Go out for a hike or a bike ride in the Deschutes National Forest and the moment remembered can be the rare bad one.

Not the bursts of lupines, goldfields or phlox. Not the raptor overhead. Not the silences nor the view. Not the exhilaration.

What we seem wired to recall is the jerk or caravan of jerks along the way.

There aren’t many. It just takes one. And the fear, for some, is that jerks may soon be electrified.

E-bikes are already out on the Forest Service trails near Bend. The Deschutes National Forest is asking for your input for potentially legally allowing Class 1 e-bikes on 67 trails totaling 161.4 miles out of the 261 miles of trails designated for bike use.

We think: Let them ride.

Class 1 e-bikes are those that must be pedaled to get any electric assist. The assist kicks off at above 20 miles per hour.

People on e-bikes may go a little faster. They may go a little farther. They do get a noticeable edge going uphill. Not one of those things seems a threat.

The Forest Service doesn’t anticipate much impact, if any, by the proposed change on wildlife, plant life, trails and more beyond what any other bicycle does.

There will be people who will try to use any permitted use of e-bikes to use unpermitted e-bikes on the trails. We can’t promise that won’t happen. We don’t expect a plague, though e-bikes have proven a moving target for any enforcement — on a trail or in the city.

The factor that swings the decision for us is that e-bikes open up more experiences for more people — older riders, less able riders, people with medical conditions. It seems cruel to deny them. It seems the very right thing to do to empower them.

There will be the jerks and caravans of jerks. We don’t believe that e-bike riders are any less or more likely to be jerks than anyone else.

Tell the Forest Service what you think. Here is how where you can access the formal documents: tinyurl.com/Deschutesebikes.

The Central Oregon Trail Alliance has a more readable explanation on its website, tinyurl.com/COTAebikes. The organization supports the proposal. It was a conversation with COTA’s Executive Director Emmy Andrews and COTA Board President Bill Lynch that helped us see bad moments on the trail for what they are — just moments.