The E-bike is an invention that was met with immediate suspicion.
Who is it for? Isn't that cheating?
If the almighty had intended our spokes to be supercharged, he would have provided more charging stations.
Perhaps this Luddite mistrust and a perception that it was an amoral machine for idlers is the reason why it is only now - 125 years since the patent was first registered for battery to meet bicycle - that New Zealand has launched its first e-bike festival.
Cyclorama arrives in Queenstown in October after a year postponement. The two-day festival is a collection of six rides, centering around Arrowtown, each designed to follow a particular interest. There's a gourmet pedal around Lake Hayes' top restaurants, a guided nature cycle and a battery-busting grade 3 "Ride to the Sky".
Who is an E-bike festival in Arrowtown aimed at? Photo / Supplied, Shay Muddle, Cyclorama
If you're looking for an overriding clue as to the type of rider the festival is for, you won't find it in the programme. Battery power is the only thing linking the rides.
When asked if you could do any of the rides on a regular, unpowered bike, organiser Dave Gibson inhales sharply, with a noise like a puncture.
"We'd rather you didn't," he says. "It is an e-bike festival after all."
Cyclorama is carving out a niche for itself away from the non-powered crowd.
With Queenstown hosting the summer mountain bike festival Crankworx for the first time later this year, the e-bike festival is an entirely different beast.
"Other mountain biking festivals can be super competitive," says Dave. "But we've got something that appeals to people off their bikes as well as on their bikes."
Having moved to Queenstown a couple of years ago, the former filmmaker first picked up a bike as a way of learning the local area. Before long, he was an E-bike evangelist.
"I think there's a whole group of people who haven't been catered for."
And by "catering" he means good food and a cruisy ride between Gibbston valley wineries, without breaking a sweat.
Cycling the shores of Lake Hayes on an E-bike. Photo / Thomas Bywater
Setting off a couple of hundred cyclists over a weekend, the trails will be full of a mixture of self-guided and led groups.
The festival aims to deliver a jolt of excitement into the picturesque gold mining town.
More than a hundred electric bikes are being shipped to Arrowtown as a rental fleet. Which is impressive going, considering the "global e-bike shortage".
That might sound a bit melodramatic, but the huge numbers of cyclists taking to the saddle since the pandemic and a Covid-hampered supply chain has led to a bottleneck in bicycle delivery.
With waiting lists 1000-people long, buying an e-bike has become like trying to buy a Rolex, and almost as expensive.
Cycling refresher: Smoked Apple Martinis at the Millbrook Resort's Smokehouse. Photo / Thomas Bywater
Still, there are plenty of locals investing in new wheels (both powered and analogue) during the long, pandemic staycation.
One of the people to notice the change was Queenstown Trails Trust CEO Mark "Willy" Williams.
"For us, it's been almost a silver lining to Covid that the trails have become recognised even more to the local community," he says.
"The trail count just spiked."
As a multi-day MTB athlete, Willy might be the last person you'd expect to be championing e-bikes. He's seen "pedal assist" go mainstream with hardcore, and not-so-hardcore, riders.
"The original concept of e-bikes was to allow people who wouldn't normally have picked up a bike to get into the sport. But now enthusiasts are realising how much more you can do."
To prove his case, he led a limited group of e-cyclists on a preview of the newly built Coronet Loop Track. Ten places were auctioned off last year through the festival website for a "sneak peek" of the 57km trail. Even on an e-bike, it was a push.
Cyclopath: E-bikes have found favour with hardcore cyclists. Photo / Supplied, QT Trail Trust
Climbing Coronet Peak - into mountain ranges better known by skiers - the new trail is a sign that Queenstown is fast becoming a destination with level pegging by both cyclists and snow sports enthusiasts.
Cycling is increasingly important to Queenstown, as it is in ski resorts around the world. E-bikes have been a key tool for that.
The Trails Trust is using that forward momentum generated by the e-bike revolution to connect up more of the region. Willy is keen to explore links with neighbouring trails in Central Otago and out into Southland and Te Anau.
"It's a really exciting time for bikes and Cyclorama is ahead of the curve at the moment."
