I have visited this site a few times in the past year, mostly researching hunting with bikes vs. E-bikes. Although I am a lifelong hunter, I am new to the e-bike/hunting bike scene. At the age of 65+ years, I have resorted to an alternative means to knock a few miles off of my hunt. As someone who still likes to access the less traveled areas, I find that the recovery is becoming more difficult than getting there in the first place. A year ago my wife and I purchased our first e-bikes with a primary purpose of hunting in mind. Our first deer season in our target area was a success with us both harvesting our bucks and hauling them out of a limited access area with our e-bikes and a trailer which l had built specifically for this use. I have noticed that this activity gets a lot of negative feedback, and we got the same on social media from people who know little about what we are doing. The first reaction you get is that e-bikes are not legal behind gates or on closed roads. In our case, we are hunting behind gates or limited access in an area which is a developed state DNR public access. In other words, roads are gated and trails are limited to ORV access including motorcycles, quads, bikes and e-bikes, horses, hiking etc. ORVs bigger than quads are restricted due to trail width and safety concerns. We find most people in this area are happy to share the road, and ORVers think that you’re crazy. Anyway I just wanted to say how it pisses me off how people jump to conclusions on this topic without knowing the facts. Not to say that some don’t break the rules, but there is a place for everyone out there. I would like to be able to communicate more about equipment and others successful experiences in the future, but in the meantime, thanks for your time and insight. And to anyone out there beyond six decades of existence who still participates, don’t give it up. Even though l’ve resorted to “cheating” a little, I am still fully capable of packing an elk quarter on my back!
