibility is cool for a lot of people that would otherwise struggle taking a longer ride,” Perry said.
According to Sterling McCord, one of the owners of local shop, Bend Electric Bikes, most of the individuals looking to purchase an electric mountain bike want to ride away from the traffic, get out on public lands and be in nature.
Emmy Andrews, the executive director of COTA, noted that a lot of people excited about the proposal have certain limitations when it comes to physical ability and can’t get out on a bike without a bit of an assist.
“I think any increase is likely to be not really detectable in any meaningful way, I think we’ll see more increases over time, but I think that is due to a mix of factors.” – Emmy Andrews
According to McCord, a Class 1 e-bike differs greatly from other more common e-bikes that most people are used to seeing on the roads. McCord sells several different electric bikes at his shop. While Class 1 electric mountain bikes are not the largest category in his shop, they have grown in popularity in recent years, he said.
With a Class I e-bike, an individual has to pedal to make it go. The assist helps people, especially on hills, but can only assist no higher than 20 miles per hour.
“It’s more of a biking experience,” said McCord. “You’re just riding a bike, but you’re doing it in a way that makes you feel like you’re stronger than you ever were,” he explained.
Class II and Class III e-bikes, the ones that most people see riding around on city streets, require no pedaling and can ride at much higher speeds – giving people more of a motorcycle experience.
While the topic of e-bikes has been discussed for years, the recent proposal has come with some pushback from the mountain biking community. Despite some of the research that DNF has released, some individuals are worried about things like safety, increased usage and greater impacts to trails.
Several agencies and organizations have heard a wide range of opinions on this topic since even before this proposal was published.
“We expected a pretty high volume of comments and that is playing out,” said Machnik. “We’ll easily get over 1,000 comments.”
According to Andrews, people contact COTA pretty frequently about this topic. A lot of the concerns, she said, are that e-bikes will degrade the trail-use experience in different ways. With allowing a new use, many are worried about increased use – which could lead to safety issues and more wear and tear on trails.
The issue of seeing more people on trails, however, has been a reality even without the accepted use of e-bikes. “It’s a lot busier than it used to be 20 years ago,” said Perry with Cog Wild. “It’s just kind of the nature of the game.”
Andrews has seen the increase as well, and attributes a lot of it to growth in both population and in visitors. Most of the trail areas that allow e-bikes, Andrews explained, found that most of the people riding Class I e-bikes were people who already rode the trails and had switched from a traditional bike to an e-bike.
“I think any increase is likely to be not really detectable in any meaningful way,” she said. “I think we’ll see more increases over time, but I think that is due to a mix of factors.”
Enforcement
Along with concerns, DNF has had a lot of questions about enforcement. While Machnik stated that enforcement is certainly a piece of this proposal, the bigger piece, she said, is being thorough in providing education and information.
While self-policing is the traditional method of enforcing rules in various recreation uses and communities, DNF sees messaging about what is and isn’t allowed as enforcement out on the trails as just as important.
“We do see real value in the fact that we have so many organized groups and volunteers, like outfitters, guides and gear shops. There are different ways people can get information through their peers and through the community,” said Machnik. “That’s really valuable in helping people understand where they can and can’t go and what’s appropriate and not.”
While there are no dedicated “trail police,” DNF does have a field ranger program that allows Forest Service employees to offer information right from the trails. Their first action, Machnik said, is always education. If a situation warrants it, however, employees can write a citation.
DNF also has a Forest Stewards program, where people spend time at trailheads to provide education and awareness.
While education is important, there are always going to be bad actors, said Andrews with COTA. While some people don’t always have the right behavior on the trails, Andrews said that those individuals usually know how they should be behaving, and are just choosing not to listen.
“It’s not a lack of education,” she said. “But that’s not unique to e-bikers.”
While it’s important for people to follow the rules, Machnik sees the proposal as also allowing a behavior in certain areas that is already occurring. “People are going to do what they want to do anyway, and there already is a lack of enforcement.” People ride [e-bikes] and you’re seeing more and more each day, each year.”
Ryll, who fell in love with mountain biking on Deschutes National Forest trails, is hoping that these rules change sooner than later. About 70% of the people in his coalition are over the age of 65 and see a real need for accessing trails on pedal assist mountain bikes.
“I have a lot of empathy for the folks who have concerns, because they love mountain biking. Their concerns are coming from the fact that they love mountain biking and they just don’t want to see the experience degrade. As is the case with a lot of things, although opinions may differ, they’re all driven by the shared love of mountain biking and the shared love of our trails,” said Andrews.
The 30-day comment period for the DNF e-bike proposal began on July 2 and closes on July 31. People can submit comments online, through the project website.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 25, 2024.
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I had to get a knee replacement and give up running. I found other options to make up for that lost joy….although I usually have one dream a year on first beautiful day of a long run!
Simply put, Mr. Ryll may well be the exception not the rule. The people I see out on trails (dirt & trail) with these MOTORIZED pedal assists already clearly have never been in these places before. These are motorized vehicles and any discussion to minimize that fact just reinforces the reality that NO MOTORIZED vehicles ought to be on trails.
“Class II and Class III e-bikes, the ones that most people see riding around on city streets, require no pedaling and can ride at much higher speeds – giving people more of a motorcycle experience.”
Only Class II requires no pedaling. Like Class I, Class III DOES require pedaling (they just go faster than Class I).
Aging is a fact of life. Try walking, you have time to appreciate the forest much more.
I’ll be riding my electric bike wherever I want. Any attempt to stop me will fail.
Single track around Bend was all built by people who love mountain biking.
There are plenty of OHV and off road places for people with motorized vehicles/bikes.
This makes zero sense. Further destruction of Bend.
What’s next? Snowmobiles and motorized snow bikes on Mt. Bachelor runs? Hey, if you are not able to ski or snowboard, that should be allowed too, right? Everyone needs access to everything, right?!
Race an audi uphill
https://youtu.be/-2ELAvca5VM?si=N26BOagkMxVcN-np
Sold my car live off my ebike. 15mi run
https://youtu.be/YxR23GXulfY?si=jytIOEBzqgCuEN1V
When an EA is published, the decision to proceed with the project has already been made. All the “science” is window dressing manipulated to support that outcome. The “Class 1, Pedal-assist E-bikes on Select Trails” draft EA states that data is not available for many facets of the project yet still concludes that there is no significant inpact. Rather than taking over all of Phil’s, how about a smaller “test” area for a couple of years?
Yeah, and while we’re at it let’s ban all those damn snowboarders and only let the skiers enjoy the hill because that’s the only way it’s been done….
Get real people, these clueless commenters on here have no idea what they’re talking about. Please get educated on the subject before commenting. .
I ‘ve been at this for 11 years and there is zero impact allowing pedal assist on your precious trail.
Nothing but elitist bikers living in a box just like the old elitist skiers against the snowboarders.
Putting pedal assist bicycles on high speed OHV trails as is the current solution is dangerous and a liability to the forest service. Pedal assist are bicycles period. Let them ride!
Tahoe National Forest opened up singletrack trails to pedal-assist eMTBs. I called the District Ranger after the first season the trails allowed pedal-assist eMTBs, and the last sentence of our conversation by phone was: “there were no speeding accidents, no trail degradation, no complaints by conventional MTB riders, and it was as if there were no changes”. Additionally, THE Phil of Phil’s trails is now in his lower 80s and he rides a pedal-assist eMTB – BUT, he cannot ride on the trails he built in Dechutes National Forest on Phil’s Trails Complex – and to me that is nothing but entirely wrong!
Because any coverage I read about this proposal STILL fails to address, or even mention the wildlife resource component (critters do still exist within the project area contrary to some people’s belief), I will add the same comment I have made in other locations. Some discussions I have not seen folks having, whether they support or oppose e-bikes on non-motorized trails, include the impact on wildlife and the reasoning behind designating certain trails as non-motorized in the first place. All user groups impact our wildlife resources when we recreate in the forest. Yet, only a small segment of overall users (primarily sportsmen/women and recreational shooters) contribute to the bulk of conservation and management efforts that offset some of those impacts. Adding additional stress, which this proposal would likely bring, could further strain our already underfunded wildlife and habitat management systems.
Allowing motorized use, with the increased number of people, frequency of trips, and distances traveled on these trails it will enable, could be just the tip of the iceberg. Motorized use has been prohibited on these system trails since their inception for numerous reasons, extending beyond just motor noise. This proposed change could lead to the proliferation of motorized use on the forest’s remaining non-motorized trails, pushing ever deeper into the backcountry to satisfy some users’ insatiable hunger for “more, more, more.” This likely scenario has a high chance of impacting already stressed wildlife habitats. Continuous year-round use of the forest fragments crucial winter and summer habitats and migration corridors, which disrupts wildlife, stresses them, and pushes them out of vital areas.
Opportunities for riding e-bikes currently exist across each district of the Deschutes National Forest via the literal thousands of miles of maintenance level two roads, which offer many trail-like experiences. There might be an opportunity to enhance the existing infrastructure for this new use rather than continuing to open Pandora’s box further.
Many Central Oregon residents say they appreciate and value our wildlife. I have never heard anyone express otherwise. We should all take a moment to think beyond ourselves, prioritize our wildlife and their habitats over convenience and short-term enjoyment, and hopefully look back 20 years from now and be grateful we were wise enough in this moment to properly analyze ALL of the potential impacts of our actions before diving into the deep end without knowing how to swim.
Park City, UT allows class 1 e-bikes on singletrack for peeps at least 65 and/or with proven disability. Once you have proven via age or disability, they issue a plastic identification card to be mounted on your e-bike. If you look 65, then most people don’t question you. If you are disabled, then someone can ask for your I.D. Card. This could be a good trial for DNF in regards to e-biking near Bend