Trying to give up computer - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

09-03-2003, 02:59 AM

"Dan Cosley" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].edu> wrote in message
news:bj2e25$guk$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].umn.edu...
> How many of you have ridden with a computer and then decided to
> get rid of it? Do you miss it?
>
On the road I don't bother anymore with a counter of magnetic revolutions or
its companion counter of heart beats. - and I don't miss either of them.
Have found them much more useful to leave on the ergo (stationary road bike
in a steel frame for training) - select a gear and a cadence and you have an
approximation for power and the heart rate is something you can choose,
rather than just being a reflection of road and traffic conditions and
whatever the bunch is feeling like doing that morning.

If its a new ride or I'm not quite certain of the route will sometimes put
the gps in a back jersey pocket (as well as mapping your route it keeps a
rough and ready record of the elevation profile of the route which can be
interesting) - you can get mounts to put a gps on the bars but that rather
spoils the uncluttered look of nothing up front.

Get a fair bit of use of the gps when driving (good for getting the correct
turns/freeway exits on unfamiliar freeways) and kayaking - not used much for
navigating on the bike - as someone in this ng once remarked you never
really get lost on a bike, you just spend a bit longer riding then you had
planned.

But as always, ymmv best, Andrew (remove the .x1 to reply)

09-03-2003, 03:41 AM

In article <bj42em$l0v$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
"matabala" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
>
> "Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:jgt2jb.sgc.ln@bud.garden.local...
>
>
>>
> diss'ing
>>
>
> diss'ing? Tom, please don't encourage the language mongrels. And with such
> a fine literary name...

Language is so wonderfully plastic. We can do with it
what we will.

And we (thank goodness) do.

The eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea is an interesting place.
It's the nexxus of several different continents, and many different
cultures. Dance plays a big role there. I opine that that's
because so many different cultures converged there, and a need to
communicate arose, so people mimed their expressions, and that
mimery evolved into the sophisticated dance of the Greeks, Baltics,
Africans and Slavs. I figure instead of talking at each other,
they all just danced at each other. In many ways, it makes much more
sense to gesticulate and demonstrate, than to gutteralize abstract
sounds that might be meaningless to the hearer.

Language, schmanguage. Talk is cheap.

Nevertheless, Alice Cooper is a wonderful master of American
English.

I wish I had a copy of "Lost In America" to blow the roof
off this house, right now. But I don't. Maybe that's a
good thing.

Hey -- M'iss'ippi Fred McDowell -- "Ah do not play no rock'n
roll, y'all; Ah just play de straight, natch'l blues."
He said he let the guitar do the talking for him. I used to
channel his spirit, and I got to become a fairly good guitar
player in the process, but his Victorian values got disgusted
with my hedonistic ways. But we did cough-up a killer cover of
Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man" (Ya just tawlk, that's awll).
So, because of my immoral improprieties, I'm not allowed to
even pick up a guitar any more. But for awhile, I was a
flat-assed, white-guy Robert Johnson. Now /there's/ a guy who
could wield language. His "Milk Cow Blues" is still such a
heart-rending, plaintive plea. And /nobody/ has ever been
able to credibly cover that song, since. Maybe Rory Gallagher
could've, but as far as I know, he never attempted it. Robert
Johnson's ghost is probably possessing some other poor kid, now.

Language, schmanguage.

Anybody can say a bunch of razmatazz about Greek vases and
St Agnes, or St Swithin, or Chapman's translation of some
somniferently tedious Readers' Digest story.

Language & communication is so much more than uttering
verbiage. That's why we can so completely ignore TV
commercials. That's why I (or you, or anyone else) can
say "diss'ing" and get away with it.

The most eloquent talk I've ever heard has come from
cats & dogs. They know what matters.

Words are highly overrated.

cheers,
Tom

--
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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

09-03-2003, 07:06 AM

Dan Cosley wrote:
> There's something seductive about quantifying progress/effort.
> Not always a useful thing, though -- the primary example from
> my daily life is the notorious use of "lines of code" as a
> measure of programmer productivity. Bad idea.
> -- Dan

Yup. However, "*tested* lines of code" is a good measure. It's one I
used in a former life.

09-03-2003, 07:06 AM

In article <bj2e25$guk$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].umn.edu>,
Dan Cosley <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].edu> wrote:

> I just switched bikes, and the new one has no computer. I'm
> considering not getting one -- I have a tendency to look down
> at the little speed number, to the detriment of paying attention
> to cycling.

Some people do find the precision and wonkishness of a computer either
distracting or disturbing. Then again, a lot of people are driven to
despair and bad behaviour by a bathroom scale. Not me, I can quit
weighing myself any time.

> How many of you have ridden with a computer and then decided to
> get rid of it? Do you miss it?

I love my computer. My dad loves his computer a little too much; I think
he logs all his commutes. I'm "training" somewhat half-heartedly for Cat
5 training crits (goal: upgrade to Cat 4 training crits); the real fun
of the computer is setting personal bests on my commute route, but the
most useful aspect is making sure I'm not slacking off, especially when
I use the HRM as well.

What's a bad use of the computer? Figuring out that my route from work
to home is .5 km longer than the outbound route, and that therefore I
should figure out a faster detour so I can shave another minute off my
time. Even though I use the route I do because it's safe and quiet.

160 lbs., 5'6", riding more to get to 155, that scale crack wasn't a cry
for help,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

09-03-2003, 07:09 AM

On Tue, 2 Sep 2003 15:47:17 +0000 (UTC), Dan Cosley
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].edu> wrote:

>I just switched bikes, and the new one has no computer. I'm
>considering not getting one -- I have a tendency to look down
>at the little speed number, to the detriment of paying attention
>to cycling.

Perhaps you should spray paint over the instrument panel on your car.
You might have developed a tendancy to look down at all those gauges,
to the detriment of paying attention to driving.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

09-03-2003, 07:21 AM

Dan Cosley wrote:
>
> I just switched bikes, and the new one has no computer. I'm
> considering not getting one -- I have a tendency to look down
> at the little speed number, to the detriment of paying attention
> to cycling.
>
> How many of you have ridden with a computer and then decided to
> get rid of it? Do you miss it?
>
> Do people use computers in nontraditional ways? For example,
> taping over the display or mounting upside down so it's way
> inconvenient to read while riding but you can get cumulative
> stats, etc?
>
> -- Dan
>

My computer is a little el cheapo. Instantaneous speed is displayed
always, in large digits, and is easy to read at a glance; a secondary
display, beneath Speed, shows one of 10 or more other quantities, is
small and harder to read. I set the secondary display set to Time Of
Day and leave it there because if it's set to, say, Odometer, I glance
at it periodically, just like you say. And because that part of the
display is small and hard for this old guy to read without reading
glasses, paying attention to it is dangerous. Knowing that TOD is
displayed keeps me from even looking!

Bottom line: I always attach computer before I ride, but while riding I
look at speed only. After the ride is soon enough to look at Distance,
Total DIstance, Avg Speed, etc.

09-03-2003, 07:28 AM

Replace the computer with a cheap eTrex GPS. It's much more entertaining,
and the speed page isn't the most interesting thing. It's the old trail
of breadcrumbs you're crossing, or some waypoint from a previous day.
--
Ron Hardin
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

09-03-2003, 08:02 AM

On Tue, 2 Sep 2003 15:47:17 +0000 (UTC), Dan Cosley
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].edu> wrote:

>I just switched bikes, and the new one has no computer. I'm
>considering not getting one -- I have a tendency to look down
>at the little speed number, to the detriment of paying attention
>to cycling.
>
>How many of you have ridden with a computer and then decided to
>get rid of it? Do you miss it?
>

I had computers on both bikes years ago. Then one winter I stripped
one down and repainted it, and didn't remount the computer for a
couple of weeks. This was the one with cadence. Soon afterwards, I
crashed the mountain bike on a trail and was miles away before I
noticed that its computer had fallen off in the crash.

Oh well.... don't miss either one. Never remounted the one and never
replaced the other. All in all, I go slow or fast. I learned the feel
of various cadences with that computer. I keep rough mile totals for
each bike in my head.

Try it both ways. It's nice to not be a slave to the readout. But it's
also nice to have the information. It's like CNN- sometimes I watch it
'wisely' and sometimes I stare at it telling me the same simple lines
for hours on end, hoping that some 'truth' will emerge no matter how
often that never happens.

>Do people use computers in nontraditional ways?

Was someone here asking about using one to monitor the speed of a
lathe? I like that idea. Maybe I'll haul mine out and take it into the
shop. Then again, based on feed tables and the feel and sound and
quality of the cut, I already know if I am going too fast or too slow
or just right.....

09-03-2003, 08:09 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, Ron Hardin wrote:
> Replace the computer with a cheap eTrex GPS. It's much more entertaining,
> and the speed page isn't the most interesting thing. It's the old trail
> of breadcrumbs you're crossing, or some waypoint from a previous day.

Interesting that you say that. Our research group is talking about
ways to leverage GPS trails, perhaps along with a digital camera
(helmet mount?), to help people enjoy travelling more. We're looking
at biking as one app, doing touristy things as another. For example,
it's frustrating to look at the route books put out by the Twin Cities
Bicycling Club and see only one or two rides that pass within 8-10
miles of my house in the northwest part of the city proper. It would
be fantastic to have a set of people's travels that I could use to
find route legs that lots of cyclists use -- where are the better
streets to ride here?

-- Dan

--
Dan Cosley ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ].cs.umn.edu * [Only registered and activated users can see links. ])
GroupLens Research Lab, Univ of MN ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] * 612.624.8372)
*** Just a foot soldier in the Army of Truth ***

09-03-2003, 08:29 AM

"Dan Cosley" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].edu> wrote in message
news:bj2e25$guk$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].umn.edu...
> I just switched bikes, and the new one has no computer. I'm
> considering not getting one -- I have a tendency to look down
> at the little speed number, to the detriment of paying attention
> to cycling.
>
> How many of you have ridden with a computer and then decided to
> get rid of it? Do you miss it?

I didn't 'decide' to get rid of it. I did decide replacement costs [I'm
rather rough on them when I go offroad] were higher than I wished to pay.

Yah, I did miss it. But I know my average speed and with a map I can
guestiimate my distances. If I could purchase one that would stand up to off
road abuse I'd gladly purchase it at premium but the lack doesn't really
detract from riding.

And I found analogously that when the clock at the pool was broken I tended
to swim longer when I didn't know exactly how much time had elapsed.