9/7/25:
Dianna,
I completely agree with your conclusion that there should be more regulations on E-bikes. However, may I suggest that you read and re-read an article a few times before writing a rebuttal? You completely misstated my stance and made several assumptions about me -presumably because you feel I am an E-bike sympathizer. You were quick to make generalizations about my beliefs and habits.
I have lived in Ventura since 1978. I too have had to dodge E-bikers while walking my little dogs. I am not a fan of ride-outs, street takeovers, disregard for traffic laws, or E-bikers whizzing by pedestrians while doing a wheelie.
And how dare you have the audacity to claim that I “do not understand how dangerous these motorized electric bikes are for teens and what the ramifications would be if someone was gravely injured.” I do, ma’am, and I take offense to you making patently false statements about my stance.
The point of my piece wasn’t to say that pedestrians are responsible for avoiding E-bikes “hurtling down sidewalks.” My goal was to try to find common ground and bring a little perspective to this debate. Yes, we should regulate E-bikes – but maybe we should also give them a place to ride: dedicated lanes, paths, spaces, etc. Maybe even give kids a dedicated off-road space to ride E-motos (a whole other class of more powerful, non-street-legal electric motorcycles). We should probably also have pedestrian-only or no-E-bike paths as well.
Yes, perhaps we should require licenses or raise the minimum age, but any such hurdles should be accessible and affordable to all. My point is that we should not repeat history and treat E-bikers the way we treated skateboarders – alienating them into a counter-authority movement.
But I would argue, Dianna, that you missed all of that nuance and basically just said, “Justin is a dumb E-bike sympathizer and E-bikes are bad,” so you wrote what you wrote. I feel much of your article was very unfair to me, and I hope no one thinks less of me after only seeing your misrepresentation of my stance.
I am just thankful you did not say E-bikes should be banned – for that, I commend you. I am very open to debating exactly how E-bikes fit into our community. I’m simply arguing that we should thoughtfully establish a framework: give them space, lay the groundwork, and set the rules—but do so with an open mind.
Lastly, I plead with the editor of this terrific paper: please do not publish arguments where people completely misrepresent another’s statements. I believe this is called a strawman argument, if I remember correctly from my college days, and that type of rhetoric has no place in proper discourse.
P.S. I have reached out to BHS and VUSD regarding creating an E-bike training and safety program. As a former VUSD teacher and lifelong rider of bikes, motorcycles, and now E-bikes and E-motos, I feel I am uniquely qualified. I have the education, experience, pedagogical know-how, and technical skills to create content and educate kids about the safe and proper use of these machines. Many of the laws for safe use are already in place; the kids just aren’t getting the training they need. We need to set them up for success—we are failing them.
As the great Mr. Miyagi so wisely said, “There are no bad students, only bad teachers.”
Justin Riege
——————————————————
Dear Editor,
Re Justin Riege’s Opinion, here’s mine on the subject.
I understand Justin wants us to be “open-minded” to these younger people on their E-bikes.
I’ve lived in Ventura since 1998. I am a daily walker with my dog/s and have had to deal with the advent of texting while driving and distracted car drivers while crossing streets. Now it is E-bikes on hurtling down sidewalks that I am supposed to watch out for.
What I would like to say to Justin is that until you are almost run down by one speeding down a sidewalk at a blind corner a half block from your house you do not understand how dangerous these motorized electric bikes are for teens and what the ramifications would be if someone was gravely injured.
The city needs some rules, laws, regulations about these vehicles and the people that use them.
Diana White
Have an Opinion?
The Breeze welcomes your thoughts and perspectives. Share your views by emailing editor@venturabreeze.com
