An electric bike rode into the backcountry Now there's a nationwide turf

A gray-haired dude jumped on his mountain bike and began pedaling into the Sonoran desert along a rocky, single-track path. The trail at McDowell Mountain Regional Park wound past towering saguaros, around paloverde trees in blooming splendor and through sand-filled arroyos. There was no sound except the grind of tires on gravel, the gush of a May breeze and the occasional call of sentinel quail. Mile after mile, the ride seemed easy. Even as he climbed steep hills, 73-year-old Rand Hubbell barely broke a sweat. In fact, thanks to the bike’s inconspicuous electric motor, his ascent was relatively effortless: Hubbell could remain seated while a 750-watt battery let him use as much or little leg power as he chose. Electric mountain bikes, known as eMTBs, are more than just welcomed in this 21,000-acre playground; they’re encouraged. The county park’s 40 miles of trails include specialized tracks for competition, plus rest stops with air pumps and spare inner tubes. More than half of the visitors are cyclists. A plaque at one canopy urges, "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure some of them are dirt."Next door, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve shares a border with the regional park. It, too is laced with miles of hiking trails. Adjacent properties. Opposite policies. Adding to the confusion, numerous trails from the county park lead over the mountain crest and into the preserve's no-eMTB zone. The two grounds might as well be a symbol for the turf war that has emerged with the infusion of electric mountain bikes into America's backcountry. While there is only partial data on the phenomenon, experts agree that cycling has skyrocketed, with electric mountain bikes the most popular model. Bicycle shops nationwide ran out of inventory during the past two years, with prospective buyers on months-long wait lists. The trend is so powerful that Scottsdale bike salesman Jeff Frost jokes about eMTBs as cycling’s “gateway drug.”The onslaught of motor-assisted cyclists has generated a surge of traffic not only on streets, but on trails revered for serenity – trails where, often, motorized vehicles have been considered off-limits. Thus began the turf wars. When U. S. Forest Service managers tried to open trails near Lake Tahoe to e-bikes three years ago, the agency wound up in court – sued by the National Horsemen’s Association. When the Department of the Interior announced that eMTBs would be treated as nonmotorized vehicles and allowed on trails in National Park Service, government employees filed another lawsuit. On Mackinaw Island in Michigan, e-bikes are banned unless a rider has what's known as a "mobility disability" — a medical condition — or an inability to walk more than 200 feet without stopping.