It Takes a Mountain Town to Raise an E-Biker

Teens riding electric bicycles and e-motorcycles keep making local headlines; most recently, on Oct. 2, when two 13-year-olds, in separate incidents, collided with vehicles.

Both survived, yet the boy riding an electrical motorcycle was admitted to St. Charles Medical Center in critical condition, and the other kid, riding a Veo e-bike, suffered significant road rash.

In response, City and County leaders have signed onto a joint statement, issued by Bend- La Pine Schools, to parents, guardians, riders and drivers. The tone is measured, constructive and firm. They’re not calling you out, they’re calling you in. You can read it here.

But sometimes for a message to stick, you have to go full-on Steve Buscemi-mode, swing a skateboard over your shoulder and inquire: “How do you do, fellow kids?”

Concurrently, we’ve zhuzh’d up Bend-La Pine Schools’ messaging with a piggybacked plea of our own.

To parents and caregivers:

Is the tail wagging the dog or what?

Kids on e-bikes and e-motos are wil’n so hard on these Bend streets and bike paths. So much so that, somehow in this episode of the “Twilight Zone,” the sight of a 12-year-old riding a $7,000 Santa Cruz Hightower mountain bike on singletrack is refreshing. Here within, all the things that let us shred safely are found: helmet, bike-body separation and good sight lines; trail etiquette and the knowledge we’re a peon in the natural scheme of things.

Zayden rides safely. Zayden also shreds. Be like Zayden’s parents and sign your kids up for Bend Endurance Academy or Horner Cycling Foundation, for example.

We don’t pretend to know whether parents are knowingly buying their kids illegal e-bikes or e-motos, but there are plenty of handy crib sheets dedicated to Oregon e-bike classifications and pertinent laws.

Also, parents, you can catch charges if your child crashes into somebody.

Riders:

If you’re under 25, it’s likely your prefrontal cortex hasn’t fully formed. When folks older than you point that out, we’re not talking smack on your noggin. It’s hard to explain what it feels like after your prefrontal cortex has fully formed, but I’ll try:

You can envision past the horizon of whatever you’re about to say or do.

Are you in a group conversation and you think you’ve got a real zinger? Play it in your brain real quick. Does it land flat? Could someone misunderstand your meaning? Likewise, you’re on a bike, with a motor or otherwise and you’re making a snap decision whether to blow the light that just turned red. Now, in that same moment, imagine a Cyber Truck driver plowing, however noiselessly, toward a light he knows is going to turn green…

Drivers: Yes, these e-kids are annoying. Still, give them a ton of space. Save honks and shouts for when they’re really messing up, like creating a truly dangerous situation. (Also, while you’re at it, throw your phone in the backseat — you’re driving, for criminy sakes.)

Know the law:

Look, the Source editorial office is peopled by reformed scofflaws. We geeeeet it. We also have to write headlines like this one, earlier this week:

“A collision between a driver and an electric motorcycle rider on Oct. 2 in Bend’s Medical District has left the 13-year-old rider in critical condition.”

The Bend Police Department is still investigating the collision, so some facts aren’t knowable. But based on the press release and a follow up with Bend PD, we can surmise that several crucial laws may have been broken: the e-motorcycle, which can reach 50 MPH, wasn’t street legal; to drive a motorcycle, a person needs to be 16, have a driver’s license and a motorcycle permit or endorsement. And authorities cite the teenager’s “high rate of speed” as a contributing factor in the collision.