The Geezer Ebike Fitness Metric (GEFM)

[Ash Nazg]

When I was a road rider, it was simple: What is your time from point A to point B? Now than I'm a septuagenarian ebiker, I'm more interested in exercise than speed. So the other day I stumbled upon GEFM. There is a 42 mile ride from San Francisco to a little town called Fairfax north of the city. I hadn't done the loop in over a month, but I've been biking to the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco most days, and I was curious whether I had gained or lost fitness since my last ride to Fairfax.

I started on a fully charged (500w) Bosch battery. If you start in assist level 1 (ECO mode) the bike shows an estimated 60 miles of range. Using ECO mode only, I rode the 42 mile loop with Bosch's 60 estimated miles of battery. At the end I had 44 miles estimated range of battery! The metric simply measures how much energy I expended versus the battery. Again, I'm not interested in elapsed time or going as fast as possible. I could have used a lot more battery a made the trip in a lot less time. But for me, the object is to have an enjoyable ride where I maintain fitness. At this point in my life, it's far more important than a elapsed time. It also means I don't have to ride faster than I'm comfortable going downhill for the elapsed time and average speed metrics.

 

[john peck]

My display shows how much power is in use with a bar that crosses the screen. By adopting
slightly lower gear with higher cadence, half the time now I´m using little or no juice at all.
Once the motor builds momentum I simply sustain it pedaling. I can get well over the est.
max range.

 

[mschwett]

nice!!! @Ash Nazg do the paradise loop next time, and then if you're feeling bold, and your battery is fully charged... fairfax bolinas road

 

[Ash Nazg]

John Peck - thanks for the tip. It could be an increase in cadence. Some of the shorter rides I take in San Francisco are akin to old man interval training, and I think that upped my VOX a little bit.
mschwett - I used to the Paradise loop a lot when I was a roadie - thanks for reminding me. I'm not sure of Fairfax-Bolinas - Is that the road that goes by the reservoir and the back of Mount Tam? THAT ride takes some doing. I actually don't know my longest loop. I rode out Sir Francis Drake into Samuel Tilden State Park, but I turned around before I got through the park.

 

[mschwett]

John Peck - thanks for the tip. It could be an increase in cadence. Some of the shorter rides I take in San Francisco are akin to old man interval training, and I think that upped my VOX a little bit.
mschwett - I used to the Paradise loop a lot when I was a roadie - thanks for reminding me. I'm not sure of Fairfax-Bolinas - Is that the road that goes by the reservoir and the back of Mount Tam? THAT ride takes some doing. I actually don't know my longest loop. I rode out Sir Francis Drake into Samuel Tilden State Park, but I turned around before I got through the park.

yep fairfax bolinas road is the alpine dam ride. very challenging.

i really like sir francis drake through samuel p taylor park. beautiful stretch through the redwoods there!