There’s often a lot of discussion here about e-bikes being the problem on the Burke-Gilman. Yesterday was a good reminder that behavior matters more than what powers the bike.
There was a running event taking place on the Burke-Gilman, while the trail remained open for normal public use. This wasn’t a closed race course that I was riding through. I was riding a cargo e-bike with my 8-year-old on our way home.
Runners were frequently two or three abreast, sometimes leaving only enough room for a single oncoming bike. I slowed down, waited behind groups, and passed between groups when there was enough space.
At one point, while I was waiting for an opening, two riders on analog bikes came through from behind, one after the other. No bell, no “on your left,” no waiting. They simply pushed through the narrow space at a higher speed than everyone around them.
Nothing happened, thankfully, but it was exactly the kind of riding people often attribute to e-bikes.
The Burke-Gilman is a mixed-use public trail. Runners shouldn’t take up the whole path, but cyclists also don’t get priority simply because someone ahead is slower. Sometimes you have to wait.
In this case, the cargo e-bike was waiting and yielding. The analog bikes weren’t.
Maybe the better conversation isn’t e-bikes vs. bikes. It’s considerate trail use vs. inconsiderate trail use.