Cycle Computer, Cadence/Speed, no Wires!

First ride of the new year for me today. Went my usual 14.2 mile route but burned about 700 calories! That means it was much harder work for me than last year (well, at least after midsummer). Normally, that would've been about 480 calories (59 minutes, so pretty slow). And I can feel it, but it's still a good feeling. Washed the sand and gunk off the bike at the end but it needs a few adjustments as I can tell that the cables must've stretched during the winter (haven't ridden for almost 4 months).

But the good news is that the bike shop came through with a very successful wireless cycle computer (the Neuro 4.0 from Blackburn). This unit has a 2 GHz wireless interface to both the cadence pickup and the speed sensor and, by golly, it really seems to work. Never missed a beat as far as I could determine. Seems to be a little high on the miles ridden but only about .08 miles out of 14.2. I attribute that to the fact that I had to move the speed sensor to the back wheel and it's more worn that the front (more load back there, ahem!) so it actually is the *slightly* smaller tire of the two at this point in their 2500 mile lives. By quick calculation, I think that the wheel turns about 10,600 times in 14.2 miles and if I re-calibrate it to be just 10mm "smaller" then it should read about 350-400 feet less distance over the ride (that's about .08 miles). Anyway, the toughest 14 miles of the year is now behind me, whew! And I like the new speedometer, although there are some errors in the user's manual and it has a few idiosyncrasies that I think I've figured out. I'll probably write up a more detailed review in the very near future.

Well, as it stands, at the start of the riding season I'm weighing in at 163 lbs. at a height of 70.5 inches. Yes, I know, my "ideal" BMI is really 159 lbs., but I'll get there in the next month or so. This year I plan to figure out a nice highway ride up to Waterloo. It will be a little more than 100 miles (maybe 110 I would guess) but it really can be a pain to ride on several portions of the Cedar Valley bike trail between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo so I want to find a good (and safe) road route. Should be fun and I think I'll probably scout it out on the motorcycle first. With $4/gallon gas in the offing, I'm guessing I'll get quite a bit more miles on that motorcycle this year.

Sounds like a night to sing and smile as I consider my impending retirement (March 28 is my last day of work). On my birthday I plan to have dinner at a Greek restaurant here in Cedar Rapids ... so I guess it'll have to be in honor of the Greek-Norwegian-Irish in me, eh? Well ... don't worry, it will actually be a fairly quiet event.

Later ...