To the Editor:
My two sons and I rented mopeds one afternoon last week, from King Rentals in Oak Bluffs. The training included watching a brief video and an in-person familiarization with the mopeds’ switches and controls, followed by a simple 30-foot start and stop in the back, followed by a guided lap around the block as a group. All three of us had done this before, so this was completely sufficient for us. I’m not sure it would be adequate for a newbie. Although we did have fun (we were careful, as always), we were reminded that there aren’t many places on the Island where you aren’t holding up traffic and/or being passed by car and trucks, even when on the way to a better spot (e.g., Lambert’s Cove Road). So this is likely our last moped rental.
Two days later, all four of us rented e-bikes (MVeBikes), all Pedegos (they also carry A2B bikes). The training is, of course, simpler than for mopeds — and you can take them anywhere bicycles are allowed. That opened up the Island much more fully to us, and the surprising power and range of these things really eliminates any anxiety about potential exhaustion (although one’s posterior does have its limits). Great fun, very quiet, and cheaper than mopeds. The logic for e-bikes to replace mopeds on M.V. seems inevitable to us, and I expect it to be a win-win for tourists and residents going forward.
Tom Regino
Verona, N.J.
Also logical: replacing most cars with electric bikes.
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