PAUL D’ORLÉANS

I IGNORED THE skittering plastic cup I’d kicked sideways, and mounted the arty oaken crate to be seen above the throng. From that vantage, the joint swarmed with builders, fans, media, and manufacturers of electric motorcycles, who’d made a Tuesday night buzz on Melrose. The first book about e-bikes was out (‘The Current’, Gestalten), it was mine, it was pretty, and five manufacturers brought bikes to the party: Cake, Energica, Ubco, Vintage Electric. Smartest was tiny startup Zooz, party crashers ruling the sidewalk with a nickel-plated e-BMX bike, giving rides