Most of us have used our Garmin sports devices on two different events and forgot to reset it between the events.  Once you upload the file to Garmin Connect, it does look a bit odd on the map with a straight line between the two points, but the data otherwise is correct in terms of total distance.  This use to be the case with Strava, but it seems that Strava has decided to make a change in how it handles the data upload from Garmin devices.  Instead of taking the data on total distance from the Garmin unit, it is using the individual GPS datapoints to generate the total distance.  This means if you stop, or even shutdown, your Garmin device, drive to a new location, then start your second cycling event, Strava will add the straight line distance between the two.  Because of comments on a friends Strava post about this subject, I decided to do a test.  I did two bike rides and shut down the Garmin Edge 500 between the rides.  It was about 40 miles (straight line) drive up to my brother’s house for the second ride.  My total distance, as shown on the Garmin 500 was 62.2 miles and that is how things show up on Garmin Connect.  However when I uploaded this FIT file to Strava, it shows 102 miles, which is totally wrong.

I then split the file into 3 segments using another program, and uploaded the two real cycling segments into Strava.  This shows how it looks in the Activity Summary on Strava.  The first two lines are the two real segments, the last the full FIT file uploaded.  Not only does Strava get the distance totally wrong, the time includes time when the Garmin unit is shut off.  The suffer score no longer makes sense.

Here is what it looks like on Garmin Connect.  You can see the totals are correct and for most people that is all they care about.  Not only is the total distance the sum of the fist two lines above but so is the time.  I understand that Strava may want to try to do a better job at estimating distance but they have created a problem because most users will have no ability to split a FIT file to fix their mistake.  Strava’s approach therefore does not make any sense to me and then need to fix this issue.

Categories: Cycling Equipment
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Since 1988, I have used Excel to keep track of my training.  Initially it was just running and I would track how many miles I ran each date and the pace.  Later when I got into biking, the log expanded to track cycling, then later track the mileage on my bicycles and the various componets.  Over the years this Excel file became increasingly complicated.

Even after writing an article about online training logs, I still keep up my Excel spreadsheet.  For over a year I upload my GPS data to a couple of websites (Strava and Garmin Connect) and to a local computer based program (Ascent). One might think that a website like Strava.com should be more than enough, and might be for most people, for me personally I want to do more, including:

• Chart cycling and running miles separately
• Track how I am doing compared with prior years at this same time
• Track for both my wife and I together since mostly bike and run together
• Track details on mileage on various bike components on various bikes
• Track which club or non-club miles I cycle.

This manual entry was becoming a chore after all these years so I sought to automate the process.  I looked at the above and decided to scratch the last entry since no online training log let’s you record that.  I still wanted to track how I was doing against prior years, using my old training log data, so none of the online training logs are by themselves are sufficient.  I finally came up the approach to modify my current Excel file, which has sheets for all prior years, a sheet for my bike component log, and a lot of other training specific data.  But instead of adding a new sheet for 2012 with places for every single workout during the year, I added a sheet for 2012 with weekly totals.  A small section looks like this.

If you look across the actual Excel file you will see similar blocks for my running, as well as Anne’s running and biking.  I decided it was no longer necessary to record every workout in this Excel file, just the weekly totals.  That allows me to plot how I am doing compared with prior years.  Initially I was going to manually enter this data but found a much easier way.  Since I upload my GPS devices to Garmin Connect, I use the great report feature in that program to export to CVS files.

I just select the report type “Group by Week” for “This Year”.  After doing a one time customization of the report to get the columns I wanted,   I then select Cycling and export the CVS file.  I repeat for running.  Then repeat for Anne’s Garmin Connect information for both running and cycling.  This creates four CVS files.  In my main Excel file I use links to these external CVS files to fill in all the data.  It is not something I need to do very often, just when I want to see how I am doing.  Even if I do monthly, I will still get the data in a weekly total format.

Bike Component Wear

The only missing item is the mileage on each bicycle.  For that I end up doing some manual entry, here taking the data from Strava.com which allows you to track your rides by bicycle.  I just enter the current mileage on each bicycle and use that in my existing formulas on component wear.  Hopefully if Gramin Connect ever adds this feature I can automate that also.  I might just switch over and add all the components in Strava.com and only use that for component tracking.

In Excel I track all components on all bikes.  This example is for one of the bikes.

How is My Training Going

Using this new approach, I can still easily see how my running and cycling are doing compared with prior years. This shows how I did in 2011 compared with the prior years.

Now for 2012,  I will still have similar graphs, but using the data that is auto filled in from the Garmin Connect CVS files.  I have friends who don’t even use a cyclometer to cycle with and have no idea how many miles they have ridden.  But I also notice these same guys are always having some issue with cassette wear because they didn’t change their chain until it was too late.  It might be the engineer in me that loves to see the data so I know how I am doing and how my bikes are doing.  Now I have an effortless way to get that data in a format I can use for my own purposes and not rely on the limitations of the online training logs.  For most people this is more than they will want and are happy to just use what one of the online training logs offer, but if you want to get things in a format you can manipulate for your own purposes, this might give you an idea.

Categories: Training Log
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I received the package from Rickey with their Break Away Frame/Fork. I bought the 52 cm Road version, steel frame and carbon fork.  It comes with a case, headset, inline adjusters for the derailleurs that are used with a connector on the frame (not a very good design by the way) and three inline disconnects for the two derailleur and rear brake cables when you take it apart.  First thing I did was to weigh all the parts. The frame and fork weigh 2180 grams (4.8 lbs). The included headset weighs 5.3 oz (150 grams) for a total weight of 2,330 grams or 5.1 lbs. That is before cutting the steer-er tube to size so it might be a few ounces less.

The way the system works is that the frame breaks apart into two sections.  They are joined with a clamp near the bottom bracket and also the seatpost forms the second connection.

I had already purchased most all the additional parts needed with the exception of the seatpost and stem since I wanted to see how it all fit before I decided on the stem length and seatpost setback.   I have a spare stem to get started with.  I used a seatpost and saddle I took off an older bike so I could get the bike assembled.  The seatpost is needed to hold the two parts of the frame together, with the other connection near the bottom bracket being made by way of a special clamp.

The headset was not installed so I decided to take it to the local bike shop for that since I don’t have a headset press.  Within a few hours they called me and told me it was done.  It was $30 well spent since that included cutting the steerer tube..  Note that although it came with a headset there are no spacers for use under the stem.  I was not sure what stack height to use.  Looking at the Richey installation information online they said to limit it to 30 mm, so I used that.  You can always reduce it later but once you cut the tube that sets the limit.

For the components I installed DuraAce 7800 that I had replaced on my Trek Madone 6.9.  A couple of years ago I had replaced the double crank with a DuraAce 7950 compact and more recently I replaced the shifters, brakes and derailleurs with 7900 series.   So I had a complete set of components, but for now I will see how I do with a double crankset, something I rode all the time until two years ago.  For wheels I move the Maric Krysium SLs I had on my spare road bike and put the original wheels on that bike.  I put on a spare set of Speedplay pedals and weighed the final bike.  It came in at 17.5 lbs, quite nice for a travel bike with a steel frame.  This is around the weight of my older road bike, the Trek 5200 with the same wheels on it.

The bike comes with a travel case which measures 8.5″W x 26.5″H x 31″L with adds up to 66 linear dimension. Most airlines say 62 is limit but most people report they get charged as regular suitcase as long as under 50 lbs.  You can see how much more compact this travel case is compared with a regular bike case I own (on the left).

I added a water bottle cage, a saddle bag,  and mount for my Garmin 500, and was ready to roll.

Two miles into the ride I decided that the stem was too long.  It was a spare one I had to test out but I felt I needed a 70 mm stem, like I have on my Trek.  I returned home and pulled one of that size off the tandem and put it on.  That felt just right so the bike size and fit is almost the same as my Trek Madone 6.9. The bide very nicely.  I forgot how effortless the DuraAce 7800 double crank shifted.  I am very glad I bought this frame to use my old components on.  It has the advantage of being a travel bike.

I found this video on the web on how to pack the Richey Break Away.

Categories: Cycling Equipment
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Although the summer is almost over, with the first day of Fall coming tomorrow, the temperatures had turned much warmer than usual.  It was about 97 degrees when we headed out at 5:15 pm for our weekly mountain bike ride at Harvey Bear Ranch.  This is one of my favorite rides of the week because this County Park is very close, almost in our backyard, and the trails are great.  About five of the Nightriders showed up for the ride, which we had to push to 5:15 pm start since the park closes at sunset and the days are getting shorter.

We made our way up over the hill and headed down to Coyote Lake where we knew we would be in the shade as the temperatures starts to cool off and where we could get more water.  Then it was backup up the hill and then down the roller coaster of a single track where Jimbo became a cowboy and herded the cattle.  The late afternoon sun glistened on the golden hills making for some breathtaking views.  You can see why they call California the Golden State.

Categories: Mountain Biking
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Two years ago I installed a mountain bike (MTB) derailleur (Shimano XTR) and cassette on Anne’s road bike at the time.  See the prior post. At that time all MTB setups were 9 speed but her road bike was a 10 speed.  Although there was a 3rd party 10 speed cassette with a wide range, it was expensive and most people didn’t feel it worked very well.  So back then I used a device to allow you to use 10 speed shifters with a 9 speed MTB cassette.  The device, which had two concentric pulleys, changed the cable pull as needed.  It worked, but never worked very well and it seemed very hard to adjust things so it would shift smoothly.  It also meant that one of the index positions on the shifters would not work since there were only 9 cogs.

Anne got a new road bike last year and has been doing well with a triple chain-ring and a 12-27 cassette.   In the meantime Shimano has come out with 10 speed MTB gearing setups.  So for a relatively small price I bought a Shimano XT 10 speed cassette (Shimano XT M771-10) with a range of 11-34 and moved the XTR derailleur (RD-M971) from her old road bike to her new bike for those few times when she might need that extra low gears.

Type of Derailleur

Most road derailluers are limited to no more than 28 or 29 maximum teeth on the cassette. SRAM does sell a road derailleur as part of their APEX group that will accommodate a wider range, up to 32.  These are designed for use with a compact crank, although they may work with a triple also.

The other approach is to use a mountain bike oriented rear derailleur.  A word of caution is in order.  For many years Shimano kept the cable pull the same between their road and MTB shifters.  However with their 10 speed MTB bikes, they changed the cable pull.  Therefore, you can not buy a 10 speed rear MTB derailleur and have it work with 10 speed shifters on a road bike.  Instead, you need a 9 Speeed derailleur.  That might sound wrong since it will be used with 10 speed shifters but the XTR is not indexed and the indexing is all done with the shifters so it works just fine since it matches the cable pull on the 10 speed road shifters.  Another point is you need to use a “top normal” derailleur.  High normal or top normal rear derailleurs return the chain to the smallest sprocket on the cassette when no cable tension is applied, the same as with road bikes.  Many newer mountain bikes have a bottom normal or rapid rise shifter which is opposite, where the derailleur moves to the largest cog with no cable tension.  It would work on a road bike but everything would be backwards and should be avoided.  For Shimano the right model is RD-M971 for the XTR series and RD-M771 for the less expensive XT series.

Cage Length

Mountain bike derailleurs come in various cage lengths, which define the amount of varying chain length they can deal with.  For the Shimano RD-M971 the specs for long  (SGS) is 43T and for medium (GS) it is 33T

The easy capacity formula is to add your big ring & cog sizes, then subtract your small ring and cog sizes. It looks like this:

cap req’d (T) = (BIG ring – small ring) + (BIG cog – small cog)

…so for a 53-39-30 triple road crank & 11-34 cassette…

T = (53T – 30T) + (34T – 11T)
.. = (23T) + (23T)
.. = 46T

Using this simple formula, you would need a derailleur with a 46T rated capacity to absorb all the possible extra links and allow you to use every conceivable gear combination.  The Shimano long cage allows for 43T, and knowing that Shimano is conservative, then it should work fine.  If you have something other than a triple, use your own values in the formula above.  For example with a double crank (53-39) and a 11-32 cassette, it is 35 so a medium cage is sufficient.

Cassette

Although they sell cassettes with a capacity up to 36, most 9 speed derailleurs only accommodate up to 34.  This is what I installed, but you might consider using something like a 11-32.  That will still give you a very low gear and less of a jump between gears and you can buy a road cassette (SRAM with the range 11-32).

Chain

Another word of caution is about the chain.  Anne has a triple crankset so according to Shimano you should not use the newer chains (such as the CN-7901), which are only suppose to be used with a double (or compact) crankset.   That is true even if you have the latest Shimano Ultegra Triple.  They recommend instead the older model CN-7801 or CN-6600 chains.  However for the cassette I installed, they recommend the CN-HG94 chain, which is for the Dyna Sys mountain bike setup and is directional (like the new DuraAce chains)  so I would avoid that.  It is not as simple as when you would be a chain from Shimano and it said for either DuraAce or XTR.  Having on hand a new DuraAce CN-7801 chain I used that and it worked fine.  That is what one with a triple crank should be using, even if they have a regular road cassette.

It didn’t take long to install the XTR derailleur and new 11-34 10 speed cassette. I put on a new chain while I was at it.   Adjusting the shifting was the same as if it were a mountain bike.

Yesterday, we rode up Henry Coe, near Morgan Hill.  There is one short segment with the grade getting to about 20%.  Anne said the lowest gear she went into was a bit too low.  I think a 11-32 cassette would have been a better choice for her, especially considering she seemed to have no problem climbing it previously with her old 12-27 cassette.  Still it is nice to know there is a yet another gear in case you need it.

Categories: Cycling Equipment
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I previously have been using my cycling oriented Garmin Edge 500 while running using a wrist strap that was really designed for the Garmin 310XT. See the prior post.  Although this worked reasonably well, it still was a bit awkward.  Not only did you see things in mph instead of minutes per mile pace, the display was rotated 90 degrees so I had to kind of bend my head to make it out.

I finally decided to get a real Garmin running watch.  I could have bought the Garmin 310XT, but since I already have the Edge 500 for cycling I did not need that multi-sport device.  I also wanted something that was smaller and looked more like a watch.  I had used my daughter’s Forerunner 305 but found reading the display was hard for me because the fonts were too small.

While in Utah, I visited the new Runner’s Corner store where they had all the Garmin running watches to check out.  I decided on the Garmin Forerunner 610, their latest model.  Although this watch was mainly designed for running, it also supports cycling very well and you can switch between running and cycling very easily.  While I use this new watch for running, Anne puts it on her bike for cycling while I still use my Garmin 500 for that purpose.  It has a touch screen, which is much easier to use to change the display than the bezel on the prior Garmin Forerunner watches.  Also the fonts are easy for me to see without my reading glasses.  It weighs 2.6 oz, which is the same as the Garmin 500 with wrist strap.  But the size is smaller and it just seems much easier to use while running.

The battery life on the Garmin 610 is only about 8 hours.  That works well for running and some cycling but would not be sufficient for the ultra distance cyclists.  For a complete review of this Garmin please see this post by DC Rainmaker.  He does such a great job reviewing Garmin products in depth that there is no point in my providing my own observations other than to see I really like the Garmin 610 and am glad I purchased it.

While the Garmin 500 used a mini-USB connector to upload to the computer, the Forerunner 610 uses ANT+ via a USB stick you plug into your computer.  This works great.  Since I am uploading from two different Garmin devices, I found it best to upload from the 610 first, then plug in the Garmin 500 and upload from it.

Keeping track on both Garmin Connect, and Strava.com of all our workouts, for both myself and my wife, gets a bit complicated.  For the Garmin 500 it was easy to erase all the activities on the watch after uploading so I could just upload all new activities.  However when the ANT agent downloads copies of your activities from your fitness unit they are stored locally on your hard drive.  On my Mac those are located in

/users/Franz/Library/Application Support/Garmin/Devices/[device id]/History

I just move those over to another folder so when I am doing a new upload I don’t see all the past ones.

Update Firmware

This video shows how to update the firmware.

Reset

This video shows how to reset the unit

Categories: Running
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Awhile ago I decided that it was time to switch to a compact crankset so I bought and installed a DuraAce 7950, replacing the DuraAce 7800 chrankset that came with my bike. At the same time I put on a 7900 series cassette and started using the DuraAce 7900 chain.

Being the cheap guy I am I continued to use my DuraAce 7800 shifters, derailleurs and brakes.  It was a workable combination but the shifting was just not the same as with my DuraAce 7800 double crank.

Lately I have had the urge to buy a new bike.  There is not good reason since things were working fine enough, but the DuraAce 7800 shifts have the older design of the shift cables routed outside and everyone has changed to internal routing.  It is kind of like driving an old car.  Sometimes you just want to drive a new one.

Although my components were now 4 years old, much of the bike was much newer, with the frame and crankset replaced 2 years ago and the wheels replaced within the past year.  So instead of going done the route of buying a new bike, I decided to replace the components that were still there from the original bike, which meant new shifters, brakes, and front and rear derailleur.  I had considered to go with SRAM Red, which is very popular now, but I have a couple of road bikes plus the tandem that have Shimano components so I wanted to keep everything Shimano and with a shifting method I was use to.

All of the components were on sale individually at Performance.com so I placed the order for a total cost of $980 (less 10% in the points I get back for future purchases).  This included the ST-7900 Dual Control Levers, BR-7900 Dual -Pivot Caliper Brakes, FD-7900-B Front Derailleur, and RD-7900-SS, Rear Derailleur.  This was much cheaper than the $7,500 I would need to spend on a new bike with a top of the line frame, like I have, and DuraAce 7900 components.

Installing the brakes and rear derailleur was fairly easy because they were very much like what I have used in the past.

When it came to putting on the shifters that was a whole different store.  Even attaching them to the handlebar was puzzling and the instruction sheet that came with them was a bit hard to follow.  After getting them installed, I then had to route the brake and derailleur cables, which was tricky because it was so different than what I had done in the past.

Adjusting the rear derailleur was straightforward since it was similar to what I had done in the past.  The front derailleur was not so simple and the method of adjusting the cable tension was completely different.  I had to keep fiddling with it, even starting over a couple times.  The setup is suppose to allow you to use any gear combination without the need for trim in the shifters, but you have to do it just right to achieve that.  It is complicated by Shimano stating there is no trim, but the shifters do allow for two clicks going into the big chain ring.   One cycling friend had put in considerable slack in his cable so he used both clicks to get into the big chainring.  That just didn’t make sense to me because Shimano would not design something that required that type of effort.  I could setup things so it would move quickly into the big chainring, but the amount of tension caused the chain to rub when I was in the small chainring and largest cassette because the cable pulled the derailleur off the stop against the chain.  I finally solved that by a slight rotation of the derailleur.  If you have it off alignment, especially with the tail-end pointed outward even slightly, the very narrow range you have to work with with no trim is not sufficient.

It was only after I finished the job, reading and re-reading the instruction sheets, that I found this great video. If I had watched this first, I would have saved myself some time. Everything in the video is in the Shimano supplied instruction sheets but the video makes it easier to understand.

Shimano Dura Ace 7900 Installation Guide from ProBikeKit on Vimeo.

If you happen to be installing Ultegra 6700 components, this video will show you have. If you are installing a triple crankset, this video will also show you the differences in the installation between a triple and double (or compact) crankset.

Shimano Ultegra 6700 Installation & Adjustment Guide from ProBikeKit on Vimeo.

Categories: Cycling Equipment
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We returned from a month stay at our Utah home and had a great time.  The cycling up there does not have the variety we have in California, but we enjoy riding with the Utah Velo club.  Not sure why, maybe because their riding is a fairly good match with our abilities.  The Utah Velo club Saturday ride have about 25 people and their is just enough regrouping so most everyone can get back together.  The ride leader is great and is very good at controlling the group.  Doing rides with less climbing than we do in California does make this all much more possible.

While I once did a lot of cycling with ACTC in California, that is not the case so much anymore as you can see from this chart.

Our time in Utah this year has been limited, but miles with that bike club has been almost as much as with ACTC.  When I am California I prefer to bike with my cycling friends, the Night Riders, which is a ad hoc group that just does what we want to do, when we want to do it.  ACTC, on the other hand, is a inflexible club, with it’s own way of doing things and rides that are schedule many weeks before they happen, when the weather conditions can not be known.  ACTC is a very diverse club with all types of riders and although it has a lot of rides, more than most any other club, I have little interest in most of them.  Some involve too far of a drive from our house.  Most have a pace that is too slow for us with too frequent and  long regroups.  Some rides seem more focused on getting to some place to eat than riding the bike.  Others are oriented to try to do the most number of different billy goats (climbs) rather than finding the most interesting route.  Others are geared to only ride a long distance and there is little group riding on those.  There is nothing wrong with any of these and they meet the needs of many.  It is just curious that with such a diverse group of rides that there are so few rides that interest me.

I have the great advantage of being able to bike with my wife, Anne, and sometimes my children.  Also I have some great cycling friends that are nearer my home.   Those meet most of what I want to do when I am in California.   I am glad that ACTC does exist and still do quite a few rides with them.  However my cycling with that particular club in on the wain.

Categories: Training Log
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This afternoon I headed out for a climb up Squaw Peak with the plan of doing some interval training during the climb. It has been about 2 weeks since I did intervals up this hill.  In the past I did an interval for 400 feet of climbing and then a recovery for 200 feet.  I decided to reduce the recovery to closer to 100 feet of climbing since I was stopping to take my blood pressure, which added to the recovery period.  This way I could get in a 3.5 intervals rather than just 3.

I feel with all the climbing I have done I should see a good improvement from July 18th.  After I analyzed all the data, I did get a small improvement, but not as much as I had thought I was going to achieve.  My vertical speed (measured in meters per hour) averaged a little more and my average heart rate during the intervals was a bit less so both of these factors were in the direction of an improvement.

After each interval I took my blood pressure, which showed even lower than last time.  To get the reading I used a wrist blood pressure monitor and came a complete stop before taking the reading, otherwise the monitor would show an error.  I am not quite sure if the blood pressure is accurate, but even if it is close, it does mean that I am not getting abnormally high blood pressures when I take my heart rate up high and on the contrary, my blood pressure is dropping.  I believe during the ramp-up, as with the stress test, my blood pressure does go up, but holding a high heart rate over a period of time, causes the blood pressure to drop. 

The temperature was not excessively high, but it was much more humid than I have experienced in Utah before (turns out the most humid on records) due to all the rain storms).  My jersey was totally soaked by the time I reached the summit, so I know I was pushing hard.    I just am not able to achieve the vertical climbing speeds that I was able to achieve 3 years ago.  Anne reminds me I am getting older.

After reaching back down to the highway, I headed up to climb South Fork.  My plan was take it easy for this since I was very tired from the hill intervals.  Just before I reached Vivian Park, some guy came buzzing by me on his bike, but he stopped at the park.  I went past him and started to climb up South Fork, taking it easy as I planned.  Soon he came up from behind me and seemed try to pass me at a faster speed than he could maintain.  Even with tired legs it was too much of a challenge to resist so I picked up the speed to match his, then as he slowed I started to close the gap, but kept behind him until we were half way up.  When we reached one of the sharper pitches I kicked in and went past him.  He started to dig deeper and increased his speed, but the failure to close the gap quickly showed me that he could not keep up.  The gap kept increasing, although I was taking my heart rate up to 170 bpm near the end, a bit higher than I took it during any of the intervals.  When I reached the end, I quickly stopped and took my blood pressure and had a reading of 101/71 with a pulse rate of 162.

Overall I think I got in a good workout.

Categories: Speed Workout
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In the past few years I would have already completed a few double centuries by mid July.  But this year I have just not had the interest to ride so far and until today I had not even ridden over 100 miles in a single ride.  You can see from this chart that my riding is lower than the past 4 years and I have to go back to 2006 when it was less.

However since I finally was allowed by the Cardiologist to stop taking the beta blocker, I seem to have more stamina to ride long.  John and I signed up for the Ulcer Century on August 6th so I have been trying to get in some longer rides.  On the past two Saturday’s Anne and I have taken the tandem and joined the Utah Vello ride up Hobble Creek.  We end up with 55 miles for that ride.  Both times I jumped on single bike after the ride to get in more miles.  Today I joined a couple guys from the Utah Velo ride up the Alpine Loop, then South Fork, to get 100 miles for the day.  Since I climbed 6,000 feet for the day, 3 times more than the Ulcer Century will be, I figure I am ready for it.

Categories: Training Program
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