KingAnt.net

The Device

I bought a new speed/distance computer for my new bike. There are a few large manufacturers of bike computers, but only CycleOps, Bontrager and Garmin support the ANT+ wireless protocol used by the DuoTrap speed/cadence sensor designed for my bike. I eliminated the CycleOps Joule 2.0 because it’s the same price as Garmin’s top of the line model but doesn’t include GPS. I eliminated the Garmin Edge 200 because it doesn’t support power meters, and I might want to buy a power meter in the future.

This left the following candidates:

• Bontrager Node 1 Digital
• Bontrager Node 2 Digital
• Garmin Edge 500
• Garmin Edge 800

The Bontrager computers look like solid products at good prices, but I decided to geek out and go with Garmin Edge 800 (more info: absurdly long review, shorter review). I also bought the Bontrager DuoTrap speed/cadence sensor. I didn’t get a heart rate monitor or power meter.

I’m happy with it. I’ve uploaded my rides to Strava, which is pretty awesome. I especially like that it compares your rides to each other and to other cyclists’ rides, and highlights personal records and overall records.

The Map

The bare bones version of the device includes only a base map, which lists major roads but not smaller streets. Useless.

I was reluctant to fork over $80 for Garmin’s complete US street map, so I looked for alternatives. One great option comes care of the OpenStreetMap project. I bought a blank microSD card, downloaded a huge .img file, copied it to the SD card and put it in the device.

It worked, but I wasn’t able to search for streets or cities on the device. I also wanted to be able to pre-create routes on my desktop and transfer them to the device. You can do this using Garmin’s BaseCamp software, but you must first register the map with the software. There are a few ways to do this, but none of them are easy if all you have is a .img file.

After more digging I discovered http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/. You pick which sections of the world you’re interested in, then it crunches some numbers and emails you a link to download a handy Windows installer. It works really well.

Complaints

My only complaint so far is that auto-rerouting generally doesn’t do what I want. I went off-route once and it auto-rerouted me using the shortest path to my final destination, which wasn’t what I wanted at all. I wanted it to take me back to beautiful rolling hills of the Santa Cruz mountains—not through the city streets of Cupertino.

Edit:
I realized that, with auto-rerouting turned off, the navigation does exactly what I want—it directs me back to my route.

Old Bike

I’ve been riding the same 2003 Fuji Silhouette since August 24, 2003. It’s served me well. I paid $500 for it and have ridden 8900 miles (averaging 1100 miles/year). I rode it to computer science classes at NCSU and to the traverse wall. I’ve biked across North Carolina. From Mountain View to Los Angeles. From Eureka to San Francisco (blog post 1, blog post 2). Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge 7 times. Crossed the Dumbarton Bridge once. Completed 6 centuries.

(Side note: There is one inaccuracy on the bikepedia page I linked to above. The page says the spoke nipples were brass, but mine were definitely aluminum. I’m still using the original front wheel and I can’t adjust the spoke tension on many of the spokes because the aluminum nipples are corroded and rounded.)

Impetus

I’ve wanted drop handlebars for a few years, for better handling, especially on descents. I also wanted a carbon frame and fork instead of aluminum, to dampen rough roads. And I wanted something a little lighter. My belief is that these things make riding more enjoyable.

Shopping

Bike shops tend to put their 2011 models on sale in the fall, to shrink their inventory in preparation for their 2012 lineup. I visited 6 bike shops and tested 4 bikes. The first bike I tested was a Trek Madone 5.1 with SRAM Rival components. Maybe the build was goofy, but I wasn’t a fan of the shifters and hoods. They felt a little cheap and fragile. And DoubleTap felt unnatural to me. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance.

I rode a 2011 Focus Cayo 1.0 that was priced at $2400. I liked the appearance a lot, and I like that Focus is a smaller brand. But the Cayo lacked internal cable routing and wasn’t as light as I wanted. It also had a smaller bottom bracket than the bike I ended up with.

I rode a 2011 Cannondale Supersix 3 that was priced at $2700. This bike was a very close second.

New bike

I settled on a 2011 Trek Madone 5.2 56cm, on sale for $2750. Trek doesn’t list the weight for this bike, but I think it’s around 16.5 lbs. I chose it over the SuperSix 3 because the Trek has a larger bottom bracket, the frame seems to be more reinforced around the bottom bracket, and all things being equal I feel like Trek has more experience developing Carbon frames.

A nice feature that I probably should have taken into account is that the Trek has a slot in the left chainstay to insert a wireless speed and cadence sensor. Normally this would have to be strapped to the frame. Having it internal in the chainstay makes for less clutter, and that pleases my “simplicity at all costs” mentality.

Old Shoes

I’ve been using the same awful $40 Shimano mountain biking shoes since 2003. On the plus side the cleats are recessed quite a bit, which makes walking easier. On the minus side, they’re heavy, lace-up (laces + spinning gears = danger), and tend to cut off circulation in my feet on long, cold rides.

New Pedals and Shoes

Higher-end bikes generally don’t come with pedals. There are a few different types of pedals, and riders generally have a preferred pedal type. Rather than offer their bikes with every possible combination of pedals, manufacturers expect riders to provide their own.

I bought Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals and Sidi Genius 5 Pro Carbon shoes. I’d heard good things about Sidi and they fit me well, so I bought them.

(Side note: Similar to pedals, riders also often have a preferred saddle (aka seat), so manufacturers generally don’t include high-end saddles on their bikes.)

I rode a total of 384.88 miles in 33 hours 8 minutes over 6 days. That’s an average speed of 11.62 mph. There are some low quality pictures on Flickr, with a little day-by-day commentary.

I camped the last two nights and met 10 or 12 other cyclists doing the same route as me (though most of them were going a lot further). I assume that means there are around 10 cyclists riding each leg of the Pacific coast on any given day during the peak months (spring and fall).

No flat tires and no major mechanical issues. One of the screws holding the cleat on my left shoe fell out somewhere along the way and I became unable to unclip because when I twisted my foot the cleat stayed stationary and only the shoe rotated. I was able to stop at a bike shop about 10 miles later and they put in a new screw.

Highlights:

• Avenue of the Giants
• Crossing the mountains from Leggett to the coast on highway 1, and the road south of there until about Inglenook (where traffic picked up)
• Highway 1 from Tomales to Point Reyes Station

In 2009 I biked from Mountain View to Los Angeles. Starting this coming weekend I’ll be biking from Eureka, CA to home. I’m expecting 5 or 6 days of riding, around 60 miles per day. My goal with this post is to convey the logistics of this ride.

Preparation

Well I’ve been riding a lot, obviously. Almost every weekend for the past two months. I replaced my old, worn bike tires with new, shiny ones because getting a flat tires in the middle of nowhere sucks. I also replaced both inner tubes. I bought additional spare inner tubes. And a multi-tool. And knee warmers because it might be cloudy and chilly riding near the coast and my knees feel better when they’re not cold. I put my rear rack on my bike again. I’ll be using the same two rear panniers from my last trip.

The Route

I’ll be following Adventure Cycling Association’s Pacific Coast map again. It basically follows highways 101 and 1. My plan is to stay overnight in Eureka, Garberville, Fort Bragg, Anchor Bay and Bodega Bay. Motels in the first three towns and camping in the latter two. I’ll be taking a Greyhound bus to Eureka. I haven’t decided whether I’ll take Caltrain back home once I get to the Bay, or if I’ll spend the night somewhere near San Francisco and bike home the next day.

A Typical Day

Wake up whenever. I’ll be near the coast much of the route, so I’m not expecting it to get hot during the day, so there’s no need to wake up early. Eat a light breakfast–maybe some fruit, cereal or bread–then start biking.

I certainly won’t be trying to break any speed records. I like to take my time and look around. I also expect to have to stop and look at the map maybe every 10 miles. I’ll want to keep in mind the name of the next road I’ll be turning on and how far away it is. If I’ll be riding through a small town I might try to find a restaurant for lunch. Preferably somewhere casual, where people won’t be offended if I’m sweaty and wearing cycling clothes. Otherwise I’ll make a few stops throughout the day and snack on whatever I’ve brought with me.

Upon arriving in the destination town I’ll first check in to the hotel or campground. I’ll take a shower if possible and change into normal clothes, then find somewhere appealing for dinner. After dinner I’ll head back to hotel or camp, read a book and probably go to sleep early.

What I’m Bringing

In case you haven’t lost interest yet, here’s a list of what I’ll be taking with me.

• Bike
• Helmet with tail light attached to it
• Two rear panniers, and maybe a trunk bag
• CamelBak backpack with 3 liter reservoir
• Two water bottles
• Wind breaker
• Arm warmers
• Knee warmers
• Gloves
• Sun glasses
• Clear glasses (for riding in the rain or at night)
• Sunscreen
• Three spare tire tubes
• Patch kit
• Tire levers
• Hand pump
• A multi-tool
• Spoke wrench
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad
• Tent
• Small pillow
• Small towel
• Flip flops
• Tennis shoes
• Bike shoes
• Two pairs of bike shorts
• Three bike jerseys
• 6 pairs of socks
• Underwear
• 1 pair of shorts
• 2 or 3 shirts
• Lightweight down jacket
• Phone
• Phone charger
• Map
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Contacts
• Contact solution
• Glasses
• Glasses case
• Gu
• Clif Shot Bloks
• Cliff Bars
• Maybe some apples or pears
• Maybe a loaf of bread or baguette

Edit: I thought of some more stuff:

• Sleeping bag liner
• Headlamp
• Toilet paper
• Neosporin
• Titanium spork
• Fruit cups
• Pen

I removed tennis shoes from the list–they’re too big. I removed camp pillow the list–it’s too bulky and I can just use my towel or some clothes.