Outside the bubble

Or maybe it's concentric bubbles we live in and with only very small contact patches. Whatever it is, below is from an online discussion I recently had on a urban planning website about alt. trans. and though no further alternatives were offered by the other person more than to say ICEs were shite, it does raise some interesting points, some of which are true. I actually kinda like this type of feedback because IMO, it's somewhat naive but honest and makes me want to try harder knowing what I'm up against. And I also think it represents a large part of the general public perception.

I had just got done posting : "Any bicycle will do... even small ICE powered bikes and cargo bikes are appropriate technology for the times." when the following response came up:

The Census estimates there are roughly 79.6 million people aged 45 to 64 in America. If you divide 79.6 million by 19 years, then divide that by 365 days, you get 11,478. That’s the number of people, on average, who will turn 65 each day for the next 19 years.
It was the first generation in the history of the world to be ferried cradle to grave on infernal combustion... small ICE powered bikes, indeed.
The only problem with the ICE powered bikes is, well, everything. The technology is complete shit. The vast majority of the kits are clabbered together garbage.
Ideally you'd have a near-zero emissions modified ICE with noise suppression, greatly extended gas mileage, etc.
What you get is a jerry-rigged leafblower engine bolted to a regualr bicycle. It does neither the weedblower or the bicycle any favors.
Does America aspire to the ambiance of Calcutta during rush-hour? Hell no.

...........and my reply to this was as follows:

I don't disagree with some of what you wrote. At the risk of further tooting my own horn I'd say read my blog, it addresses and continues to explore some of these issues you raise. http://alttransbikes.blogspot.com

I love the pure, sweet functionality of a well tuned bicycle and want to impact that as minimally as possible. As I grow older (meaning I'm already old) I still love the exercise I get pedaling ......but perhaps just not all the time. With that in mind, I've been exploring some power assist options and, I must honestly admit, without assist my time spent cycling would greatly diminish.

Power assist might be applied by an ICE, small 7 lb., quiet, efficient engines that are both EPA and CARB II compliant. There are some wonderful mini, industrial quality engines available today.
Electric assist might be applied by high output RC electric or eHub brushless motors that have regenerative braking that can be used to trickle charge a smaller_than_usual bike battery pack to keep weight down.
Better might be a combination of the two, a hybrid.....ICE/Elec equipped bike that could get 300 miles to a gallon of gasoline with minimal electric outlet charging. Perhaps most appropriately we should make that tribrid power: human/ice/electric.

The power assisted bicycle has a 125 year history, before it morphed into bigger/faster/heavier and the prior is my inspiration. Your mind is probably made up but then you're stopped by what you know. There's nothing to be done about that by anyone other than yourself.
Thanks for your comments.