Cycling

[only2garners]

The discussion Paul and I were having on the holiday thread was straying seriously off topic so I thought I would get a new thread going in case anyone else out there was interested in cycling. It seems to be exceedingly trendy at the moment.

That's good gear and certainly mid-life crisis stuff!! I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the Garmin. I got one at Christmas but couldn't make it work for me so got a refund. I think it was me rather than the GPS. Which one did you get?

It's an Edge 800. I had similar problems to you but that's what the boys are for. Son No1 (the new born cyclist) sorted it all for me. It is particularly good when you have plotted a route on one of the many websites (eg bikehike) and downloaded it to the GPS, as it's then pretty tricky to take a wrong turn - the machine beeps at you as soon as you stray more than 50' from the route. Alex also got me an OS map card to try - it was good but my problem is that I need to wear prescription glasses when riding which are no good for watching the small screen so any detail is wasted on me. He got the card as part of a package when he bought his own Edge 800 - it was £30 more in the package when the standalone rrp is £199. As I didn't want it he flogged it on Ebay for £125. Good tip if you want to have another go.

[colin]

Only2Garners,

This is not looking much like a biking thread, more like a grump about technology. When I go out on my bike I know where I'm going and I don't need satellite GPS to tell me.

Ditch the technology and just get on your bike for the hell of it.

You don't need GPS to tell you what to do. Same as you don't need it to tell you where the local McDonalds or KFC is.

Do you want your life the be dictated to by your sat-nav company?

Just get yourself out on your bike and go where you want to go.

[SAS]

Won't it add unnecessary weight to your bike.

I just go with the flow on mine, depending on how I feel.

I log it on runkeeper though.

[Paul]

Ditch the technology and just get on your bike for the hell of it.

I agree with this view with the one exception that when completely lost in the middle of nowhere, and I've experienced, it's a very, very unnerving experience. On a bike in remote areas, often no phone signal etc. being lost is very worrying.

My interest in the Garmin, and other GPS devices, is the information they record about the journey you have made. For instance I rode to and round The Hebrides last summer and the GPS recorded everything I did, I was then able to download and record the route on maps. Added to this one gets useful stuff like average, minimum and maximum cadence and speed, elevation, total climb and descent etc. The data is interesting to have and helps understand what one has done. I wouldn't be keen on using GPS as a SatNav unless I was utterly lost, and as I say have been without a GPS, it isn't good news. I do realise if I was a better map reader it wouldn't be a problem!!

[JC4LAB]

Pedal to The Rovers somestimes and also to the odd away game that aint too far away.(That Sounds mad but an audax riders do 80+ miles a day easy).For me Driving parking up and walking to Ewood takes 40Mins usually .On the bike takes 15-20mins...

[Paul]

Perhaps it would be good to turn this towards cycling. I have what I hope will be an excellent weekend coming up in June. Plan is to take the train to Edinburgh and then cycle to Melrose where the book festival will be taking place. I shall then go listen to Mark Beaumont, "The man Who Cycled the World," talk on the first evening, the next day I shall find a nice ride around in The Borders before going to listen to Bella Bathurst talk on "The Bicycle Book," a history of cycling followed by an evening with Rory Bremner. The next two days I shall spend cycling home.

[only2garners]

Colin,

My comment about the Garmin was in response to a request from Paul as to how I had found it on the holiday thread - I made a new one to stop it going off topic and answered Paul's question there.

In truth if I had been buying I would not have spent as much as was spent on the Edge, but I would want some form of computer. It just shows how much my loved ones love me! But as Paul says, the real boon of a GPS is that you can record all your rides on sites like Garmin Connect and Runkeeper. This must be invaluable if you are interested in training and improving your performance. I'm not really but it's still nice to see where you've been and have all the data recorded.

As Paul also says being out and not knowing where to go can be a real problem. It's not just about getting lost, although that is a problem. It's also when you might know where you are roughly but not know the best way back on a bike. Getting towards the end of a long day you might not know the best way back without leading yourself to a big climb that your body isn't really up for.

Also route plotting from a website on to the Garmin allows you to plan really nice rides using recommended cycle routes, actively seeking out climbs or not as the mood takes you. As much as I love a proper map (I won't entertain sat nav in the car), they are not terribly convenient on a bike.

[only2garners]

Perhaps it would be good to turn this towards cycling. I have what I hope will be an excellent weekend coming up in June. Plan is to take the train to Edinburgh and then cycle to Melrose where the book festival will be taking place. I shall then go listen to Mark Beaumont, "The man Who Cycled the World," talk on the first evening, the next day I shall find a nice ride around in The Borders before going to listen to Bella Bathurst talk on "The Bicycle Book," a history of cycling followed by an evening with Rory Bremner. The next two days I shall spend cycling home.

Sounds like a fantastic weekend Paul. I heard Mark Beaumont at the Kendal Mountain Festival a couple of years ago and it was well worth it.

Melrose is also a fantastic place for a cycling break. It's a beautiful small town and there will be plenty of choice for fine rides up and down the Tweed valley. My wife's parents are from Galashiels just up the road so I know the area quite well.

From Edinburgh I would try and avoid the two main routes to Melrose - the A7 and A68 will both have a lot of fast moving traffic. There are some alternatives if you're happy to lengthen your ride a bit. Coming home the B road from Hawick through Newcastleton is quite quiet and should be a fine ride and alternative to the A7.

[Paul]

My wife's parents are from Galashiels just up the road

I don't suppose you'd like to guess where my wife hails from? Quite a coincidence.

[Ste B]

You dont need a garmin - use an Android phone and the mytracks app !

[Paul]

Battery life probably isn't good enough. The Garmin will do 12 -1 5 hours and I don't know of a phone which will do that on GPS. My iPhone does about 3 hours at best. it's a mystery to me why a Garmin can run for that time yet a smart phone, with everything bar the GPS shut down, won't. I realise it's batter life but if quality batteries exist......

[RovertheHill]

I've done thousands of miles using garmin, generally following routes I've picked out and plotted first. Quite the opposite to constraining you it gives you a massive amount of freedom to go and ride in places you haven't before with the confidence of not getting (too) lost. It is a bit quirky though!

[SAS]

You dont need a garmin - use an Android phone and the mytracks app !

My battery lasted just over 3 hours on a ride. Nay good enough.

[colin]

Colin,

My comment about the Garmin was in response to a request from Paul as to how I had found it on the holiday thread - I made a new one to stop it going off topic and answered Paul's question there.

No problem O2G. Apologies for any percieved confrontation.

I just like to get on the bike and go off somewhere and damn the way home. I alawys get back, Ordance Survey maps are works of art and completely brilliant in my opinion.

Cheers

[only2garners]

No problem O2G. Apologies for any percieved confrontation.

I just like to get on the bike and go off somewhere and damn the way home. I alawys get back, Ordance Survey maps are works of art and completely brilliant in my opinion.

Cheers

No problem Colin. I appreciate that without having seen the other posts mine looked a bit odd.

I absolutely agree about OS maps. I'm off walking the south west coast path later this week and I keep picking up the maps to have another look at where I'm going. The map won't be out of my hand for the whole walk.

If I have the appropriate map for a bike ride I'll often stick it in the pannier just so that I can look at the route when I stop for a coffee and cake. The Garmin has all the benefits that I and others have outlined above but I still incur its wrath occasionally by deciding on the spur of the moment to go a different way. After a minute or so beeping to tell me that I'm off course it stops sulking and recalculates the route. On the other hand I don't think I will invest what is a lot of money to buy all the OS maps if I'm doing a long ride in a new area.

[4ever&ever]

Just recently taken up cycling as opposed to getting the bus to work, mrs uses car. The bus would take nearly an hour and I'd have to change in town. Cycling takes me 20-30 mins now and is improving my fitness.

I use a GPS tracking map to record my rides, it informs you of your progress, route, speeds etc. Been watching it a lot on tv also, regret not doing it sooner tbh

[old darwen blue]

Pedal to The Rovers somestimes and also to the odd away game that aint too far away.(That Sounds mad but an audax riders do 80+ miles a day easy).For me Driving parking up and walking to Ewood takes 40Mins usually .On the bike takes 15-20mins...

Do you have somewhere safe to leave the bike pal, a friends or relatives perhaps or do you lock it up at the ground?

(Please dont think I am contemplating nicking it!!)

[JC4LAB]

Park it next to the parking steward hut in the Blackburn end Carpark..Or With the TV crew railings if the Darwen end...Keeping it safe's all about quality of Locks and what you lock it too and maybe a extra poundshop cable lock for the wheels..Traffic is a bit intense getting away so not really recomended but getting home is 15mins compared to a hour by car

[old darwen blue]

Cheers for that pal:)

[Paul]

O2G do you know about this

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/information/getting-here/by-bike

[only2garners]

O2G do you know about this

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/information/getting-here/by-bike

Paul,

Thanks - yes I did. We are booked on the Wednesday cycle ride from Bristol to the festival - by which time we will have cycled from London to Bistol over three leisurely days.

Am in the Highlands at the moment, writing this courtesy of the wi-fi in the B&B in Ullapool. Had an absolutely fantastic ride yesterday on a hired bike from Shieldaig around the coast to Applecross.

[only2garners]

As some people know, I am cycling from London to Glastonbury with my son an a friend in aid of WaterAid, starting on this Sunday. If anyone would like to sponsor us please follow this link - thanks.

http://www.justgiving.com/PiltonPeloton.

[only2garners]

As some people know, I am cycling from London to Glastonbury with my son an a friend in aid of WaterAid, starting on this Sunday. If anyone would like to sponsor us please follow this link - thanks.

http://www.justgiving.com/PiltonPeloton.

Thanks to the people who sponsored us. We successfully arrived in Glastonbury last Wednesday, to be met by Michael Eavis and a TV crew! They were doing a story on Glastonbury's environmental initiatives for the local news and were looking for some cyclists just as we arrived.

[Ozz]

Just inherited this bike below, which is in need of renovation. IT is a Dawes hand built in Preston about 30 years ago I beleive. Is it any good?

What kind of pump do I need to pump these tyres up? The valves look tiny.

Any info appreciated!

[RovertheHill]

That is a Presta valve and most road pumps will be suitable.

The tyres look shot though so I'd suggest replacing them and the inner tubes at the same time.

As for the bike, with a bit of TLC it will lovely. Retro is all the rage at the moment

Edited June 28, 2011 by RovertheHill