Did You Ride Today?

Bicycleman said:

How do you check power output? I'm assuming you have some kind of sensor that connects to your Garmin? I don't have any of that since I'm low tech. I never thought much about power, just what it takes for me to do the distance at a half way decent time.

I use PowerTap hubs. They measure power and transmit the data wirelessly to my Garmin 800. I download the Garmin data to TrainingPeaks and also to GoldenCheetah software for evaluation and as a record.

I train somewhat seriously and power allows me to do a workout as planned but usually it saves me from going to hard when I am not supposed to. Sometimes during intervals you are supposed to go hard and then easy. A power meter is darned helpful on intervals.

Weatherby said:

I use PowerTap hubs. They measure power and transmit the data wirelessly to my Garmin 800. I download the Garmin data to TrainingPeaks and also to GoldenCheetah software for evaluation and as a record.

I train somewhat seriously and power allows me to do a workout as planned but usually it saves me from going to hard when I am not supposed to. Sometimes during intervals you are supposed to go hard and then easy. A power meter is darned helpful on intervals.

Well, I can see I won't be doing that, since I won't buy one of those GPS units. I'm perfectly happy with my Sigma computer. At least the readout is big enough where I can see it without having to squint.

Mr. Beanz said:

I am using 2 go pro recorders. One front and one rear.

I usually stop and start my clips in one minute intervals so I don't run continuously and haven't drained a battery on a ride by recording.

The one time I did drain a battery was because I used the remote control. The wifi drains the battery even if not recording. I figure it may be the searching that drains it. So when I can, I turn off the wifi signal thingie.

I recently bought a back up battery for my gopro3 in case I want to use it with the remote. Consistent running with the wifi I read is should last about 45 minutes and 1 hour without the wifi.

Plus the other day I picked up a battery bank at the store for $10. So if I do need extra power I now have a back up battery and the power bank.

I really didn't know what a power bank was till my wife pointed it out. It's a lipstick sized device charged by usb port. Stored power so on a ride you can plug in a device to recharge. Works with Garmins, cell phones, go pros, and other rechargeable devices. 😎

My recorders.

You'll never see me with a Garmin. I'm hard core low tech. Yeah, I wouldn't mind playing with one, but that's a high price tag for a toy.

I had this guy come out to my house and ride a 55 mile ride with me. He was fast right out of my driveway. He picked it up to 25, which was way too fast for me. I have to ride at least 15 miles before my heart, respiration, and legs are synchronized. Then I get my breathing going, and I can go all day, but it takes awhile. This guy would come back for me, sit on my wheel, but when I pulled over for him to pull through, he would sprint away. That's not how you do it. Well, on the way back, we had one hellacious head wind. He was all over the road, and I couldn't draft off him, so I passed him by and sprinted away, just like he did me. In fact, I dropped him, which really surprised me. I would wait for him and drop him again. It happened 3 times. He had all kinds of excuses of how he was in the wrong gear. Yeah, he was in the wrong gear alright. He was in the big gear at the start of the ride and never changed. He might have been the faster rider at the start, but there were 55 miles to go, and he blew himself out trying to show off. He never came back, maybe because this old guy dropped him, and it bruised his ego, or it might be that he just thought me too weak to ride with. In any event, I'm by myself again, except those rare times when I can ride with the tour riders, who are exceptionally strong for guys on touring bikes.

Bicycleman.....it takes me a long time to get the legs, lungs, and inner wiring going, too. This is the main reason that I keep any stops to a bare minimum.

Weatherby said:

Bicycleman.....it takes me a long time to get the legs, lungs, and inner wiring going, too. This is the main reason that I keep any stops to a bare minimum.

I don't like to make long stops, either. I was on one other forum where another cyclist said that he never stopped and just munched out of a handlebar bag. I have to stop after about 25 miles, just to stretch, though I can go for 40 miles before I stop. Our first control is at the 38 mile point and every other control after that is at 25 miles.

Bicycleman said:

You'll never see me with a Garmin. I'm hard core low tech. Yeah, I wouldn't mind playing with one, but that's a high price tag for a toy.

I got my Edge 500 for $250 a while back. I think they go for about $200 now, maybe less. I believe they have lower end models as well. I will say the Garmin is the best investment I've made in cycling in quite some time. Sing in on Strava and Garmin Connect and it's really cool. Just ride and plug in. Enjoy the elevation graphs, maps etc.

Of course if you ride with a cell phone I think you can do just about the same on those websites without a Garmin. 😎

Mr. Beanz said:

I got my Edge 500 for $250 a while back. I think they go for about $200 now, maybe less. I believe they have lower end models as well. I will say the Garmin is the best investment I've made in cycling in quite some time. Sing in on Strava and Garmin Connect and it's really cool. Just ride and plug in. Enjoy the elevation graphs, maps etc.

Of course if you ride with a cell phone I think you can do just about the same on those websites without a Garmin. 😎

I paid $320 for my Garmin 800 and although it is temperamental, there is nothing better than getting turn by turn guidance with those little maps at 2 am in east bum [censored] kentucky with mongrels out to eat you. Even just doing a local ride when you don't know the roads. I have a love/hate relationship with mine. Like a good women. But, I could not live without mine.

Mr. Beanz said:

I got my Edge 500 for $250 a while back. I think they go for about $200 now, maybe less. I believe they have lower end models as well. I will say the Garmin is the best investment I've made in cycling in quite some time. Sing in on Strava and Garmin Connect and it's really cool. Just ride and plug in. Enjoy the elevation graphs, maps etc.

Of course if you ride with a cell phone I think you can do just about the same on those websites without a Garmin. 😎

I finally broke down and bought the wife an Android, but I just have a basic prepaid phone. It's not a smart phone, and I seldom turn it on because since we are so remote, you can't get much of a phone signal, even with Verizon.

Yup. Garmin is da debil, but I it's the devil I know and enjoy...when it isn't screwing up.

I have a 510 and a 520. They both can do basic mapping, but not turn-by-turn navigation. And with the small display size you best have very good eyes and perfect lighting.

It snowed today. We only got 1/4" or so, but that was enough to screw up the roads. 50 minutes of kicking up my heals on the trainer.

Weatherby said:

I paid $320 for my Garmin 800 and although it is temperamental, there is nothing better than getting turn by turn guidance with those little maps at 2 am in east bum [censored] kentucky with mongrels out to eat you. Even just doing a local ride when you don't know the roads. I have a love/hate relationship with mine. Like a good women. But, I could not live without mine.

Yeah, I have looked at them, but if I ever buy one, I'm going to catch hell from the wife. I just ordered a $110 light and tail light combo system for my bike along with a new pair of shoes and spd cleats. I have been Gorilla gluing my shoes to keep them from coming apart. I think I need a new pair of shoes, and I better get that done before March 19.

Does your Garmin have an English lady's voice telling you turn by turn instructions? I have a Magellan 1470 for my truck. I was driving a rental van from Va to NY, going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the GPS told me to turn left. I was on a bridge, and I couldn't turn left, but that's what it wanted me to do. One of the guys that was with me started laughing and said that's why he wouldn't have one of those damn things. You just can't beat a road map. I loaned the GPS to my wife to go to northern Va to pick up a horse, and she got lost twice trying to follow the GPS.

Bicycleman said:

Yeah, I have looked at them, but if I ever buy one, I'm going to catch hell from the wife. I just ordered a $110 light and tail light combo system for my bike along with a new pair of shoes and spd cleats. I have been Gorilla gluing my shoes to keep them from coming apart. I think I need a new pair of shoes, and I better get that done before March 19..

You really need to get your wife involved with cycling. Heck since Gina started riding, she begs me to buy stuff. We can walk into a shop and walk out with two to three hundred dollars of stuff after not having any plans to buy anything. 😄

The Garmin, her idea. First go pro, her idea! Second go pro her idea! She begs me to buy myself shoes and stuff. :eek:

She'll come home with a couple under layers for me she found at Walmart. Then she'll suggest I buy a couple from the Under Armor store to compare. Heck I got about 10 new under layers within about a 2 week span last month. 😎

Bicycleman said:

I loaned the GPS to my wife to go to northern Va to pick up a horse,

Seriously? Don't tell me you have a wife that's into nags? No wonder you can't afford a Garmin. You poor, poor [censored].

I have used printed road map tiles for years...stuffed in a sandwich bag in the jersey pocket. They work fine, but I do like the maps tiles from OpenStreetMap for the small Garmins: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

No turn-by-turn as I stated above, but you do get a detailed area map on your display and less stuff in the jersey pocket.

Uh, my wife begs me to buy stuff, too, but it's always for her. No, I can't get her on a bike. I bought her a mb, and she rode it about 5 miles, and put it in the garage. I used to take the cantilever brakes off hers to repair my old mb. We finally ended up giving her bike away. She doesn't want to sit on a tiny seat like that. If I could find a way to put the living room couch on a bicycle, she might decide to ride.

Bicycleman said:

I don't like to make long stops, either. I was on one other forum where another cyclist said that he never stopped and just munched out of a handlebar bag. I have to stop after about 25 miles, just to stretch, though I can go for 40 miles before I stop. Our first control is at the 38 mile point and every other control after that is at 25 miles.

You can do it! Learning your pacing is key. If you do not go too fast, you will burn mostly fat. As you get fitter, you will also use more fat. The step from 200k to 300km is much more critical on feeding and keeping yourself in balance from a nutrition standpoint. Gutta learning your feeding to move to 300K. If you can do a 400k in 20-21 hours, you can do anything. 400k is the real test in my book. No messing around, no sleeping. In and out of controls. Rest when needed. Just solid riding. After 400k, the 600k is easy....you can sleep and there is a ton of flexibility.

The first control at PBP is at 221 Km. I did not have any food or resupply until Loudeac at 447 KM and I could only do this because there was no food yet at the controls for the faster riders and because I had very specifically trained my body to burn fat. Basically, I had no choice. I was stuffed. The first finisher (Lehnard Bijorn) at PBP this year was unsupported and he carried a lot of his food in his handlebar bag. I was making my way down to Brest and here comes a solo rider climbing in the other direction. I first thought it was a local on a trraining ride but then I saw the unlit light (it was just after noon on Monday), ankle straps, and a handlebar bag. Definately a Rando. Dirty. Sweaty. Blew my mind. 30+ riders were 30 minutes behind and they could not catch him the last 600km to Paris. I took my wrinkly old hands off my bars and clapped with full gusto. Totally cool. He was not even working. So, I think digging into the handlebar bag on a short Brevet should be fine. Worked for Bijorn. Just learn what foods and how often you need to eat. Sounds easy. Lots of riders eat and drink too much and puke.

Weatherby said:

You can do it! Learning your pacing is key. If you do not go too fast, you will burn mostly fat. As you get fitter, you will also use more fat. The step from 200k to 300km is much more critical on feeding and keeping yourself in balance from a nutrition standpoint. Gutta learning your feeding to move to 300K. If you can do a 400k in 20-21 hours, you can do anything. 400k is the real test in my book. No messing around, no sleeping. In and out of controls. Rest when needed. Just solid riding. After 400k, the 600k is easy....you can sleep and there is a ton of flexibility.

The first control at PBP is at 221 Km. I did not have any food or resupply until Loudeac at 447 KM and I could only do this because there was no food yet at the controls for the faster riders and because I had very specifically trained my body to burn fat. Basically, I had no choice. I was stuffed. The first finisher (Lehnard Bijorn) at PBP this year was unsupported and he carried a lot of his food in his handlebar bag. I was making my way down to Brest and here comes a solo rider climbing in the other direction. I first thought it was a local on a trraining ride but then I saw the unlit light (it was just after noon on Monday), ankle straps, and a handlebar bag. Definately a Rando. Dirty. Sweaty. Blew my mind. 30+ riders were 30 minutes behind and they could not catch him the last 600km to Paris. I took my wrinkly old hands off my bars and clapped with full gusto. Totally cool. He was not even working. So, I think digging into the handlebar bag on a short Brevet should be fine. Worked for Bijorn. Just learn what foods and how often you need to eat. Sounds easy. Lots of riders eat and drink too much and puke.

Other than peanut butter Cliff bars, I have done quite well with peanut butter crackers and Fig Newtons. I don't see myself doing a 300k, but who knows at this point in the game? I have said it before. I don't like riding at night, but this 200k will be starting at 7. We will be on Daylight Savings Time by then, so I figure it will still be dark when we take off.

I used to weigh190 lbs, but since I have done more long distance riding, I was at the animal clinic getting my cat checked out so hopped on the scales they use to weigh the dogs. I was surprised to see my weight at 178 lbs. I'm even lighter than when I graduated high school. I was 180, then.

You should write a book or a blog on the PBP. I would like to read that.

[ATTACH=full]1347[/ATTACH] I used to dislike riding at night. I now feel safer. I am so lit up with reflectors that those texting teens can't "miss" me.

Thanks, there are a lot of PBP blogs and a lot of philosophies about randonneuring. As long as someone finishes, they are as successful as the first finisher although I sometimes go as hard as I can.

I got my PBP ancien medal the other day and it is pretty. They sent a DVD movie and I was in the start group rolling out.

Bicycleman...an option to avoid night riding is to develop sufficient fitness that you can do all the brevets during daylight. One heck of a challenge but I have done it. Or, just get really good lights.

One time I did a ride for the local police force to fight crime. The local news media was there so I made it my business to be the first rider out. They ignored me and concentrated on the main pack of big fat cops rolling out on their mb's. The cops tried to stay with us, but I tapped my buddy on the calf and told him we needed to ditch these pigs. We never saw them after that. That was a good feeling, blowing a cop off the road and doing it legally.😄

Weatherby said:

Bicycleman...an option to avoid night riding is to develop sufficient fitness that you can do all the brevets during daylight. One heck of a challenge but I have done it. Or, just get really good lights.

Yeah, the thought occurred to me.

My lady friend was doing the 300k last year and had the same idea, but she bonked at the 130 mile point and dragged her slow ass in after dark. She's a strong rider, but tends to go way too fast to start. If i'm there, maybe she will take pity on me and carry my old tired ass all the way back.