walkerr

Not something i've tried - just checking now ....

All good. I'm all for sharing ride info - will be good for everyone, and the hub is a natural landing point to start from. I reckon the existing sites will serve us better though if we use/link to them, rather than trying to create our own

Sorry guys - I disagree Having local content, forums, friends, route maps etc etc etc - I 100% agree on. But why does that mean an appropriate international site can't be used? Most of the big sites have already had to figure out how to create great tools, like phone apps for those without GPS, and also the nasty but important stuff about capacity for fluctuating peak demand, resilency, cloud hosting, backup etc. It might not seem like those matter, until the site is dead or down half the time. From what I can see, Strava, Connect, MapMyRide etc have all the features you need for local use - it's just the community aspect of making sure they get used and people know about them. That's more about promoting and sharing knowledge on them. Creating sites as good as these will be a serious and expensive challenge, why repeat it just to re-invent the wheel. Why not just post links to rides you do with them? I also like the fact I get to share rides and experiences with buddies who live overseas and also love cycling. Just my view - YMMV

I use Garmin Connect as my backup to store every ride - it's ok, not fancy, does let you create and share routes and activities. Recently I started using Strava as well - it has a different feel and focus to Connect, and so far I'm liking it a lot. There seem to be quite a few other WC riders on there (I assume the same goes for other provinces). What is nice is the "segments" feature that lets you compare sections of your ride (e.g. hill climbs) with other riders. When you upload a ride, it automatically finds segments you or other people created and shows you how you did on them. It also doesn't need a Garmin - if you have an iPhone or Android (i think) they have an app to log rides. I also looked at MapMyRide - looks good, but didn't seem to offer anything unique I wasn't already getting from Connect and Strava. I used FitTrack for this last road ride season - not bad either, and I liked the "fitness score" feature, but aside from that there wasn't enough extra to make it worth the extra time to log to another site. If you are a Momentum health customer it may be worthwhile for fitness points though. I'll continue to use both though Strava and Connect for now, just so I have a backup in case one dies off.

Maybe you should look at one of these ... http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01455/water-bike_1455866i.jpg

Very true - you clearly have experience of summer in the UK !

That design would look nice for LEL - with the French flag swopped for Union Jack, or even separate England and Scotland flags. Also ... for me, as a Brit it means I get to have my home and birth country flags on my back ...

Truly a thing to be proud of ....

Amen to that !

Not to take this too far off topic - check this out though http://basinmtb.com/2012-cape-country-mtb-tour-invitation/ Seems like an "alternative Epic" may be in the works for those without the cash, or looking for the old "from here to there" spirit of an actual journey.

Condolences on having to pull out - but huge respect for pushing on as far as you could after the fall. You've clearly got the right stuff for the Epic ...

Haven't tried downloading other peoples routes, but I also use Strava to compare routes and rides with friends.

It can be for sure .... but I'm not convinced that will allow the GPS to override the sensor if the sensor is still present, but giving bad data due to magnet slippage. Everything I've read suggests not, although my magnet slip wasn't when set on auto so I can't be sure. I know my exact wheel circumference because I measured it - so unless auto offers this extra feature, I'll stick to manual

Interesting, ta. One thing tempting me to mount my nuvi 500 on bike, despite being big and bluky, is the highly vis screen - plus I can have a voice prompt shout "turn right" at me if I'm falling asleep after a few 100kms and start to wander off route. Plus I have one already .... so no extra $$$ needed. Battery life is a bit of a close call though for a whole night's cycling. Also - read quite a few people who broke the nuvi 500 bike mount in use, which on our potholed roads seems a bit iffy too.

Congrats on an "Epic" generalisation there ...

Nice pic - making me very envious, 2015 seems a lifetime away still!

Now you're talking - count me in (assuming ex-pat Brits living in SA are eligible to be considered for an SA team). Jerseys?

Haha - fair point. I am a bit of an obsessive planner. Would it make you more or less nervous if I told you my new Ti frame for audax use should be arriving from UK in next couple of weeks? Did I mention I was obsessive ... ?

I haven't tried this ... but ... p33 (Data Management section) of the full users manual (PDF) i got with mine describes how to load .tcx and .fit files to the unit. p14 also describes following a course too. I'm guessing the two can join up and you can follow a course that was uploaded, not just one you captured and saved from the unit itself. Like I say - haven't tried it though

Read that too - no mapping, but can follow uploaded courses. Haven't tried it, sure it was in manual though. Have you tried that then when the sensor goes on the blink (slipped magnet etc)? I setup mine with a wheel measurement not auto, and when the magnet slipped the GPS didn't take over for speed/distance. Garmin told me it couldn't, but I haven't tried it with Auto for wheel size though. I'm guessing a magnet going out of alignment during a ride will still cause bad readings.

Cool cheers for feedback guys - although now you're making me think it sounds like good option, which is gonna cost me $$$

Please post some good news / upbeat stories someone ..... it's pooza Thursday My personal experience so far differs. I moved here from UK 5 years ago - in that time, none of my friends here have been attacked or had problems. I've had 3 friends in Uk robbed. Someone was murdered on street corner we lived on in London (which was a good area), and friend of a friend was murdered in Germany. Not dissing you guys @GoG or @GuyP at all - I know sh*t happens here, but it can elsewhere too.

Very true - if I'd taken them seriously, I'd never have bought the 500. Now I've got one, I can't believe how so many people can struggle with it so much. For me, it's been darned near ideal compared to what I wanted from it.

Cheers - I've got an SON dynamo hub for audax use, so charging shouldn't be a problem. The issue is I need a whole night run without a charge. I went with the smaller dynamo, which at night only really has enough juice to run my light. So I need the GPS to run through the night on it's own battery, then I can charge from dynamo during the day when it's not needed for the light. Ta for the feedback - 13 hrs should be plenty. Edit - fixed bad wording!

Top guy - will be going in to see him after he's finished (hopefully) as he's building some wheels up for me. Doing anything MTB on SS deserves big respect in my book.