Computer free...

[Artisan]

I have a garmin 205 mounted on my stem and I would be lost without it. I'm such a geek! I need my info! lol
I guess the term "tri geek" is fitting in my case ehh??

I feel the same way for the most part. I have the garmin 305 edge and I get all excited about hurrying home to check out all the data it has collected.

I do like going computer free some days because sometimes I just want to enjoy being outside, say howdy to people I pass by and enjoy the calmness of it all.

[Bad JuJu]

Interesting thread--to compute or not to compute.

Since a couple of you have mentioned the Garmins, let me ask whether you actually use/pay attention to all the info they collect. I had thought about adding a Garmin Edge to my Christmas list last year, but decided not too because I thought it might be information overload. OTOH, I'm kinda like some of you in that I just love coming home and checking out my computer's take on how the ride went--and comparing to my own intuitive sense of the ride. I like that synthesis of "responses" (if you can call what a computer does a response ).

Anyway, do any of you Garmin owners feel like it's a bit much, or are you pretty happy with your computers?

[Mimosa]

I ride without a computer. I do have a heartrate monitor/watch on my handlebars, the rest I do based on time on the bike. I set out on a specific heartrate and time.

I had a compu on the bike to measure speed and distance but took it off since I found it irritating. I kept on pushing to keep a certain speed and no longer on my heart rate.

[Artisan]

Anyway, do any of you Garmin owners feel like it's a bit much, or are you pretty happy with your computers?

I'm extremely happy with the Garmin. The detailed information is great. I come home and go over the entire ride. I don't really look down at my computer much at all while riding so coming home and seeing what my cadence, heart rate and speed was at a particular section of the ride is great. You can see exactly where you hit your max heart rate, highest speed and more. I especially like uploading the info to motionbased because you can map out the ride and view it from an aerial perspective.

[KnottedYet]

I have a computer on my road bike and none on my commutermobile. (I took the computer from the commuter and put it on the roadie when i got the roadie.)

The first time I rode the commuter sans computer I had that same sense of freedom and liberation and light-heartedness.

I wouldn't know my heart rate from a hole in the ground, and don't really care what my speed is (though it seems clear I was paying attention). But somehow not knowing how fast I was going or how far I'd gone was nice.

[Bad JuJu]

It's not that speed is such a big deal for me--good thing, too, since I'm about as speedy as your average tortoise.

But I do like to see whether I'm improving. Also, I keep an eye on my heart rate on most solo rides because it keeps me focused--unless I'm just out on a have-fun-stop-and-smell-the-honeysuckle kind of ride. And I do like seeing those miles add up, regardless of what kind of ride it is.

I'll admit to having enjoyed the rides I've taken without the computer, but I guess I have an inner geek because when I get home, I always want those blasted numbers.

[Kalidurga]

I have my computer base attached loosely enough that I can easily twist it on the handlebar so that the computer isn't showing. I do that on a lot of rides. Sometimes I'm focused on trying to improve time or distance or speed, other times I just wanna ride. I always take the computer with me so that I can get my stats at the end of the ride, but if I decide after a mile or so that it's just a "play day", then I just flip it up out of sight. And, actually, I've sometimes found that I do better on those rides, when I'm going purely on the feel of my pedal stroke and breathing rate.

[bikerchick68]

kalidurga... you hit the nail on the head... sans computer I was hawling butt! One day I was pulling off the front apparently at 19mph in a flat... my friends told me that when we arrived at the turn around point... I was floored... I'm just not a 19mph rider... except that day! I let them take the lead on the way back... one friend is JUST back on the bike post-surgery... I didn't mean to make it a hard fast ride...

It's been interesting to see what I can do when I'm not poking the computer to see my speed