Bike computer addiction? It's real

One of the fun things about going on a ride with plenty of climbing is keeping track of how much altitude you gain on your Garmin or whatever bike computer you have. My cycling buddy John uses his phone to get his ride metrics but it doesn’t calculate climb footage. So when we planned to go on one of his favorite local climb rides he said he was looking forward to finding out from my Garmin just how much climbing is in the 40-mile ride. But as we took off, my Garmin gave a low battery reading, and sure enough, after less than a mile, it died. I don’t know how that happened, I usually unplug the thing from a charger after it hits 100% charged. Somehow, though, it didn’t get charged and so the only stat we really wanted from the ride that day, would remain a mystery. We figure its about 4K feet of climb, but hey, we want the official reading. I kicked myself for not having the Garmin road ready, but it was definitely some fluke, because that’s only happened once before in the years I’ve had the thing.

So we started in on the ride and I kept looking down at the Garmin to see a blank screen. Aaaargggh!

Talk about realizing how addicted I am to its metrics during the ride! Uh, how fast am I going? I peek down. Blank… Uh how far have we ridden? I look down. Blank. Ughh.. Pissed, I was! Not easy to let it go when you’re a stat addict!

But before long John and I pedaled hard up some nasty steep road, and deep breathing took my mind off the goofy Garmin obsession. Soon enough I realized, hey, this really isn’t the end of the world, just calm the hell down, get a grip, and ride, OK? Uhh….ok.

Really weird, though, to realize how much I love to know the stats of a ride during and after. I wonder if I’d miss it if I stopped having the Garmin on rides altogether. It kinda feels like a gut punch when something you use a lot, a routine, go-to thing, is suddenly gone or not functioning. It’s a little like the feeling of losing your smart phone. I did that once, and I literally was thrown into a queasy, stomach churning Shakey Jake for a few hours.

So now I’m definitely gonna make SURE the Garmin is fully charged before each ride. This, at least in theory, will eliminate the angst of a blank dead battery screen. Because, uh, that just plain sucks!

Finding gas in the tank

The day after the climbing ride I did a mainly flat ride just to rack up my miles for the week. Lactic acid was still in the legs so I didn’t have much firepower for an up tempo ride.

But on the last 16 or so miles of the ride, I got passed by another rider. I decided to pick up the pace and try to get on his wheel. I did so, and stayed with his 20 mph pace for a couple miles. It was great, I rode fast, but with the much lighter work load afforded by drafting. Before this guy passed me, another guy in a jersey with a yellow and blue Swedish flag on it has passed me going around 20. I didn’t have the energy to chase for his wheel and the dude just got smaller and small until I couldn’t see him anymore. When I drafted the second guy, I figured if we worked together we could catch Sweden guy. I felt rested and ready to go, though, so I passed the guy I drafted and hammered it hard. After awhile, I looked back and he wasn’t there. At that point I had a great pace going, the legs were warmed up and banging it. And lo and behold, off in the distance I saw Sweden guy’s yellow and blue jersey. He was still pretty far ahead, but I thought, what the hell, see if you can reel him in. It’s amazing how having a rabbit like that can really focus you. I just worked on keeping a 20-22 mph pace, trying not to think too much about whether I’d catch the dude or not. But as I checked occasionally, I could tell I was closing the gap on Sweden guy, who wasn’t pedaling at the pace he was earlier. The closer I got, the more surge I had in my legs, and right after a short dip and small incline, I rode past him.

But he got inspired to speed up and he wasn’t too far behind me. There were two miles left and I figured I’d just try to stay in front as long as I could. I expected him to rest and pass me back if he could. Right before the last straightaway, he rode up next to me and commented on what a nice day it was to ride. I agreed. Warm, not hot, slightly overcast. No wind.

“You from Sweden?” I asked.

“No, just have family there.”

“That’s where my family’s from.”

“Oh yeah, where?”

“Goteborg.”

“Oh yeah, my family lives in a town near there. Beautiful country.”

“Yes.”

“Except in the winter!”

I turned off the trail, and Midnight Sun dude did too, passing me as I slowed down to catch my breath. It was a great way to finish a ride, which for the first two thirds, was just an ordinary, long, tired-leg ride. But it was great to get out of the doldrums in the final miles by hooking into a couple of faster riders. The best part to me is when you ask your body to pick up the pace and bang it after a lot of fairly slow miles, and it does… it answers the call to haul! That, to me, is one of the best feelings in cycling! You go to the well, and find energy and pedal power you didn’t know you had.

Til next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down, ride safely and don’t forget: Have a blast.

-- Mark Eric Larson