A key part of training is having a bike computer. Now while this may sound a bit intimidating and expensive, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking.
A bike computer is usually a bit bigger than the face of a watch in size and probably 2-3 times as deep. It’s mounted on the handlebar of your bike, and a wire runs down the bike’s front shaft and down one of the forks holding your front tire. At the end of the wire is a magnet that is attached to the fork. Another magnet is attached to a spoke on your front tire and set so it almost touches the fork magnet every time the wheel turns.
As you ride, the wheel turns and the magnets pass each other time and time again. This records data onto your computer and tells you things like:
· How fast you are going at the current moment
· Your average speed on this ride
· The distance you’ve traveled (both on this ride and since the computer was hooked up)
· The calories you’ve used in this trip
· The amount of time you’ve been riding on this trip
· Your maximum speed on this trip
Some computers will tell you more, but this is all mine tells me and it’s all I really need.
As you can imagine, this is a great training tool. You can record the data from each ride, track it, and chart your progress. (This is what I do in my “journal”. See my post regarding journaling.) Now that I’ve used mine for a year, I wouldn’t be without it.
You can spend a pretty penny getting one of these computers with tons of extra readings that the average cyclist doesn’t need (I’m not sure even Lance Armstrong needs some information these things provide). The good news is that a simple computer like the one I describe above is very inexpensive. I got mine at Wal-mart for $10.
Try one out – you’ll love it. And you’ll never be able to cycle without one again. J
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