Thoughts from Dan Miser RSS 2.0
 Monday, July 23, 2007
As some may remember, I took up biking again this year. It has been an extremely enjoyable and rewarding endeavor to get back into, and I'm happy with the results. (We'll talk about my obsessive nature in pursuing such things later. ;-))

One thing I noticed is that this hobby tends to collect a lot of IT folks. The field is littered with technology add-ons and technical talk to optimize your riding. I just did the 150 mile Scenic Shore ride this past weekend, and I met several people who talked about some of the technology. As a result I thought I'd share some links of some really cool gadgets and web-sites related to biking. I figure there at least some out there that will appreciate this. :-) If you have any other accessories that you use and love, post them here in the comments.

  • Garmin Edge 305 - This is a GPS device that tracks multiple categories (position, climb, speed, cadence, heart rate). The battery power is ok, the price is steep, but the data it gives you is endless. I really wish the device could have actual maps on it so you could see (e.g.) "Oh, I'm coming up on Highway 42 now".
  • Even though you don't have maps, you can create a course on your PC and sync it to your Edge.
  • Ascent software - If you have an Edge, it comes with bundled software that is adequate. But for $35, this software is well worth it. The downside for most people is that it only runs on a Mac. The upside is that the Animation, Statistics, Profiles, Google Earth usage, and tight integration with the Edge are unsurpassed.
  • MapMyRide.com - This is a web site that lets you input routes and capture your training data online. You can also publish routes to share with others (see the link to the Scenic Shore 150 above for one such example). You can either draw the route by hand, or integrate with your GPS device. As a social networking site, I think this site does it right. It's very targeted in what it tries to do, and it succeeds in that regard.
  • Using a Garmin Edge to Plot Cycle Routes with Google Maps on Linux, Macs and Windows - Nice technical information that a developer may find helpful on what you need to do to interface between Google Maps and GPS devices.
Monday, July 23, 2007 9:54:58 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)  #    Comments [3] -
Biking
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:25:42 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
I use a Garmin Edge 205 for running (cheaper than the 305 but can't collect cadence or heart rate).
An excellant piece of free software for logging and showing routes, times, etc. is Sports Tracks (http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/).

If you want to play around with downloading the raw data, you can use GPS Babel (http://www.gpsbabel.org/) which runs on pretty much any platform.
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:57:36 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
Brilliant. We have *got* to get together for a drink sometime, David. I'm thinking about gearing up for a 1/2 tri next summer. I need to get over my complete hatred for running before then, I guess. :-)
Saturday, July 28, 2007 6:17:18 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
Indeed we do, not sure England is within staggering distance of any US pubs though ...
I've got a half marathon in a month or so, so lots of running in the near future. I've also thought about a tri of some description, but its the sheer number of hours to train in all disciplines that is putting me off.
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