Categories: Defining MomentsNostalgiaTechnology

On Rule #74: Going Unplugged

If rider A rides 30kph toward rider B who is riding 22kmp, at what time with they lay down The V?

I think the most exciting Christmas present I ever received as a child was an Avocet 30 in what must have been 1989. Being in Minnesota and it being December, it meant my bike was going nowhere near the road any time soon, so I kept the silver dollar-sized computer in my pocket wherever I went, just so I could look at it, touch it, and imagine how much I was going to look like Greg LeMond now that I had this computer. My heart broke a little bit that next summer when I realized he had abandoned the Avocet in favor of a Ciclomaster CM34 with a built in gradient meter and altimeter. Perhaps this signalled the beginning of the end of my love affair with data on my bike; it faded almost as soon as it had begun.

I have a Garmin 810 which I use primarily on rides with whose routes I’m unfamiliar, or on any gravel ride in the mountains for safety reasons. It makes me feel like I’m riding with my iPhone on my handlebars. It probably has Facebook on it. While riding, it serves as a constant distraction; how much have I climbed, how much longer is the climb, where is the next turn. Even when I know a turn is coming up and precisely where it is, I still find myself distracted by the little changes on the screen as the directions flicker across.

The background noise serves as constant static between me and the sanctity of the ride, always there simmering just below the surface. What bothers me about it is that these questions are raised by the availability of the data, not by a need to have the questions answered. Brad Wiggins reportedly crashed out of the Giro d’Italia because he was staring at his power meter data, wondering if it was accurate. This was not a relevant question to be asking when descending a mountain pass in the rain.

Riding is one of the few opportunities we have where we can escape the internet, data, and the noise of our daily lives. Data has its place in Cycling, but there is an undeniable liberation in untethering and riding just for the sake of riding.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

Next Zee Germans »

Previous « Guest Article: Before Thor

View Comments

RedRanger says:

Dec 23 2015 at 6:42 am

@frank

@RedRanger

If you go the other way it makes a V. What you did is technically the right way but do you really want one of your three contact points to be Anti-V?

@Oli

@frank

The tape is totally the right way.

I would love to see a video of how you wrap bars
chuckp says:

Dec 23 2015 at 6:52 am

@RedRanger

I would love to see a video of how you wrap bars

I don't know if you mean you want to see a video of @frank wrapping bars, but here's a pretty good one from Lizard Skins (I use their tape). Not sure what the consensus is in the V community about tape overlap at the bar end to stuff the bar end plug. I've done it that way. But also without the overlap.
RedRanger says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:04 am

@chuckp

Looks exactly like the way I taped my bars.
SamV says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:07 am

@RobSandy

@SamV

That said, another guy and I were commenting on all his gadgets. I said something like “I usually just push till I have tunnel vision and then back off just slightly.” He replied “Sounds like a recipe for blowing up.”

How many times have you actually blown up fully? I find that even when you’re totally redlining you are actually still pacing yourself. I blew up halfway up a short punchy hill today, and that was unusual.

I did however, blow up when attacking off the front in a race last year, and it’s by using HR and data more carefully I hope to avoid this next season. Also, by Rules #5 and #10…

Doesn’t happen often, but when it does, a shower and a couple Recovery Ales usually leads to a level of satisfaction when asking “why did I do that myself?”

Because it’s awesome.

There's definitely some subconscious pacing that happens, even while redlining. Obviously I don't redline the whole route, and feel out when I can or can't throw myself into an effort. And in the back of my mind, I know that when my vision starts to darken, I'm working too hard. Some of the roads I ride are very rural and it would be a long time till someone noticed me on the shoulder, should I overcommit and pass out.

Over the course of a season, there are no more than a few times that I well and truly blow up and limp my way home. In general, I can judge recovery time from the previous effort. If my legs are still wobbly or my pulse is still thumping in my head after a few more relaxed KMs, I start to get the sense that the remainder of the ride should be taken a bit more conservatively, or at least, I should allow a little longer to recover.
chuckp says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:07 am

@RedRanger

@chuckp

Looks exactly like the way I taped my bars.

@frank blessed my tape job (#85 above) so it must be the right way.
coachprops says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:22 am

@chuckp

I guess he is. I challenge everyone - leave your cell phone/garmin/cyclometer at home on your next ride. When you return, the world will still be spinning and you will see, hear, and smell things you would have missed looking at that dang piece of technology. Distracts you from the ride.
chuckp says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:32 am

@coachprops

@chuckp

I guess he is. I challenge everyone – leave your cell phone/garmin/cyclometer at home on your next ride. When you return, the world will still be spinning and you will see, hear, and smell things you would have missed looking at that dang piece of technology. Distracts you from the ride.

My phone doesn't distract me from my ride because it's in my jersey pocket and I don't take it out unless my wife calls me because I know she wouldn't call me unless it's an emergency of some sort. And I want my phone with me in case of a serious mechanical or other mishap so I can call for help if I need it (in the worst/most extreme case ... 911). It has nothing to do with being important (well, hopefully I'm important to my family); it's all about safety.

And my GPS (really just a GPS enabled basic cycle computer that displays distance/speed/time of day) doesn't distract me either because I rarely look at it and really only use it to download the data from my ride to Strava afterwards (mostly to keep track of how many miles I've ridden).

Per @Haldy you can ride unplugged (and I pretty much do) even with "stuff."
RobSandy says:

Dec 23 2015 at 7:43 am

@chuckp

@RedRanger

@chuckp

Looks exactly like the way I taped my bars.

@frank blessed my tape job (#85 above) so it must be the right way.

You wrap the tape outwards so it tightens rather than loosens when you grip the bars, right?

I'm planning to take on my first retaping after Christmas (on my new Rotundos!) so I want to get this shit right.
chuckp says:

Dec 23 2015 at 8:16 am

@RobSandy

@chuckp

@RedRanger

@chuckp

Looks exactly like the way I taped my bars.

@frank blessed my tape job (#85 above) so it must be the right way.

You wrap the tape outwards so it tightens rather than loosens when you grip the bars, right?

I’m planning to take on my first retaping after Christmas (on my new Rotundos!) so I want to get this shit right.

I don't think outwards makes any difference in terms of how loose/tight the tape is when you grip it. I suppose it could make some difference in how easily/smoothly your hands slide on the bars. Just do it like in the video and you'll be fine. The important thing is to make sure the tape is wrapped "forward" on the tops of the bars once your past the brake hoods.
Haldy says:

Dec 23 2015 at 9:21 am

@chuckp

@Haldy

I have my computer on my road bike all the time, but often don’t even look at it until I stop it at the end of the ride. I can be plugged in and still ride unplugged. I think that’s the best way to ride. The info is there if I want it, or for targetted training need it for bits of guidance, but there is no need to be a slave to it. That would ruin the ride.

Exactly how I ride.

Love the bike and kit. Real men wear pink.

Why yes..yes we do.