This is Neha, seen from behind.

Neha was riding in front of me a few days ago, as I headed over to a yoga workshop in NE Portland.

When I saw Neha’s trailer advertising Masala Pop, I was intrigued, and started to follow her. Or more accurately, I saw the trailer, wanted to take a quick photo of the fun and funky bike set up, and set out to try to catch Neha.

I didn’t think it would be hard – she was only half a block ahead of me. I grabbed my camera from my pannier, slipped the strap over my head, and gave chase.

Neha proved surprisingly hard to capture. Each time I would pull behind her at a stop or intersection, she zipped away from me.

Finally, about 10 blocks into the (one-sided) chase, I pulled alongside Neha at a red light on Multnomah.

“Wow!” I said, glancing down at her bike, which sported a square battery pack. “I guess I should have guessed you have a pedal-assist bike.”

She smiled widely. “I just got it a few weeks ago, and it has definitely changed my life.”

The light changed, Neha zipped off, yelling something about finding her at the farmer’s market.

I smiled for at least a couple of blocks, thinking about how I’ve said for over two years that e-bikes could be a fantastic boon to biking women, even though the sales numbers in the U.S. have been so disappointing.

Here was Neha, proving what I’ve thought all along to be true!