shootingstar made me think about electronic gizmos.

[Mr. Bloom]

I now ride at my perceived level of exertion and I feel more than okay with the non-scientific approach.

Once I took the HRM off, I learned to "feel the beat" of my own heart and adjust my exertion accordingly. Sometimes, my legs feel like they could go faster, but "the beat" tells me I couldn't sustain it for long...

Plus, I've stopped always wearing my heavily padded Pearl Izumi Gel Vent gloves...by treating the symptom of hand pain with heavy gloves, I wasn't focused on the core problem of bad posture...not having the gloves keeps me very focused on proper posture.

BUT, I will not give up the Garmin for anything! I'm still a numbers kind of guy!

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, I never look at my HRM while I'm riding, but I do like having the numbers for after. I do use the HRM for running - but on the bike I just ride, I don't train. I like having the cadence monitor - I have a pretty good sense of my cadence, but I'll fine-tune it with the monitor. In a paceline, I use the timer and speedometer when I'm pulling to time my pulls and make sure I'm maintaining a constant speed.

What I really, really need the gizmo for on the bike is MAPPING. I have the world's worst sense of direction AND a phobia of being lost. (A true phobia I think - we were discussing that in another thread - I get really panicky.) Not a good combination. So having the maps is an ENORMOUS comfort.

[tulip]

I used to ride with a HRM in spin class (until I left it at the gym--doh!), but I never rode with it outside. It kept me from getting too bored in spin class. I used to not have a cycling computer, but it's pretty difficult to follow cue sheets without one, so I use it for distance.