eBike bar hopping ?

Dave C

New member
Local time
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Apr 9, 2024
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Location
Corpus Christi TX
Since I've started taking notes on everything as i get older, I know the exact date my eBIke life started. April 16th 2022 the lady that works at my local kite shop took me to the back to show me her new eBike. Let me test ride it and I knew that was it. Had to have one. April 24th ordered a Gen3 Groove fat tire foldable that was delivered 5 days later. Haven't been kitesurfing in over a year and a half, but eBiking still happens several times a week except when it gets too wet or too cold. I live in South Texas so luckily that doesn't happen much. To be exact, I live in Corpus Christi TX which is on the Gulf of MEXICO so this place is flat and big enough to have plenty of backstreets. If it wasn't for the worn out condition of many of those streets and dearth of bike paths, this town would be an eBike paradise.

That said... i RARELY see other eBikers. I am all about practicallity which is why i got the foldable. I drive a small pick up and my wife a small SUV and so in folded up mode is easy to transport and no rack necessary. Every small errand that is within a few miles, weather permitting... i am eBiking it. Bought a cargo rack early on and made my mother-in-law buy me some nice removable cargo bags that snap onto it. Probably best gift I've ever received ( course i had to send her the link to it lol ).

I am flabbergasted how little interest there seems to be in these amazing creations. Good for the environment, saving gas money and auto wear and tear and just plain FUN. All of this with no license, insurance or registration required !

Posssibly the greatest benefit to me is ... bar hopping. I don't have a drinking problem ( said every alcoholic ever ), but when i go out, i do like to have a few drinks. What i refuse to do is then get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Even after just one or two... i cannot justify the risk. I don't think I am truly impaired at that level, but IF i was to be in an accident or randomly stopped, there is just nothing good that will come out of it. Then there is the fact that when one or two becomes routine, at some point it will slip to 3 or 4 or more and then you ARE a liability and may truly hurt someone or yourself.

SOLUTION ... eBiking. As much as i refuse to drink and drive, i have little to no hesitation to saddle up 3 sheets to the wind. I know... I know... you can likely still get a DUI on an eBike, but that risk seems miniscule compared to when you are directing 3 thousand pounds of metal and glass. Drunken eBiking is almost excusively a risk to yourself. Granted if you are eBiking like a drunken madman and swerving into traffic causing other vehicles to avoid you, you could be the source of some serious damage and consequences, but this I can keep in check and my number one priority ( buzzed or sober ) is staying as far away from vehicular traffic as practically possible when on my bike. It's all about your handlebar mounted phone map and backstreets !

I want to say ' unfortunately ' no one near me seems to share this mindset, but it could be if everyone did it, the irresponsible ones would ruin it. As it is, I go to the bar with a parking lot full of cars and feel fairly confident that the majority of people driving those cars away at the end of the night are in no shape to do so. My own rides home from the bar are no longer full of fear or guilt or expense of a cab ride. They are usually quite fun !

Anyone else gotten a similar mindset or am i truly the only one ???
 
Well, remember that you can still hurt cyclists and pedestrians, so maybe the lack of bike paths in your area isn't a bad thing after all.

Yes, it's better than driving a car or truck under the influence. eBike accidents are on the rise; 500% increase in hospital admissions for bike crashes in Orange County, CA. It won't be that much in your area, since you're the only eBiker, but you don't want to be part of that statistic.

What's tough about drinking is that as you drink more and more often, your tolerance goes up, so that you can have 5 drinks and be perfectly well-coordinated, but if you're caught and they test you, you will be legally drunk and have pretty bad penalties.

My advice? Keep it to 2 or 3. ;-)
 
A lot of it depends on the state you are in.
In Minnesota you are safe on a bicycle.
In North Dakota you can get a DUI on a horse.

Technically it is a gray area. When you change bicycle to e-bike it can be considered a motorized vehicle.

Try a Google search for “Can you get a DUI on an e-bike in {your state}”
 
Using my e-bike to go to the local bars and breweries ranks as one of my top uses. I live in a coastal town where you can ride year round if you want, me only about 9 months. Never have any issues with local law enforcement, they have bigger issues than some old man on a e-bike.

Peace
EXACTLY... internet says you can definitely get a DUI in Texas on an ebike... possible on a regular bicycle too, but unlikely. I am a worrier ( not enough to not do it ), but if i was to get pulled over, i could theoretically put the pedal assist at zero and argue I was riding a regular bicycle. Hard to prove otherwise unless he clocked my old man-ness barely/not pedaling doing an effortless 20mph in a drunken state... lol. Course that is likely a losing argument if the cop has it in for you.

Point is, if I have to walk or uber every time i want to grow my social network, I'm not gonna do it and they have studies that say your friend network is pretty vital in determining your health and longevity. This grumpy old man has to work on that.

i get the really proper thing to do is NOT be intoxicated at all while operating your ebike. I like to be self righteous though in the knowledge that although i may be wrong, the majority of people going to bars in cars are putting themselves and others at risk in a whole other league.

The max speed i could go is 20mph. Weight of me and my bike is less than 300 lbs combined. Compare that to an impaired driver in a 3000 lb machine that can go 100 mph, I stand by the idea, I am being irresponsible in the most responsible way possible.... :LOL:
 
Well, remember that you can still hurt cyclists and pedestrians, so maybe the lack of bike paths in your area isn't a bad thing after all.

Yes, it's better than driving a car or truck under the influence. eBike accidents are on the rise; 500% increase in hospital admissions for bike crashes in Orange County, CA. It won't be that much in your area, since you're the only eBiker, but you don't want to be part of that statistic.

What's tough about drinking is that as you drink more and more often, your tolerance goes up, so that you can have 5 drinks and be perfectly well-coordinated, but if you're caught and they test you, you will be legally drunk and have pretty bad penalties.

My advice? Keep it to 2 or 3. ;-)
Hello Smaug,

it is funny. Reading your post Interesting eBike conversation with a coworker today is what inspired me to write this one about bar hopping.

Your young, intelligent, but impetuous colleague that has an answer for everything is the other end of the spectrum from those of us that realize the value of staying off the radar. In my teen years I remember my sister 3 years my senior would complain to my parents how I would get away with everything. The simple concept she failed to grasp was that although we both had nights of stumbling back home drunk after partying, I would sneak into the house... tip toe... gently close doors and not turn on lights as i slipped into my bed. She would bang around in the kitchen waking my parents while making fried bologna to satisfy her drunken munchies. :rolleyes:

Like my other reply here declares.... I like to be responsibly irresponsible.

As far as lack of bike paths. That is never a good thing. The simple truth of the matter is bicycles and eBikes are neither cars nor pedestrians. As a kid I grew up bicycling everywhere in the 80's so a helmet was never even a consideration. Now I appreciate their value, but with my helmetless past and the fact my 7 3/4 alien shaped head puts any standard helmet ridiculously high on my noggin, it's just not gonna happen.

That is yet another reason, I will NEVER ride in the streets inches away from real motorized vehicles. A four foot lane with a bike symbol painted on it next to car and truck traffic is no bike lane to me at all... helmet or not, i would never put my life in the hands of the masses behind me texting, eating or changing radio stations fully enabling their thousand pound monster to slightly drift and end my life or seriously injure me. I find it insane when I observe others with this level of misplaced trust. I wish we lived in a country with real bike paths. I lived in Germany for 6 years and many small villages would be 5 or more miles apart and have real separate bike/ pedestrian paths connecting them.

I therefore when unable to be on backstreets... am on sidewalks. Sidewalks are for pedestrians and I realize this. I give them full right of way. Truth of the matter is, however, in this country ( except for major cities ) we don't have many pedestrians. To ride inches from car and trucks barreling by when there is an empty concrete path running parallel at a much safer distance makes you a strong candidate for a Darwin award IMO.

As for eBike bar hopping. Streets and sidewalks are basically empty at bar closing time. Not an issue.
 
People at the bar would feed the sled dogs then when yur buzzed ya just bunbdle up and let the dogs take ya Home :)


I wonder if that'd be like a horse though..
 
In Manitoba which is a Canadian province north of N Dak you can be fined and have your bike impounded if you are riding it while legally impaired. With a breathalyser test that's .08%. Having said that you need to be riding like a real idiot to be noticed.
 
If you are really stupid and showing your ass, vehicle or not you are getting cited for at least public intoxication. Drink a little, smoke a little and play nice usually no problem. On those occasions when I feel like I crossed the line I'll call someone to come get me. Done it before and may happen again.

Peace
 
Out here drunk driving is drunk driving in a car or on a bike (or a boat or a jet ski), and you get exactly the same penalties for it, which includes arrest, loss of driving license, enormous fines etc.
 
People at the bar would feed the sled dogs then when yur buzzed ya just bunbdle up and let the dogs take ya Home :)


I wonder if that'd be like a horse though..

A horse walks into a bar​

A horse walks into a bar and does a sommersault, a cartwheel and finally backflips onto a barstool.
The bartender asks him: "Wow! How did you do that?" The horse answers: "Well, I've worked in the circus for all my life, so that's how." The barman nods approvingly and gives the horse a free drink.

A couple minutes later another horse walk in and he does a frontflip, a pirouette and finally sideflips onto the barstool. The barman asks him: "Well have I ever! Did you also work in the circus?" The horse answers: "No, I just tripped over the doornat."
 
I guess enforcement varies. In my city, sidewalks are rarely used by pedestrians outside of downtown on a busy day.

I've NEVER seen enforcement of the "no bikes on sidewalks" law. One would have to be going quite fast; obviously a danger to some pedestrians present. They'd rather see us there than getting mowed down by some phone zombie behind the wheel. Downtown sidewalk on a busy day, being obnoxious? Probably would get talked to, but not cited unless also being disrespectful.

I would bet that if I were caught drunk eBiking here:
  1. I'd have to be quite obviously drunk for the cop to even notice, and
  2. If I were caught and (respectfully) said "I chose this instead of driving", he would probably thank me for not getting behind the wheel, but warn me, remind me of the law, then offer me a ride home. They really want to keep the peace more than to enforce the letter of the law that may result in another body and commensurate police report.
They really do have better things to do than pick nits. Hit & run motorists, domestic abuse, robbery, murder, car accidents, etc.
 
One of the greatest inventions of bikedom. A motorcycle shop with a biker bar. Strokers Dallas
9.jpg
 
In Manitoba which is a Canadian province north of N Dak you can be fined and have your bike impounded if you are riding it while legally impaired. With a breathalyser test that's .08%. Having said that you need to be riding like a real idiot to be noticed.
We did a brew tour here on December 7, hit over 10 craft breweries between 11:00 am and midnight. Kept out drinking to a minimum and our distance up

Pub crawls on e-bikes was great
 
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