Short term goals

[mstone]

@DismalScientist 98467 wrote:

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.

If you’re on android look at Locus and then download open street map vector files. I keep Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania on my phone all the time and download other places as needed. This is something you should do if you take long rides even with a data plan, as there are places with no cell coverage. Yeah, it takes some space, but space is pretty cheap these days. The map files are a lot smaller than video and much more useful if you’re lost in the boonies.

Edit to add: just to put some numbers on it, DE MD PA VA WV together take <300MB on my 32G SD card.

[rcannon100]

@jrenaut 98472 wrote:

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

Verizon BYOD

B
FCC Guy

[lordofthemark]

@rcannon100 98469 wrote:

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).

So $140 versus (maybe) free on black friday. thats $7 a month over the life of the contract, which is an offset to the savings by skipping the data plan. Plus the places I will need the data plan when I don’t have WiFi.

[jrenaut]

@rcannon100 98474 wrote:

Verizon BYOD

B
FCC Guy

Ahh, right, I keep forgetting you’re at FCC. Aren’t prepaid plans terrible deals they can force on you because they assume you have crummy credit or else you’d be on a regular plan? Also, we’re currently pretty far off topic even for this board. Although I am interested to hear your thoughts on Verizon, Title II, and meaningful broadband competition in the US…

[rcannon100]

You can join my email discussion group cybertelecom-l if you want. For lots of babble, see my hobby site cybertelecom.org

Prepaid plans can be excellent ways of keeping your costs down and limiting out of control expenses. With monthly subscription plans, this is when you get the surprise bill for $2000 because you roamed over the canadian board or because the kid in the back of the car played angry birds and bought lots of in game purchases. With a prepaid plan, your monthly charge is fixed. And if something goes wrong, the worse it can hurt is the amount of money you have in your plan.

That said, carriers will BYOD for subscription plans as well.

[hozn]

+1 for BYOD.

I have a Moto G Google phone with Straight Talk (AT&T towers) month-to-month. At $45/phone for unlimited everything this saved $50/month over the lowest-grade family plan for my wife and I. Never going back to cell phone contracts.

If you already have Verizon devices, I think Virgin Mobile USA works with those. http://www.virginmobileusa.com/

Edit: But I agree with Vicegrip; I wouldn’t buy a smartphone to use as a ride recording device. There are much better purpose-built devices out there.

[lordofthemark]

1. Commuting – Now commuting 1x per week, and have commuted 2x in a week. Goal – Commute 2x per week on regular basis, and 3x in a week at least once

I have lately been commuting 1.5 to 2 times per week, did 2.5 commutes one week. Goal is still to do at least 2x per week every week, and 3x per week at least once.

2. Speed – get the time for my commute to equal the transit commute on a bad (but not catastrophic) transit day – about 55 minutes. Best time so far was just short of 60 minutes, I think.

I am getting to work in under 55 minutes pretty regularly. About 53 minutes moving time. Goal is to break 50 minute? Going home (more uphill) I have been doing it less than an hour moving time.

3. Distance – I want to ride 50 miles in one day. Longest so far about 39 miles I think.

Rode 58 miles this Saturday. Next goal is a to do 100km.

4. Organized ride – ride a couple of the casual biking group beginner rides, or a bike shop beginner ride, or something similar. So far the only organized ride I did was part of the WABA city cycling class.

I have done a couple of pedals and pints rides, the WABA/REI ride on the MBT. Want to do more of these.

5. Competitions etc – Get a smart phone (probably on black Friday), download Strava, and decide which competition or challenge makes sense for me.

Enjoyed Freezing Saddles, which is a main reason I got a good start on my other goals.

[Vicegrip]

@jrenaut 98476 wrote:

Ahh, right, I keep forgetting you’re at FCC. Aren’t prepaid plans terrible deals they can force on you because they assume you have crummy credit or else you’d be on a regular plan? Also, we’re currently pretty far off topic even for this board. Although I am interested to hear your thoughts on Verizon, Title II, and meaningful broadband competition in the US…

Verizon prepaid monthly plan no contract you own the phone. I phone 4s $100 certified pre owned. The phones are rebuilt with new screens and bodies, look and work like new. The plan is $45 month with unlimited talk and text some data. The 4s will do All the stuff you need and then some. Good phone good carrer with good coverage put the phone in a good case and it looks just like the new ones in their cases. Set up auto pay and you are all done

[lordofthemark]

goal update (this is mostly to keep track of this for myself)

1. Commuting – Now commuting 1x per week, and have commuted 2x in a week. Goal – Commute 2x per week on regular basis, and 3x in a week at least once

I have lately been commuting 1.5 to 2 times per week, did 2.5 commutes one week. Goal is still to do at least 2x per week every week, and 3x per week at least once.

Since the spring I have been commuting 2 to 2.5 commutes a week, almost every week. Commuted 3 times a couple of times, and 5 times during BTWW. So goal met. Next goal is to commute 3 times a week regularly. Fall seems the optimal time for that.

2. Speed – get the time for my commute to equal the transit commute on a bad (but not catastrophic) transit day – about 55 minutes. Best time so far was just short of 60 minutes, I think.

I am getting to work in under 55 minutes pretty regularly. About 53 minutes moving time. Goal is to break 50 minute? Going home (more uphill) I have been doing it less than an hour moving time.

Now making it in under 50 minutes moving time pretty regularly, and home less than 55 minutes. Another way, I have been riding(the whole way) at 12 to 12.9 MPH inbound regularly, and over 11MPH outbound. So goal met. Next goal is to break 13MPH on the inbound ride.

3. Distance – I want to ride 50 miles in one day. Longest so far about 39 miles I think.

Rode 58 miles this Saturday. Next goal is a to do 100km.

Have not done a really long weekend ride since then.

[lordofthemark]

Update. No particular progress on the commute goal or the speed goal, but did do the 100 km ride. Still hoping to get upto 3x a week commuting in the Spring (for winter, lets say 1x per week (I was managing that the first couple of weeks of the year, but this week looks like a miss) and to up my speeds. For distance – next goal is to Purcellville and back on the W&OD, which will be 90 miles.

In 2015 I rode a total of over 2,100 miles, so my goal for that is to increase it. At least 2500 miles? I am already at 103 miles for January, which is more than my total for January 2015, so I am on track for that.

On maintenance – I have lubed my bike chain myself. I need to learn more about tire repair as the next logical step, I guess.

[huskerdont]

If one year is ST, then I want to ride 4500 miles this year. Year after year I seem to end up in the 4200 to 4300 range.

[Drewdane]

Right now I’d just be satisfied with finding my cold-weather tights!

[lordofthemark]

Since Komorebi asked at coffee club, thought I would update this.

Commuting – have been riding more like 2 to 3 times a week through the summer. Last couple of weeks, four times a week. The proliferating coffee clubs do help!

Total miles – at well over 2100 now, 2500 should be easy – 3000 would be more of stretch goal.

Longest one day ride – did 92 miles back in June. In warm weather. 100 miles should be quite doable – but since I need most of a day to do it, it depends very much on QOTM’s schedule.

Organized group rides – I finally did a regional “name” ride, even if I wimped out and did 13 colonies, not 50 states. Also did the Potomac Pedalars Arlington Loop ride. I don’t think I will be doing one of the big group rides before winter though.

Speed – Well good and bad. I have been more consistently doing the commute above 12.5 MPH, and the ride home above 11MPH. But even with the new (yes MelloYello, I am committed to them, will PM you about payment) tires, while I feel faster and have been breaking PRs on strava segments, I have yet to hit 13MPH for my entire commute in (or even the Shirlington-Navy Yard piece) Some of that is just finding a day with perfect conditions in terms of temp, wind, personal focus, not carrying anything I don’t need to – but largely it will probably improve when I get a floor pump/gauge to more accurately measure tire pressure.

Maintenance – I feel I have mostly gotten the hang of both changing tires and fixing flats – ‘installing things like fenders and a rack is probably easier, but I still haven’t done it yet. Since my bike room has a wheel truing thingie, I think maybe I want to try doing that.

[hozn]

@lordofthemark 146331 wrote:

‘installing things like fenders and a rack is probably easier, but I still haven’t done it yet.

Actually installing racks and fenders is usually a pain in the butt, since even on the “easy” ones, it almost always requires bending and/or trimming stays and other “hacks” to get them right distance from the tire, rattle-free, etc.

[BobCochran]

@hozn 146353 wrote:

Actually installing racks and fenders is usually a pain in the butt, since even on the “easy” ones, it almost always requires bending and/or trimming stays and other “hacks” to get them right distance from the tire, rattle-free, etc.

Well said. Precisely.

[Author]

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