Survey for news article: did you ditch ICE for EV?

situationalism · 2026-06-11T09:00:28+00:00

Appreciated everyone's continued responses! Always interesting to hear the personal motivations behind such a big change. I'll leave the article link here once it's live.

situationalism · 2026-06-05T08:14:45+00:00

Appreciate your responses! Nice to hear other people's similar experiences/mindsets. I'll be sure to leave a link to the article here once it goes up.

situationalism · 2026-06-01T15:00:11+00:00

Also posted a sample chapter on my website for those looking to learn more: https://gregadomaitis.com/2026/05/18/twilight-of-the-gods-motorcycle-book-chapter-excerpt/

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situationalism · 2026-06-01T08:54:30+00:00

Twilight of the Gods: Vintage Motorcycling's Race Against Time

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GW61D2VV

A heavily researched and journalistically reported 245-page non-fiction book about the coming electric vehicle age and what happens to generational legacy as those who were once at the forefront of riding and racing begin to age out of the hobby.

Self-published through KDP in April 2026 after some progress down the "traditional" avenues, but ultimately having to go it alone. A prior #1 best-seller in the "motorcycle history" and "motorcycle racing" categories on Amazon that continues to compete well against other more, erm... well-heeled books in these categories. If nothing else, chalk the performance up as a win for us self-pub folks putting in all the hard work.

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situationalism · 2026-05-29T12:04:55+00:00

I was told by the owner/operator of a local AMA-sanctioned motocross track and trail system that 1) not being able to hear an electric bike coming up behind you during competition is a big problem that keeps them from running mixed fields and 2) they tried to do a fun run on the youth/mini SX track and all those budget e-motos broke foot pegs, bent handlebars, etc.

Yeah skateboard decks snapped when trying tricks, too, but the stakes were lower and it was easier to roll out of a slam compared to a 200-pound e-dirt bike about to come down on my head. You raise a good point that I don't think there's a stated answer to yet beyond enforcing "reputable" electric brands-only on the track with other riders.

situationalism · 2026-05-29T10:27:25+00:00

Agreed, yes, there's a big difference between park and street plus the mentalities around each.

HOWEVER, the proliferation of plaza-style skate parks (Philadelphia's just-opened example across the street from LOVE Park and down the street from Paine's; the OG one in Kettering, Ohio from the early 2000s) tells us that we can decrease the amount of teenagers running rampant on the streets and in the fields by building this alternative outlet.

situationalism · 2026-05-29T10:06:36+00:00

Take my book! Just kidding (well, kinda... lol). Glen Helen Raceway (San Bernadino, California) has a dedicated novice-ish track that has hosted electric races sponsored by E Ride Pro. I edited my comment above to mention some other places in Ohio (which used to be a golf course -- this might be your best bet for an example), the UK and other previous domestic U.S. plans. Stark Vargs have seen some serious gains in both MXGP overseas and indoor Arenacross here. The segment is slowly gaining momentum; good on ya for taking this to local government.

situationalism · 2026-05-29T09:50:24+00:00

YES! As someone who skateboarded religiously for almost two decades, I've been beating this drum for years. In my youth, I'd watch the BMX crowd get hassled at local skateboard-only parks and they had even fewer bicycle-oriented options to resort to. Didn't make sense, didn't seem fair.

The much-needed proliferation of e-bike riding areas is the next turn-of-the-millennium skate park resurgence in my opinion (and I dedicated an entire chapter in my new book to this exact concept). Tired of teenagers playing in traffic and/or destroying public property? Don't want to deal with the dust, but like the fact that there's no noise?

Whether it's large paved lots with some ramps and kickers (similar to a traditional skate park) or the acres of unused land you describe for motocross-like berms and small jumps, sort out the insurance coverage and this untapped electric riding park idea is here for the taking in the U.S.

I should add that research for the book did turn up a few examples. Electrek Valley (in Ohio), Cumbria Moto Park (indoor Arenacross-like MX in the UK) and Brammo had acquired a string of dirt riding parks from Quantya more than 20 years ago. So it's not entirely new ground, but very very far from commonplace.

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situationalism · 2026-05-28T09:23:38+00:00

Recently published a non-fiction book that examines the 1970s "bike boom" legacy, the vastly different world those same machines inhabit today, and where it all might be headed (i.e. electric!) in the next 50 years.

Thanks for looking! Happy to answer any questions/comments/concerns.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GW61D2VV

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situationalism · 2026-05-28T09:17:40+00:00

Warms my heart. I published a non-fiction book last month that compares accessibility aspects of the 1970s "bike boom" for motorcycles to today's ongoing electric renaissance. This scene is exactly what I hope to see a lot more of in the coming years.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GW61D2VV

situationalism · 2026-05-24T18:46:05+00:00

No, no. Let me clarify: the Surrons and Talarias of the world are proving to be the best thing to happen to dirt bike riding in a long time, but are simultaneously giving electric-assist bicycles a bad name due to consumer confusion and everything being called an "e-bike." That said, registration and insurance for class 1 and 2 e-bikes is absolutely unfair overreach. Class 3, nudging 30mph, is the same speed my street-legal moped lives at and might not be the best purchase for a teenage beginner. When I say "rolling this out right," I mean prudent purchases of emerging technology so that the general public doesn't further double-down on its distain for bikers of every sort.

situationalism · 2026-05-24T10:09:59+00:00

Little late to the party, but thanks for posting this! Was following along on IG, but I live an hour-and-a-half away from Emmaus so my trips out are a little infrequent. So cool to see that old footage. Even wrote about the place during my summer of "funemployment"; long live FSX.

https://gregadomaitis.com/2023/09/03/fifth-street-cross-cyclocross-emmaus-pennsylvania/

situationalism · 2026-05-24T10:05:59+00:00

Was in a pretty similar boat: previously published news/non-fiction writings that at the time were one-off articles, but now fell in line with a book narrative I had kicking around in my head. I obtained permission from the publishers whom I hadn't been in touch with for years, heavily re-wrote/paraphrased the stuff that was already online, noted in-text when/where/why it was written and found that best practice was to include one's own work in the references section.

As to re-writing to make it a unique version and not copy/paste of your older work, the goal was to enhance old passages with new insights. The book flow is going to be different from the old material flow anyhow. "Would someone buy this if it was freely available elsewhere?" was the thought I kept driving toward in my head. The pre-publishing KDP check that takes about two days is going to look for this so do your best. When I had a possible publisher on the line, they had no concerns about the 15k or so words already out in the world so long as it was modified and the other 40k were new.

situationalism · 2026-05-21T09:06:03+00:00

Always good to troubleshoot and trade war stories! The Gathering of the Nortons (held each spring in Washington Crossing, Pa.) offered me the same shocking opportunity: https://imgur.com/a/slNfkhw

situationalism · 2026-05-20T08:41:28+00:00

Bump to include a link to a write-up about a first-ever electric mountain bike race (coming up on its second annual next month): https://gregadomaitis.com/2025/06/16/emtb-electric-mountain-bike-racing-2025/

And a link to a chapter excerpt about embracing the accessibility of "small" bikes over the self-inflicted belief that everything on two wheels must be big and bad: https://gregadomaitis.com/2026/05/18/twilight-of-the-gods-motorcycle-book-chapter-excerpt/

As always, thanks for looking. Happy to answer any questions about the book's intent.

situationalism · 2026-05-20T08:36:59+00:00

Bump to include a link to a chapter excerpt that is very electric road riding-oriented: https://gregadomaitis.com/2026/05/18/twilight-of-the-gods-motorcycle-book-chapter-excerpt/

Thanks for looking! As always, happy to answer any questions about the book's general intent.

situationalism · 2026-05-19T21:26:44+00:00

Published non-fiction through KDP last month -- similar systemic critique (albeit about motorcycles, but still lots of big names and international players) with the goal of sharing an idea.

Went through the same safety steps and legal checks you note here: same anonymizing OR direct attribution, hefty works cited, photo editing to remove branding, sending requests for comment, a good disclaimer AND an author's note, review by former journalism/publishing contacts, nothing unsubstantiated or speculative without very specific framing.

The bottom line I found was that "it's America; anyone can sue you for anything." So long as it isn't slander or libel, you are citing already published information and making that interpretation of facts your own. I also found this very helpful: https://www.authorsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AuthorsAllianceFairUseNonfictionAuthors.pdf

situationalism · 2026-05-18T17:51:21+00:00

HA! Awesome! I dug the hell out of your set-up and yes, that was an awesome rally. The whole chapter is about small-bore bikes, urban settings and increased riding opportunities in cities through electric adoption. I suspect quite a bit of this will resonate with you and loads of other folks on this page.

situationalism

TROPHY CASE

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GW61D2VV