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Data Overload

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Data Overload

Old 09-08-23, 09:46 AM
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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.
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Old 09-08-23, 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Caveman
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 ride with all possible stats (HR, PM, cadence, speed, etc.) but don't check any of them during my rides except my speed.

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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Old 09-08-23, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
Does it have the spinning cable and the spider which engages with your spokes?
Yup! And it needs a bolt-on axle--none of this new-fangled quick-release stuff. Which of course requires bringing along a couple of wrenches

I'm not sure it's called "red lining" either. It's now a faded orange.
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Old 09-08-23, 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted by RChung
It's good that you don't let your own data spoil the zen of your ride but it sounds like others' data does spoil the zen of your ride. That doesn't sound very zen.
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.
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Old 09-08-23, 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Caveman
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.
Seeking data, as it were.
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Old 09-08-23, 10:39 AM
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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!
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Old 09-08-23, 11:17 AM
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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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Old 09-08-23, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by genejockey
Seeking data, as it were.
I ride with him often.
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Old 09-08-23, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Caveman
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?
Garmin?!? You capitalistic pig! I still use a CatEye cycle computer (albeit a wireless one) and go out on unsupported tours of up to two weeks with paper cue sheets clipped to my bars.
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Old 09-08-23, 11:36 AM
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
Just curious: where is the redline and what happens if you go over it?
You go into the Kenny Loggins zone.
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Old 09-08-23, 12:11 PM
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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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Old 09-08-23, 01:24 PM
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My data reassure me that I exist.
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Old 09-08-23, 02:39 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
My data reassure me that I exist.
Descartes said, "I think therefore I am" but evidence shows that there are an awful lot of people who exist but don't think.
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Old 09-08-23, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
Just curious: where is the redline and what happens if you go over it?
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.
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Old 09-08-23, 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RChung
Descartes said, "I think therefore I am" but evidence shows that there are an awful lot of people who exist but don't think.
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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Old 09-08-23, 11:16 PM
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Today’s ride. Any questions?






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Old 09-09-23, 05:07 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
Just curious: where is the redline and what happens if you go over it?

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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Old 09-09-23, 07:54 PM
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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.
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Old 09-09-23, 11:53 PM
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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.
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Old 09-10-23, 03:59 PM
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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.
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Old 09-10-23, 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Caveman
So am I the only anti data rider here?
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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Old 09-12-23, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by genejockey
Seeking data, as it were.
Touche
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Old 09-12-23, 09:32 AM
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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.
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Old 09-12-23, 09:01 PM
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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.
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