Don't Underestimate the Health Benefits of E-Bikes

"A study of the cognitive and psychological effects of outdoor cycling finds equal results for normal bikes and e-bikes"

The full study is here, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211779

Outside magazine has a great review of the research at https://www.outsideonline.com/2393399/biking-cognitive-benefits-study

Saturday, we decided to have lunch at the Hummingbird in Fairfax. It's a two hour ride via the excellent bike paths/roads from San Francisco to Fairfax. We did it on rented Stromer ST1 e-bikes. It's a fairly flat ride for most of the distance. Could we have done it on our regular bikes? Of course. However, having the e-bike, even on eco mode, makes the 4 hour round-trip (71km total) easier and less daunting. The biggest factor was to do it at all. The Hummingbird has a great Hangtown Fry (Oyster omelette) and Chicken and Waffles.  It's also family run and we had a great conversation with the owner's son, also our waiter.

The e-bikes enabled us to get out, ride, ride through nature, get exercise (plenty of exercise), and enjoy a lunch.

By using eco and city modes for the hills, we finished the 4 hour, 71km ride at 65% battery left. Clearly could've used more battery/motor on the ride, but again, it's there as an enjoyment enhancer while riding through 300m climbs up Camino Alto road and through Sausalito to the Golden Gate Bridge.

We're finding the same is true with access to JUMP and Ford Go Bikes. Easier to grab groceries and get errands done on an e-bike. All in all, with easy access to e-bikes, we ride much more often, and to farther places. This gets us more exercise and flattens the hills in SF.