Now, it seems that e-bikes have caught on in a somewhat surprising place: Amish communities.
Although it is commonly believed that Amish communities eschew any type of technology that isn’t several centuries old, this is a misconception. In reality, there is no central Amish governing authority, and each individual community is allowed to make its own decisions about what type of technology it makes use of.
The official tourism site.) for Lancaster, Pennsylvania — home of numerous Amish communities — explains this nuance best.
“When a new technology comes along, its effect on the church and community is examined,” the tourism site states.). “The technology should not be an intrusion into the home, but rather serve the social purposes and goals of the group. With that in mind, the Amish often re-purpose the technology, in a sense, to align with their community beliefs.”
Pinecraft is am Amish area in Sarasota, Florida and I was surprised to see several of them delivering groceries and riding to work on them. They were super excited to talk about them and couldn’t believe there were electric skateboards.
I’m often taking long weekends in areas where there are a lot of Amish, and I can confirm - e-bikes are everywhere. That said, all of their eyes practically explode out of their heads (especially the kids) when I ride by on any of my boards. Half the time they actively / excitedly wave from their buggies after I pass them, which is hilarious, because they’re fairly chill otherwise.
Also I highly reocmmend riding where the Amish are; it’s often amazing because they usually live in rural areas with low traffic, winding roads, with lots of rolling hills. It’s definitely a nice change from the extremely dense urban area I live in.
I’m sure you do this already but it is kind practice to be as quiet as possible and leave lots of extra room when passing. Those horses can spook easily and assholes like to honk and rev their engines when passing the Amish for some reason. If I was riding by them with geardrives, I’d be going very slowly. If I needed to pass, I’d make eye contact and get waved on before attempting.
Also I have found that horse people seem to want me to talk to the horse so it knows I’m human, mind you I have a Mc helmet and race leathers or a red aerostich suit,so I look odd. Just like anything,don’t be a dick,have a little consideration,you might just get it back in kind