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Instruments
The following is a description of essential and non-essential instruments we
keep handy on our touring bikes, including:
-cyclocomputers on each bike
-an altimeter to measure elevation and accumulated elevation
gain
-a simple incline indicator
-a small compass
-a mechanical wind gauge
Cyclocomputers
A cycling computer with speedometer, odometer, clock, and
average speed displays is a must for most cyclotourists. Aside from the
speedometer answering burning questions like: "How fast am I going downhill?" or
"How slowly am I creeping up hill?" the odometer feature is an essential navigational
aid. Road signs aren't always where they are needed and comparing the measured
the distance between turns with the map can be all that keeps you on course during the day.
Knowing what percentage of the day's ride has been completed can also clarify if there is time to linger at lunch or if getting
back in the saddle is a a priority.
The average speed feature can be useful too on days when
things aren't going well. Knowing the impartial computation of your actual
average speed can aid in making realistic predictions, like if you'll make it to
your planned destination before dark or if a "Plan B" should be activated.
I love cadence indicators on cyclometers but gave
mine up as they just weren't durable enough for touring abroad. Knowing
your cadence, or the number of times you push your pedals around in 1 minute,
can be extremely important in managing knee problems. It's counterintuitive for
most of us, but it is actually easier on your knees if the pedals go around more
times in a minute rather than fewer times. More revolutions means less force
through the knee with each revolution and more split-second rests for the knee
in each minute while the other knee is in its power phase. 80-90 revolutions per
minute (rpm) is a good target for most of us, with even higher cadence being
desirable.
I have knee challenges on and off the bike and learning to
maintain a high cadence was the key to me becoming a long distance cyclist. We
quickly learned that my bike had to be geared rock-bottom low so I could still achieve a high cadence even when
climbing. If I spend much time on a climb in the 70 rpm or less range, I'm guaranteed
rapidly swelling knees.
I rode for years with a cadence indicator and
reluctantly gave it up when my computer immediately failed when we arrived in Europe. If your computer fails
and you can't find the same brand in a bike shop then you are stuck rewiring the bike
for the new brand, as we were. We finally settled on using CatEye computers
without cadence as they last
for years and can be replaced in Europe. Fortunately,
pedaling with high cadence has become habituated in my body so it is now
workable for me to be without the feature on my computer.
Altimeter
In the past we considered an altimeter, or elevation gauge,
an entertaining novelty but it has moved up to the "Must Have" category of
cycling instruments--we now consider an altimeter a safety device for loaded
touring. We use an old version of the Suunto brand "Atlimax" that is designed to
be worn as a wrist watch. It has lots of fancy functions but we only use it for
measuring elevation and accumulated elevation gain. The Vetta brand has a
cyclocomputer with an altimeter function, as may some other brands.
Altimeters measure the change in
barometric pressure as your elevation rises and falls and reports it as elevation
gain. In addition to the change
in pressure with change in elevation, it is of course also responding to
pressure changes with the passing weather systems so it is inherently
inaccurate. Knowing its limits, we rely on it for round numbers, not exact numbers.
But on any given day the relative numbers of accumulated
elevation gain can be extremely helpful to us. If we are doing a day-long,
sustained climb in the Alps, knowing the accumulating gain helps us pace
ourselves. We factor the estimated percentage of a climb we have completed into
decisions about when to stop and rest, when to eat, and whether we need to stay
disciplined or can kick-back a bit. And when one is nearing the end of his or
hers
energy stores for a climb, knowledge of how much climbing remains helps in judging how to tinker with the mind and
the body to complete the climb.
Even more important than a day's gain is tracking our weekly accumulated gain
with the altimeter data. We log each day's gain and keep a running weekly
average on the database function of a handheld computer (though a piece of paper
would also do the job). Experience has taught us that 15,000' gain is about our
limit with loaded bikes. If we attempt more than 15,000' in a week, we are at
risk of running out of steam part way through a climb. I am sure we
could push past that point if it were a necessity, but we always strive to leave
ourselves a reserve of strength and will power for emergencies. So, when we see that
we are bumping up against the magic 15,000' accumulated elevation gain, we know it is time to plan in a
rest day or a couple of shorter days that will accumulate less gain. In some
areas the maps aren't sufficiently detailed to accurately predict what the gain
will be on a given route so we are left with erring on the cautious side of
15,000'.
Tracking gain is also very reassuring. Almost daily we
play the game of "Guess how many feet we've climbed so far" and even with years
of experience we are often wildly off the mark. It is a difficult element to
estimate if you are going up and down or have your attention distracted by
traffic. There are days when I have felt so disproportionately sore or fatigued
that I wondered if I was ill and usually the explanation was that we had already
climbed many more feet than I realized. Realigning my perceptions of effort with
the reality of the effort helps immensely in the psychological aspects of long
distance riding. Equally useful is knowing if the miles ridden and gain
accumulated don't explain my fatigue--indeed I may either be deeply fatigued or
succumbing to a bug--both of which must be allowed for if we are to travel safely.
Inclinometer
Our newest instrument--the inclinometer--was an instant
hit. It is like a bicycle handlebar-sized carpenter's level using a floating bubble
to indicate the steepness of the grade at a given moment. So simple and
yet so sweet. Unlike the altimeter and cyclocomputer, it is strictly a mechanical
device with no recording capacity so you have to keep an eye on it to collect
the data. I suppose I could get along without one, but I'd rather
not.
Like the altimeter, the inclinometer has both novelty value and
it helps
answer the question; "Why do I feel so bad?" Riding in the Scottish Highlands in
2004 gave us a new regard for the usefulness of the inclinometer. There we rode so
many incredibly steep pitches that our ability to judge them was trashed. Some
days we rode 20-30 grades over 10%, some of them topping out at 15% and even 20%.
Without the device, we never would have believed what those hills were really
dishing out and the oscillations up and down the ridiculously steep grades were
exceedingly exhausting.
On those steep Highland's climbs the altimeter only told the
story of the total gain, not how we acquired it. And climbing 300' on 3%
grades or 15% grades feels wildly different in your body, both 10 minutes later
and 2 days later. Knowing that we were cycling at an entirely new level of effort helped
keep us from becoming
totally demoralized and illustrated that total gain and total mileage were
insufficient for monitoring total effort expended in some unusual terrains.
The inclinometer's information was also an invaluable aid
that assisted Bill as he kept
touring in those Highland hills during almost all of his 2 month recovery from a painful
knee injury. He was only able to ride short distances in the
flats his first days back in the saddle but slowly, he was able to add more challenge to his days.
Using the grade information, along with accumulated distance and elevation gain,
he was able closely
monitor both the stress to his knee and his progress. Once he was able to start
pedaling up the steeper slopes, I rode ahead and called out the changes in the
increasing grade. He selected a maximum grade based on previous day's experience
and how his knee was currently feeling and then pushed his bike up anything
steeper than his pre-selected limit for the day. Being on unfamiliar routes made it much
more difficult to ride with prudence for his recovering knee but the
inclinometer's measurements allowed Bill to successfully rehabilitate by riding
without re-injuring his knee.
We purchased our inclinometer at a travel book and map
store in The Netherlands but it is available in the US at a higher price. It can be ordered
from a cycling organization's website:
www.adventurecycling.org/store
from their "cyclestore catalog". Look for the Sky-Mounti Inclinometer for $25.
Another company's product is also available in some bike shops in the US that
sells for around $20 and the grade function is included in one of Vetta's
cyclocomputers and perhaps others.
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Compass
A compass is at the top of most people's list of "Must
Have" instruments, but we have only recently toured with one. Bill's keen sense
of direction and close tracking of our course on his maps made a compass
unimportant. But keeping one handy on my handlebars has allowed him to be more
laid back in his map-monitoring. And of course, it is helpful on those
days when the sun he uses to orient is seemingly absent from the sky.
We don't use elaborate, orienteering-styled compasses but instead low-end, coin-sized products. And we quickly discovered that a little compass is just as useful when emerging from the depths of big-city metro as it is on the back roads on a bike. I now keep a tiny compass just peeking out of my fanny pack so it's always ready to point us in the right direction when on foot in the cities.
Wind Gauge
Our wind gauge is the only instrument that is just for
fun. It does help with the psychological struggles of exertion but of all
the variables that make pedaling hard, high
winds are the most straightforward to assess. One can cycle for years without encountering treacherous
winds, but when you do get blasted by them, it's entertaining to know what you've been
through. We carried our wind gauge in 2004 and got hit with winds that went off
the end of the 45 mph scale both on the Spanish mesa and in the Scottish Highlands.
Using the wind gauge also taught us that it doesn't take big winds to make us
whimper--even 10 mph headwinds are worthy of whining.
Our wind gauge is made by "ALP" or "Anderson-Leuck Products" of
California. It is lightweight, compact and durable but a little tricky to use. A
Scottish hiker said he had one that didn't top out at 45 mph but didn't bring
his out for "Show & Tell" so we know nothing else about it.
That's it for our touring gadgetry. Let us know if you have something that we've been missing out on.
