Data Overload
#26
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
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I ride with a head unit with speed, cadence, HR and distance. But I've been doing it for so long that it's just part of the ride, not something that distracts from it. It's like all the gauges in your car - when you start driving, there's too much data. Once you've been doing it a while, monitoring it is almost below conscious thought.
But chacun à son goût.
But chacun à son goût.
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Sometimes I feel like I'm the only guy that just rides. I don't train so I couldn't care less about watts, route maps, Strava or almost anything else. I do have a basic Garmin GPS I use to keep track of the basic data for the ride I'm on. Distance, avg speed, elapsed time, feet climbed, time of day, etc. I don't store any data. I don't care what I did last week, last month or last year. My GPS is capable of downloading routes but I don't bother. I either just wander or follow the guy in front of me. Worrying about data spoils the zen of my ride. Sometimes I feel good. Sometimes I don't. That's all I need to know. So am I the only anti data rider here? Anybody else just ride for the day and stay in the moment?
I am not an anti-data but I am not a data freak. I like to consult them after the ride and check trends on a monthly or annual basis.
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I'm not sure it's called "red lining" either. It's now a faded orange.
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#29
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Nope. I don't care what other people do or don't do. I was just curious as to whether or not I'm a data outlier.
#30
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#31
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I'm the opposite - I love analyzing the data. It takes all kind to make a world. When I ride my MTB, I mostly ride unplugged. But, having more data to look at is part of the pleasure for me. Similarly, I enjoy planning and executing my training. Must be a "Type A" thing.
It takes all kinds!
It takes all kinds!
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
#32
Senior Member
I'm a no-data cyclist. Although I have a basic cycle computer on my bike, I only use the clock feature and the distance feature. Occasionally, I check to see how fast I am going. The only other equipment I have on my handlebar is a bell to alert pedestrians on the various bike paths I ride on. I also ring it when I go through tunnels just to hear it reverberate.
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#34
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Sometimes I feel like I'm the only guy that just rides. I don't train so I couldn't care less about watts, route maps, Strava or almost anything else. I do have a basic Garmin GPS I use to keep track of the basic data for the ride I'm on. Distance, avg speed, elapsed time, feet climbed, time of day, etc. I don't store any data. I don't care what I did last week, last month or last year. My GPS is capable of downloading routes but I don't bother. I either just wander or follow the guy in front of me. Worrying about data spoils the zen of my ride. Sometimes I feel good. Sometimes I don't. That's all I need to know. So am I the only anti data rider here? Anybody else just ride for the day and stay in the moment?

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I have it all on my bikes. I don't know what any of it does. I just like gadgets and gizmos.
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#37
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My data reassure me that I exist.
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It was not a good feeling for my HR to be that high, was on a steep climb on a warm day. For my age group, sustaining that level for any period of time can send you into tachycardia, which is what it started to feel like based on descriptions. I don't have a heart condition, but I would be careful to go that high again. I had to pull off the climb and take a break.
#40
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Are we sure they exist? Perhaps they're just figments of your imagination. For that matter, maybe you're just a figment of mine...
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
#41
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Today’s ride. Any questions?









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Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
”Your lips move but I can’t hear what your saying” DG
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
”Your lips move but I can’t hear what your saying” DG
Last edited by rsbob; 09-08-23 at 11:20 PM.
#42
pan y agua
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It gets recorded as an over rev, and shows up on an ecm report, reducing the resale value of the vehicle.
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You could get lost and die.
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OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
#43
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When I started riding again I started keeping track of miles, average mph, blood sugar and blood pressure, etc. as a motivation to get serious (it was in July 2020, when nobody knew if they'd get another year on Earth or not). I have a CatEye speedometer on each bike, and felt that was enough, but then just bought a FitBit mainly as a heart monitor, out of curiosity. Haven't tried it yet.
#44
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I'll admit it - I'm a data lover. Can't say I really use it for training purposes, and I don't monitor it much while I'm riding - I just love being able to see where I've been and what I've done after the fact. It's not just cycling for me though, I've always liked collecting data of various sorts - walking, running, cycling, body weight, books read, personal charts for music listening, etc.
For me the data is just something that makes my other pursuits more enjoyable. I also happen to be someone who has always had fairly poor memory, which may be a subconscious factor that makes external record of these things more valuable to me.
For me the data is just something that makes my other pursuits more enjoyable. I also happen to be someone who has always had fairly poor memory, which may be a subconscious factor that makes external record of these things more valuable to me.
#45
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I removed my basic comouter a couple of years ago and I don't miss it.
Like you, I just ride, don't train and just want some peace and quiet
. I find myself enjoying my rides a lot more without needing all of that input.
Like you, I just ride, don't train and just want some peace and quiet
. I find myself enjoying my rides a lot more without needing all of that input.
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#46
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I carry no electronics with me when I ride. My only quantifiable goal is that I want to ride more than 100 miles a week, a goal that I rarely miss. I'm not training, I'm riding for exercise, and don't care to keep track of anything but my mileage. And, I don't even record that. I just remember how many miles I've covered in the past seven days. I can tell you how many miles I've covered in the past week, but can only estimate how many I've covered in the past year.
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#47
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My watch records everything I need to keep track of for consumables mileage. Other than that, I might look at HR data occasionally.
#49
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I have turned into sort of a data junky. Garmin 530 with PM, HRM, etc. etc. I totally enjoy comparing notes with previous rides. TBH it's sort of part of the bicycling hobby for me. I'm also consciously trying to get off this plateau I've been on for way too long and trying to increase my fitness level. Having that data really helps. The funny thing is that up to about 7 years ago all I would have cared about is how far I rode and even then it would be just a guess.