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.

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RobSandy says:

Dec 22 2015 at 3:31 am

I'm very torn about this...I'd love to just ride free of data the whole time, no Garmin, no HRM, no Strava...

But I count myself a time-starved cyclist so don't really have time for long, slow 'fun' rides. Every ride needs to be a training ride to some extent. This means making sure I'm pushing as hard as I need to and to KNOW that my HRM gets used to check.

What I am noticing is that by using HR I'm learning how it feels to be in different training zones - I can feel it my legs when I am on threshold and can feel it when I go into the red...this is good. Means less time looking at the monitor.

Also use my Garmin 500 for navigation, which is a major distraction but I also fucking hate getting lost (don't have time for it!).

And lastly, fuck it, I like data. I like watching my progress on Strava and knowing I am getting fitter and faster.
RobSandy says:

Dec 22 2015 at 3:33 am

A question for the more experienced racers; does data while racing help or hinder? I'm thinking TT's, Crits and possibly road races. I'm thinking for TT's I'd like to know my HR and how much of the course is left (i.e distance/time). Crits I want to know time of the race left. Is there standard practice for using data during races?
Teocalli says:

Dec 22 2015 at 3:55 am

@RedRanger

@frank

@RedRanger

You wrapped your bar tape backwards, and did you really put a RED Garmin on a V-painted bike?? So close. So far.

I wrapped my bars the same way I’ve always wrapped them. The way fi'zi:k has posted in their YouTube site.

As for the Garmin, sadly the color options for a 500 are limited. And the grey 500 wasn’t a smoking deal and it didn’t come with the sensors I wanted. I have been trying to find a black or orange cover. So if you see one on the nets let me know.

Tons of them on eBay............
RedRanger says:

Dec 22 2015 at 4:42 am

@Teocalli

Hadn't even thought about eBay.
wilburrox says:

Dec 22 2015 at 4:43 am

@RobSandy

A question for the more experienced racers; does data while racing help or hinder? I’m thinking TT’s, Crits and possibly road races. I’m thinking for TT’s I’d like to know my HR and how much of the course is left (i.e distance/time). Crits I want to know time of the race left. Is there standard practice for using data during races?

Just me, but only time, speed and distance displayed on my Garmin. I quit watching heart rate 'cause way I see it, you're either at the front or you're not regardless of HR. And I've not been willing to spend the $$ for a power meter. And that might mean that I don't take racing and training too seriously. Which is true. Or I'd quit drinking beer, wine and whiskey. Which I won't. Cheers
stevel says:

Dec 22 2015 at 5:31 am

@Mikael Liddy

For me there is nothing worse than someone calling or texting me when I'm riding and breaking my meditative state - how could they be so inconsiderate!?

I use the Garmin Fenix 2 for stats tracking which has a feature to display calls / messages but I have never used it, it's a horrible idea.
chuckp says:

Dec 22 2015 at 6:09 am

@Oli

I don’t need some fucking device to tell me I’m slow as shit.

Word.

That said, I use a Soleus Draft GPS. Pretty sure it's no longer made as it wasn't all that popular (I got two with Bar Fly mounts for me and my wife for less than the price of one without a Bar Fly). It's pretty basic and tells me what I want/need to know when I'm riding: distance/speed/time of day. Downloads to Strava. And it's compact (not much bigger than a standard Cateye or Sigma that runs off a magnet on you wheel).
chuckp says:

Dec 22 2015 at 6:14 am

@freddy

Ditched the computer two years ago. iPhone in the middle back pocket logs my ride on Strava. I’m good…except for one thing: gauging the group speed when it’s my turn at the front of the pace line. Thinking about a RFLKT or something else that works with my phone to display speed. My bike has ANT+ so that’s another possibility. Am I going to hell?

I have a friend who also just uses his smartphone to log his ride data. I see two "problems" with doing that. The first you mentioned and that's an important one. Nothing worse than someone on a group ride who doesn't know what speed the group is riding (even if the group is just two or three of you) and tries to do it based on "feel." Sorry, but you can't "feel" speed. You need some sort of device to tell you how fast you're going. The second is that it can really drain your battery. If you're out for a 5-6 hour ride, there's a good chance your battery will be single digit towards/at the end. But what if you actually needed to use your phone while you're out riding? If your battery is low and you're in a low signal strength area, you could be SOL.
chuckp says:

Dec 22 2015 at 6:17 am

@frank

@Velodeluded

@RedRanger

Nah.Lezyne sac with all I need in left pocket, sundry scoff in right, ALWAYS phone plus card in middle. If I load them any other way the ride ain’t going to feel right.

So funny. Pump, sealant, and allen in the middle along with ziploc with cards/cash. Phone in right, house key and – if I’m riding from home – garage door opener in left.

Longer rides, some food gets spread out along with it, but no food or keys in middle pocket with money; if circumstances dictate that I need to get into my middle pocket, circumstances allow that I make sure I hold onto the valuables.

I never carry any more gear than that. If I am on a remote enough ride to merit a tire, it gets toe-strapped to the saddle.

Spare tube, tire levers, CO2, patches, and mini pump in my left pocket. Phone, plastic, and $$$ in a neoprene case in my right. Keys and anything else I might be carrying in the middle.
chuckp says:

Dec 22 2015 at 6:23 am

@frank

Strava and the segments and KOM’s (which are widely misused as a term to describe more than just having the fastest time up a hill, FFS) promote rampant overuse of high intensity, never allowing for an easy ride up a climb without trying to go for a PR or KOM. It settles in and grabs hold of your competitive spirit.HR and power are the same, so long as you don’t have a good coach who can really help you understand your maximum and your thresholds, and then it all focuses on discipline and true – genuine – training. Which is a very cool, rewarding process and some of us have experienced it to great satisfaction.

But training is its own liberation; the liberty of riding untethered is something else entirely. The freedom to go butt-ass slow, or to lay down the five up a monster grinder just because the legs have a little Merckx in them that day.

I've only on a few occasions intentionally ridden a Strava segment KOM hunting (and actually managed to do it a few times). But I ride as fast or as slow as I feel like riding, even when I'm in a group. Sometimes I feel good/competitive and will go hard up a climb just to see how well I can do -- particularly relative to my fellow old fart riders and to see if it's possible to dust a youngster every now and again. And I have more fun coming from behind and passing people. But I have absolutely no problem with going slow because I feel like it or (in a lot of cases) to help/pace someone who isn't as fast so they don't get totally dropped. Since I don't race anymore and don't do the super fast (and sometimes too crazy/unsafe) racer rides, my motto is "leave no rider behind."