I have a "charity" ride coming up in a month, so I thought I would check the route.
The organisers very helpfully sent me a TCX file of the route, which I loaded into Garmin Connect, then converted to a route, then uploaded to my Garmin Watch.
Navigation on a 310xt is a bit basic, but still VERY helpful.
I started off with the 500m map, then when it wouldn't display the route, I moved to 800m, etc. etc. I'm guessing it has something to do with waypoints. Usually I was able to use the 800m map setting, but I couple of time I had to "zoom out" to the 1.2km setting, and once to the 2km setting. Yet the first 10 miles or so of the route showed up fine in the 500m map setting!
Anyway, I lost the route only a few times, and the Garmin noticed within about 100m or so, so I was able to turn back - it is hardest to follow the route on "forks" in the road, as a "proper" turn shows up as a 90 degree bend in the "breadcrumb" line.
On to the ride itself.
Started well, OK in the middle, had to break out the emergency can of Red Bull after about 40 miles (64km), and crawled home the last bit to clock up a 112km ride.
Lessons learnt:
1) 2.5 litres of water is the MINIMUM for this ride, and I'll need at least an extra litre if it is sunny.
2) my bananas got a bit squished in the pannier, so I will have to put them in a lunchbox, rather than loose.
3) my biscuits were too dry, as were my brioche rolls. I need moister food!
4) my lungs held out fine (that's all the running!), but my knees weren't up to it. I had to take the last few climbs in stages because of "burning" in my knees - I'm going to have to work on my knees in the next few weeks!
5) for the question "can I do the distance on my current bike?" the answer is an definite yes, because I cycled the ACTUAL route.
6) I should be better on the day, because I still have training tyres on, which makes things tougher (I have studs on the front, and I ride the rear about 30 psi (2 bar) soft for training!).
"Test" rides, and "training" are important not just for fitness, but also for sorting out issues like water and food, and hey, it always helps to know which hills are deceptively tough BEFORE you ride them for real!
The organisers very helpfully sent me a TCX file of the route, which I loaded into Garmin Connect, then converted to a route, then uploaded to my Garmin Watch.
Navigation on a 310xt is a bit basic, but still VERY helpful.
I started off with the 500m map, then when it wouldn't display the route, I moved to 800m, etc. etc. I'm guessing it has something to do with waypoints. Usually I was able to use the 800m map setting, but I couple of time I had to "zoom out" to the 1.2km setting, and once to the 2km setting. Yet the first 10 miles or so of the route showed up fine in the 500m map setting!
Anyway, I lost the route only a few times, and the Garmin noticed within about 100m or so, so I was able to turn back - it is hardest to follow the route on "forks" in the road, as a "proper" turn shows up as a 90 degree bend in the "breadcrumb" line.
On to the ride itself.
Started well, OK in the middle, had to break out the emergency can of Red Bull after about 40 miles (64km), and crawled home the last bit to clock up a 112km ride.
Lessons learnt:
1) 2.5 litres of water is the MINIMUM for this ride, and I'll need at least an extra litre if it is sunny.
2) my bananas got a bit squished in the pannier, so I will have to put them in a lunchbox, rather than loose.
3) my biscuits were too dry, as were my brioche rolls. I need moister food!
4) my lungs held out fine (that's all the running!), but my knees weren't up to it. I had to take the last few climbs in stages because of "burning" in my knees - I'm going to have to work on my knees in the next few weeks!
5) for the question "can I do the distance on my current bike?" the answer is an definite yes, because I cycled the ACTUAL route.
6) I should be better on the day, because I still have training tyres on, which makes things tougher (I have studs on the front, and I ride the rear about 30 psi (2 bar) soft for training!).
"Test" rides, and "training" are important not just for fitness, but also for sorting out issues like water and food, and hey, it always helps to know which hills are deceptively tough BEFORE you ride them for real!
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| "StravistiX" printout from the ride. The validity of the analysis is undermined by the apparent ability to have a maximum Heart Rate of 110%, which presupposes you have used too low a number in the first place! (no doubt from the 220-age formula, which is the one StravistiX suggests!) I used my ACTUAL max HR of 181, rather than my "guessed" rate of 170. Using too low a heart rate make training look harder than it actually is! |
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| The "standard" Strava printout for the map and elevation |
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| The Elevation, Speed, and Heart Rate dispalys from Garmin Connect |
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