Short term goals

[Crickey7]

Clearly, mileage goals should not be the sole focus. Style points count, too. Courteous passes, length of trackstand, bunnyhopping curbs and consecutive rides without negative driver interactions all count in that category.

[lordofthemark]

I neglected two areas of goals – maintenance, and advocacy

I want to learn to do more bike mtnce – yesterday I managed to fix my bell, by fiddling with the spring. Next step should probably be lubing the chain I guess.

I want to get to enough BPAC meetings to feel a good command for the issues in the City of Alexandria and work to support the work of the BPAC.

[worktheweb]

If you’re on Verizon, the new cool phone is the Droid Turbo, which may be what replaces my RAZR Maxx HD when the contract expires in December. It has a 3900 mAh battery (more than twice the capacity of most iPhones) that should last for 2 days on a charge plus and it can give you 8 hours of charge with 15 minutes on the charger. It also has a quad hd display, a 21 megapixel camera, kevlar woven into the back case, a fast processor, lots of storage space (32-64GB depending on which one you get), and all the stuff you’d expect. It is also “water resistant” and has bluetooth low energy (useful if you want to use a HRM or other sensor with Strava).

At first I was skeptical about Strava (I’m not a racer, I just commute a lot and love to tour) but I ended up loving it for the deluge of data it provides me about my rides and how I’m getting stronger as a rider. It breaks your ride into “segments” where you can compete against others and more important for me, yourself. Stoplights and traffic make total ride time not as meaningful as you’d like, but uninterrupted segments really show you how you’re progressing and make setting incremental goals a lot more fun and easy. Also, to help your goal of riding more, I find that tracking my miles and getting on the challenges on Strava helps motivate me to get on the bike more. I used to average 3 days a week, now I’m more like 4-5 days a week. Since I’ve started using it (after many years of riding without it) I’ve gotten noticeably stronger and faster and it has added an element of fun into the mix. YMMV.

[Vicegrip]

I would not get a phone with the intent of tracking rides. Get a basic Garmin Edge and be free of charges or worry about battery life. The edge is waterproof, sturdy, small and bar mount and will give you information as you ride.

Having others to ride with is a great way to motivate yourself. I mostly ride alone but I do enjoy group rides. Time and miles shrink when in good company.

A big meal in the middle of a ride drains me. A good meal After a Ride is a true joy.

[lordofthemark]

I kind of think I need a smartphone anyway. More and more things in life seem to assume you have one. So I might as well get one that works for biking.

[rcannon100]

Cheater alternative. Buy a smart phone (wifi enabled). Buy a phone + texting, but NOT data plan. Your smart phone should
* work as a phone all the time
* work as a GPS (strava) all the time
* work as a data phone whenever you are in a wifi cloud

[DismalScientist]

@lordofthemark 98459 wrote:

.So I might as well get one that works for biking.

They all do. (At least Android and iPhones.) Mounting options may vary. I use my pocket.

[DismalScientist]

@rcannon100 98460 wrote:

Cheater alternative. Buy a smart phone (wifi enabled). Buy a phone + texting, but NOT data plan. Your smart phone should
* work as a phone all the time
* work as a GPS (strava) all the time
* work as a data phone whenever you are in a wifi cloud

This may not be helpful if you need a map and are not on wifi. Or if you absolutely have to surf the net without wifi.

[rcannon100]

My understanding is that maps have been working without data as well (they need GPS). Not sure how that works – but that is what I have been told. Might depend which map app you use.

[Crickey7]

@DismalScientist 98462 wrote:

This may not be helpful if you need a map and are not on wifi. Or if you absolutely have to surf the net without wifi.

As someone who once disassembled a complicated bike part and forgot how it went back together, I concur.

[jrenaut]

@rcannon100 98463 wrote:

My understanding is that maps have been working without data as well (they need GPS). Not sure how that works – but that is what I have been told. Might depend which map app you use.

Good luck getting a phone without a data plan. I’m pretty sure Verizon won’t let you do that, though other carriers might.

[DismalScientist]

I think map apps have a low resolution map of the world internal to the app. GPS units with detailed maps of the US have a couple GBs of storage to hold the map data. For a map app to not require a data connection would require that the app take a couple of GBs of storage on your phone.

[DismalScientist]

@Crickey7 98464 wrote:

As someone who once disassembled a complicated bike part and forgot how it went back together, I concur.

Buy less complicated bikes.:rolleyes:

[rcannon100]

@jrenaut 98466 wrote:

Good luck getting a phone without a data plan. I’m pretty sure Verizon won’t let you do that, though other carriers might.

Just buy the phone (for example, unlocked Samsung Android). You dont need to buy a phone from a carrier. If you want an iphone, buy it from Apple (just make sure the phone is compatible with different networks). It is really easy and is known as BYOD (Bring your own Device).

[jrenaut]

@rcannon100 98469 wrote:

Just buy the phone. You dont need to buy a phone from a carrier. If you want an iphone, buy it from Apple (just make sure the phone is compatible with different networks). It is really easy and is known as BYOD (Bring your own Device).

I still don’t think Verizon will let it on their network without a data plan, but I could be wrong.

[Author]

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