I just use mine for mileage. Sometimes, I like to check the max. speed after a fast downhill section.

However, I didn't even mount the computer this season and I haven't really missed it.

I usually just use mine for total distance,trip distance,and speed. I check my average speed after my ride just to see how i faired on the ride but there are a bunch of variables to consider.

Race-wise,i use my trip distance so i can count down until the finish and if there are any difficult spots in the route,i know exactly when to expect them. In time trials i pick an average speed that based on the previous race,will put me in a decent finishing position and i try to keep my current speed equal to or faster than it. On criteriums,i don't pay attention to the computer except once every 1-2 laps so i can count down until the final lap and pace myself.

Does that make sense?

Speeds an afterthought for me. I have a Garmin 500 and have heart rate and cadence displayed on screen one with elapsed time and actual time. I do not use the other three screens at all. The heart rate monitor is my key tool. I plan my rides based on heart rate average, say I want to be above or below a certain level.

Know what a woman watching the food channel and a man watching porn have in common?

They are both watching something they will never do.

+1, I also keep track of HR during trainer sessions in the winter to make sure I'm getting enough intensity. I don't use spread sheets, I use SportTracks.

For porn obviously. What a stupid question...........

Heh, I wish I had a computer that only said two things: OK, or HTFU.

My Garmin / Quarq combo is set up to only display one thing: my average speed.

And it beeps when I dial it up to 400W.

Well, yes ... if that's how you treat your paper maps, they will be destroyed.

Which is more minimalist? A simple plastic map case and paper map ... or a battery-powered computer system that tells you where you are?

I use it tu push harder on short flat ride. I show my avg for the ride and my current speed. My goal is to always keep my speed ahead of my avg. It's a way I found to push really hard on short rides (about 25kms). I start in the city with a lot of stop an go, so when I start rolling for real, my avg is at 19-20km/h, and get it up to 32-33 at which point it becomes really hard to keep up. When I reach my limit and fall under the avg, I just try to keep it above 30 for the rest of the ride (which is really good for me).

(I know some people will tell me it's just a dump technique and that I should to intervals and everything, but that's my fun to do this )

On my longer ride (~65kms, I just try to be around my avg on the ride (about 25km/h with a lot of climbing)

I don't use the battery powered system either. I simply get lost -- as if that's so bad

Well, that works too!

I've often gone out without maps too. One of my best centuries was completely accidental. I just started riding, and turned here, and turned there, and looked at this, and looked at that, and got a bit lost a couple times, and eventually made my way back home having completed 161 km.

I use my Garmin Edge 705 for "everything": speed, cadence, power, ride tracking, and navigation. Even on routes I know well, it's convenient to know the distance to the next turn/stop. Like last weekend on an event, when we broke a wheel: it was convenient to know total distance to finish (since the event markers had shown a particular inconsistency), so we could confirm if it was possible to limp it in (which we did...two more spokes started to break through by the end).

Another for HR + cadence - I also try to avoid keeping an eye on speed, although it happens. When following a cue sheet I also find elapsed distance helpful.

However, I do lust after a PowerTap, although it is out of my price range at the moment. A Garmin with GPS maps would also be pretty sweet especially because there are .tcx and .gpx files available for most of the brevets that I ride, and it would be great to have reliable elevation stats. That said, working on my cue sheet/map skills is probably a good idea too.

I had been using a Garmin 500 + Quarq and just added a Garmin 800 for training. The 800 has the ability to show a few more screens amongst other things that make it a little more robust (IMO) for interval training. Off the bike, I use the one/two punch of TrainingPeaks Premium and WKO+ for training. Strava for fun.

Have a Garmin 500 with HR/Speed/Cadence. I mostly use it for tracking rides but also use it for training. I have set times I must finish certain routes to be sure I'm working hard enough, etc. Recently I discovered the 'Heart Rate Alert' function. I have it set to beep when I go into Z5, which for me is 191bpm. This is helpful for knowing when to back off on group rides. I'll probably have to turn it off when doing intervals.

I really enjoy the telemetry. It's helpful for me to see what my cadence/HR are doing on certain parts of my rides and correlating that to perceived effort. Most of this is done post-ride. I do a little screen watching while riding solo but in a group we're usually going hard enough that I can't be bothered to look down.