Finally! No rain, so I got the "V" on the road for the first time in about 2.5 years. The first ride was about ten miles, using block pedals. The second ride was about 20 miles clipped in. They went really well. In fact, I think my starts and stops were better than before. The only real problem is that I still do not have the strength and range of motion to unclip moving my heel to the outside, so I unclip by going to the inside.
Unfortunately, STP was only ten days away, so I decided I did not have the time to get my skill level up for a 200 mile ride on the "V".
Therefore, I took the Windcheetah instead. I could pretty much hang with the slower crowd on the flats, but got waxed up the hills. What shocked me was that I continually "out coasted" virtually everyone. It was rather amusing to blast right by all those people on their fancy multi-mega-buck bikes. I do not get it. I have all kinds of crap hanging out in the breeze, mirror, safety flag, lights, camera, GPS and so on. All this time I was convinced that I was substantially less aerodynamic than a two wheeler. But the reality is that I have less drag, go figure. Maybe those Monokote wheel covers actually helped.
We did about 150 miles the first day, and the rest on the second day. No flats or break downs.
I used a Wahoo Bolt as my computer/GPS. Lets just say I really wanted to smash it with a hammer....
It took hours to get the STP route into the Wahoo. I tried syncing with Ride w GPS and Strava, on my iPhone and computer. The only result, was that an old ride in Strava was synced to the Wahoo, and I can not get rid of it. The next day, I went "old school", and connected via USB, and dragged and dropped the file into the Bolt. While my computer showed it was in the proper folder of the Bolt, the Bolt could not find it. Foiled again. So next, I dropped the file into every folder which would accept a file. No luck. Went back to wireless syncing. Spent hours pressing buttons. Nothing worked. Then, for no apparent reason, the Bolt beeped, and the STP route appeared.
A nice feature is that the Bolt would beep if I went off course. The screen resolution is not great, and I had a difficult time differentiating between two parallel streets, and where to turn. What worked, was to keep glancing at the Bolt, and when it showed a turn ahead, keep an especially sharp look out for STP markings (many were painted on the road). The screen does not zoom or pan, which would have been a big help when I wound up off course. It was difficult to read the map screen, so I turned the back light on. Every time I stopped, I put it on charge with a power bank. That was not enough. It died at about 120 miles on the first day. Another helpful feature is that it syncs to my phone. I have not figured out where to mount a phone on the Windcheetah, so I keep it in the bag behind my head. When I get texts or phone calls, I can see that on the Bolt, then stop and get the phone if it looks important. The rest stops did not show up on the map screen (maybe I downloaded the wrong file type?), so I had no idea when and where the next one was. Fortunately, one of my friends taped a list and the mileage from the start of the rest stops to his top tube. Smart.
Maybe STP on the "V" next year...
Unfortunately, STP was only ten days away, so I decided I did not have the time to get my skill level up for a 200 mile ride on the "V".
Therefore, I took the Windcheetah instead. I could pretty much hang with the slower crowd on the flats, but got waxed up the hills. What shocked me was that I continually "out coasted" virtually everyone. It was rather amusing to blast right by all those people on their fancy multi-mega-buck bikes. I do not get it. I have all kinds of crap hanging out in the breeze, mirror, safety flag, lights, camera, GPS and so on. All this time I was convinced that I was substantially less aerodynamic than a two wheeler. But the reality is that I have less drag, go figure. Maybe those Monokote wheel covers actually helped.
We did about 150 miles the first day, and the rest on the second day. No flats or break downs.
I used a Wahoo Bolt as my computer/GPS. Lets just say I really wanted to smash it with a hammer....
It took hours to get the STP route into the Wahoo. I tried syncing with Ride w GPS and Strava, on my iPhone and computer. The only result, was that an old ride in Strava was synced to the Wahoo, and I can not get rid of it. The next day, I went "old school", and connected via USB, and dragged and dropped the file into the Bolt. While my computer showed it was in the proper folder of the Bolt, the Bolt could not find it. Foiled again. So next, I dropped the file into every folder which would accept a file. No luck. Went back to wireless syncing. Spent hours pressing buttons. Nothing worked. Then, for no apparent reason, the Bolt beeped, and the STP route appeared.
A nice feature is that the Bolt would beep if I went off course. The screen resolution is not great, and I had a difficult time differentiating between two parallel streets, and where to turn. What worked, was to keep glancing at the Bolt, and when it showed a turn ahead, keep an especially sharp look out for STP markings (many were painted on the road). The screen does not zoom or pan, which would have been a big help when I wound up off course. It was difficult to read the map screen, so I turned the back light on. Every time I stopped, I put it on charge with a power bank. That was not enough. It died at about 120 miles on the first day. Another helpful feature is that it syncs to my phone. I have not figured out where to mount a phone on the Windcheetah, so I keep it in the bag behind my head. When I get texts or phone calls, I can see that on the Bolt, then stop and get the phone if it looks important. The rest stops did not show up on the map screen (maybe I downloaded the wrong file type?), so I had no idea when and where the next one was. Fortunately, one of my friends taped a list and the mileage from the start of the rest stops to his top tube. Smart.
Maybe STP on the "V" next year...
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