THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF KIT YOU LL EVER OWN?

[lukesdad]

Bikes ,hr monitors,power meters,clothing etc. can be replaced you can t replace a traning log. Havn t read a lot about them on CC.Maybe I ve just missed the posts.

I ve kept one for 30 years invaluable and great reading over the years. I find its the only way to find where you were,where you are now, and where your going. (In terms of training that is)

What do you put in yours?

 

[dodgy]

I maintain a training log, but it's better than anything on paper. I use Sporttracks (it's backed up every day to a seperate HDD in case of system failure - I wouldn't want to lose my history!) and I can look back and see:

• Where I rode (and I mean precisely - I'm using a Garmin Edge 705)
• What equipment I used - this has thrown up some interesting figures.
• How many hours / miles each piece of equipment has used (including chains, tyres or WHY).
• My heart rate at any given point in the ride
• Altitude gained / lost
• Time for any particular section of any ride. So I can look back and see how quick I rode up a particular climb for instance. This is great for trending, I can see that I'm fastest in August usually)
• Maximum speed on any given ride or in any period (week, month, year or ever)
• Greatest distance ridden (again, in any year, month, weekend - whatever)
• Best average speed (on a certain bike if I want)
• Worst average speed

The list goes on and on and on, there's almost nothing I can't find out about any ride I've done over the last 3.5 years and it doesn't require me to remember to fill out any logs with a pen when I get home and there's no chance of me forgetting any aspect of the ride (even who I rode with).

It's a statto's dream

 

[jimboalee]

I threw mine away in 1993.

Its all on 3.5" floppy now. ( I still keep a laptop for the occasional nostalgic view ).

1993 was the 1.0 Version of my Calcs sheets ( with verification by MachineHead and others ). That is also on 3.5" floppy.

All my Audax rides are recorded on CD in diary fashion, as well as a drawerful of Brevet cards, medals and patches.

As for weighlifting, I have a couple of loose ( not lose ) leaf binders containing the individual sheets I took to the gym.

These have been useful because they not only show my improvement, but show how much I deteriorate if I am 'laid up' or go on holiday.


These days, I keep my Brevet cards and a tally of rides in diary format.
Performance is not an issue as my V 6.0 calcs sheets can predict my ETAs, cals, rest intervals, hydration, climbing and cruising speeds as well as suggest what clothes to wear dependent on the weather; and make automatic adjustments to all the predictions dependent upon the clothes I wear, let alone the terrain involved...

Sorted.

 

[jimboalee]

What you mean to say is -

"Whatever you do, don't loose it".

 

[lukesdad]

What about diet weather sleep body temp etc. can these gismos do all that.

 

[dodgy]

What about diet weather sleep body temp etc. can these gismos do all that.

I have a plugin in Sporttracks that records the weather depending on where I go. So if I do a long 100 ride for instance, it will collate the weather conditions as they change throughout the day and as I move from area to area. Using that data you can approximate power output based on your speed and the wind conditions at the time. You can also enter data pertaining to the user such as weight, fat percentage, mood, height etc, but that is manually input.

 

[lukesdad]

How much does one of these things cost?

 

[dodgy]

Sporttracks is free, but a Garmin product that will feed the data to it varies.

http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=...=en&scoring=p&lnk=pruser&price1=80&price2=300

Or go to Handtec and see the entire range, essentially anything called Garmin Edge, Forerunner, Foretrex (I think) can feed it.

http://www.handtec.co.uk/section.php/100/1/garmin-edge

Not cheap, worth every penny in my opinion.

 

[jimboalee]

Jimbo’s cycle calc sheet V 6.0

During the two weeks leading up to a long Brevet, a 300, ( not done for quite a while now ) I time myself up a couple of 10% hills on my route to and from work ( on the correct bike of course ). I also ride along the flat section at lactic threshold for thirty seconds and observe my speed.

This information goes into the calc sheet, along with Resting Heart Rate to trim the ‘Physical condition’ subroutine.
Having formulated coefficients for a polynomial to follow Whitt’s curve, I can move Whitt’s curve up or down to adjust for my own capabilities.

This will tell me if I’m fit enough to ride 16 hours when I’ve only been riding 5 hour 100 km Populaires.

Meteorological conditions were well sussed back at V 3.0
By entering the regional weather forecast, my calc sheet gives recommendations of what clothing to wear and predicts speed loss, extra calorie expenditure and dehydration levels.

A page is set aside for the topographical information of the route. Only hills steeper than 5% are considered. Climbing is accumulated and this is included onto the master sheet. Usually, a 200 Brevet in the Midlands has a ‘climbing factor’ of less than 3%.

I have topographical information saved for each of the local strings in the Midland Mesh, so it’s simply a case of ‘copy and paste’ to build up a 200 or a 300.


Keeping records is one thing. Proper planning is another.

 

[jimboalee]

PS.

I have 4 backup copies at different locations so I don't loose it.

 

[dodgy]

You know Jim, I half imagine you riding along with clipboard and pen.

 

[Garz]

I thought in your day you would have used punch cards first jim?

Also did you know the data will deteriorate on your floppy, hope you have backed it up!

 

[jimboalee]

I thought in your day you would have used punch cards first jim?

Also did you know the data will deteriorate on your floppy, hope you have backed it up!

In my day, they were called "Difference engines"..

 

[Sysagent]

And here is silly old me thinking that riding a bike was just a thing to enjoy...

;-)

 

[jimboalee]

And here is silly old me thinking that riding a bike was just a thing to enjoy...

;-)

The enjoyment is when you glance down and see 'Lap average' on your Garmin is just what it's supposed to be.