Well I finally decided to not ride the F-40 in the GASP ride this year.

The GASP ride (Greater Austin to Shiner Peddle) ride is a one way ride from Austin TX to the Shiner TX brewery. They usually meander the route a little bit for it to end up being a really nice century (100 mile) ride. You can either have someone meet you in Shiner to give you a ride back, or you can pay a little bit extra to take a bus back to the start in Austin and they will also haul your bike back in an 18 wheeler to the start.

For a couple of years my wife Robyn, and her sister Liz, would meet me in Shiner to have a few brews and give me a lift back. Last year they were off glamping in the AirStream so I took the bus back and had the organizers truck the Musashi back in the 18 wheeler. Looks like this year they will be off glamping again in the AirStream and I’ll be taking the bus back. Although, the bike handlers are pretty careful with the bikes, and they separate them with bubble wrap, I was getting a little worried about the front fairing of the F-40 getting crushed while traveling in the 18 wheeler. So Sunday I decided I should ride the Bacchetta TiAero instead.

Although I’ve ridden the TiAero in a couple of rides of about 40 to 50 miles each, I really had not yet set up the bike for an all day 100 mile ride.

This blog entry is about my efforts towards getting the TiAero ready for GASP.

ADEM Headrest

When starting to ride a new recumbent it is easier to balance the more upright the seat is. So, the seat of my TiAero has been at a pretty steep incline. Yesterday I lowered the seat angle a notch and quickly discovered that I now need a head rest. Off to EasyStreet Recumbents to have Mike put on an ADEM head rest. Immediately I liked it and rode about 20 minutes yesterday to make sure it was going to work.

Water bottle w/sports drink

Had to go buy a water bottle holder and mount it to one of the rear stays of the TiAero. I did not think that any of my existing holders would grip the bottle enough keep it in the holder if I encountered any rough roads on the GASP ride. There are always at least a few miles of construction somewhere on these longer rides.

I’m not yet proficient getting the bottle out, and putting the bottle back, while riding full speed so I’ll probably have to slow down to a crawl once an hour when I need to have some of the sports mixture.

Garmin VIRB camera

A few months ago I purchased a Garmin VIRB camera but had not yet mounted it to the F-40. So yesterday I mounted it to the handlebars of the TiAero took it for a very short test ride. This camera is cool because it automatically embeds GPS and Ant+ sensor information on to the video. Here is a short clip so that you can see the how clear the picture is and the lower corners have the sensor information.

Later after seeing this clip I’ve also paired my heart rate monitor and the bike cadence sensor with the VIRB. I’ll try out a new short video tomorrow to see how the movie looks with those sensors activated.

Garmin Edge 800 vs iPhone Strava

I’ve tried swapping over to just using my iPhone with the Strava app. The problem is that the Garmin has really spoiled me by the display being configured for three large pieces of information: heart-rate, speed and cadence. The heart-rate and cadence I monitor for managing my endurance riding efforts. The speed I use for safety reasons when approaching a difficult section of riding.

On a recumbent I have not been able to position the iPhone is such a manner that I could conveniently see those three pieces of information. Additionally, the iPhone keeps turning of the screen and I have to touch it every time I want to see my heart-rate.

I’ve now settled on still using my Garmin mounted to the handlebars, and I also start the Strava app on my iPhone and throw it into the rear bag on the bike. I like the Strava capability that when I am finished with a ride it is basically a one button press to post to the internet.

Real bicycle clothes and sunscreen

Being totally enclosed by the F-40 has spoiled me - I’m used to riding with running shorts and a tee-shirt. With the TiAero it is back to recumbent bike shorts (so insects don’t fly up the pant legs) and a bike jersey (to hold the food that I eat when on the long rides). Also, I now have to sunscreen on everywhere - instead of just my face.

Checklists

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven to an event and found that I had forgotten something back at home. I’ve never forgotten the bike, but everything else if fair game: a helmet, camelbak, water bottles, tire pump, drinks, etc, etc. - you name and it and I’ve probably left it behind at least once.

Now in an effort to not forget forget things I usually put together various checklists and my whole riding experience ends up being much more enjoyable.

Things to do the day before the ride

• pick up ride packet from Opel Divines on south Congress
• make a bottle of sports drink and refrigerate overnight.
• make a baggie of sports drink mix to put in an empty bottle at a late rest stop.
• charge Garmin Edge 800
• charge Garmin VIRB
• charge iPhone
• charge yellow Ankr battery
• charge black Ankr battery
• charge red tail light
• charge iPod for music
• pack backpack
• put ride number on backpack, bike, helmet, shirt
• put bike in car
• review checklists

Things to do in the morning before leaving house

• have breakfest w/coffee
• coffee for drive to south Austin start
• review checklists

Things to put in the minivan

• Floor tire pump
• Cooler w/ drinks for ride and afterwards
• backpack
• ride packet
• helmet
• bike shoes
• TiAero
• lawn chair

Things to take while riding the bike

• mount on the bike

  • bottle of sports mix
  • garmin edge 800
  • garmin virb
  • red tail light

• put in rear brain box

  • sunscreen
  • baggie of sports mix
  • iphone
  • black ankr battery w/cable
  • wallet w/credit cards and money
  • 70 oz camel back unbottle
  • 1 lime GU Fizz and 1 orange GU Fizz
  • 2 chews packages
  • 2 cliff bars
  • car keys

• put in frame bag under seat

  • tire irons
  • spare tube
  • tire pump
  • CO2 cartridges w/presta-adaptor
  • patch kit
  • universal parks tool
  • 3 paper towels
  • reading glasses

• wear on my body

  • heart rate monitor
  • 10 endurolyte capsules
  • 2 chews packages
  • iPod w/open ear headphones
  • reading glasses
  • riding gloves
  • road id
  • put sunscreen on before ride starts

Things to put in the backback which the GASP organizers will take to Shiner for me

• tie wraps to anchor bike shoes to TiAero for trucking back

• tie wraps to anchor helmet to TiAero for trucking back

• tie wrap to seal rear brain box

• tie wrap to seal frame bag

• a few extra tie wraps

• snippers to clip tie wraps

• sports towel for showering

• shorts w/built-in mesh, lightweight tee-shirt

• lightweight long sleeve sunscreen shirt

• big brimmed roll-up hat

• minimalist running shoes (Vivobarefoot)

• small bottle liquid soap

• sunscreen

• aloe vera gel (small container)

• cliff bars

• yellow Ankr battery

• iPad mini in water proof case

• reading glasses