Fall 2009

Weather was looking nice so I decided to do a nice gentle ride with enough climbing to get over the fog line. Took my camera and got some great shots

iPhone Bike applications

Well, I'm slowly becoming an iPhone convert. If you have to carry it with you when you ride in order to have a phone (albeit a marginal phone), why not see if it can perform double duty.

To start with I downloaded a free version of the Dahon Biologic Bike Brain. I felt a bit like a traitor, being a big Bike Friday fan, but you've got to hand it to these guys. They really are on top of technology integration.

Since I have yet to buy a bike mount for my iPhone, I simply strapped some velcro thru the clip on my Otter defender; probably the geekiest cell phone holder you can wear. It definitely looks better on my bike than on my belt! In any case it seems to work, but long term I will probably buy one of the Dahon mounts and retire my Otter and get something a bit more professional looking for daily wear.

Switching to another platform

I can't get blogger to work with my phone. I have to go thru  too many contortions to do what I used to do in one or two steps. Apparently google and Apple stopped collaborating a few updates again.

So back to Facebook for now.

Waiting in Düsseldorf

Sunday June 18

Happy Father's Day!

I was pleasantly surprised by Air Berlin.  Good food and efficient service. Seating was tight but at least the guy next to me was both friendly and small.

Walking around with a backpack over my good shoulder has been unpleasant but I'm pleased that I survived the long flight with no real discomfort and no Ibuprofen.  Two glasses of red wine may have been what made it work.

So now I'm facing a 6 hour layover and doing my best to just relax.

Andrea, my sister-in-law who is one of the riders on the upcoming tour,is wanting to explore Düsseldorf and is also busy planning for a full day in Geneva on Monday.  I'm the wet rag though, letting her know that my plans are to just sit and wait and that I refuse to plan anything for Monday! I've encouraged her though to go and do her thing. My priority is to do everything possible to squeeze  in as much healing as possible before the riding starts.

Here's a shot of some interesting artwork in the concourse

Swiss bound once again

In an hour and a half, I drive to SFO to start a long journey to Geneva. I'll be guiding a Bike Switzerland Challenge tour and am excited to be back in that beautiful  country I once called home.

The good news is that I'm all packed and ready to go. The not so good news is that I was in a cycling accident a week ago Friday that whacked my right shoulder and fractured my scapula.

A friend video taped the bump. It doesn't look bad unless you note my shoulder hitting the vertical support pole on the side barrier.

https://youtu.be/xoO1kr8e2BM


The bruising of the shoulder keeps me from raising my arm but I'm able to ride and apply pressure without too much pain in my shoulder.

Also, judging by the increased pain in my shoulder blade over the last few days, I suspect the bone is healing nicely. Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) helps immensely and I'm hoping I've hit the pain  peak and that each day will bring me closer to normal. The ride doesn't start until Wednesday, so I still have time for some more healing.

The flight is also far from ideal. Air Berlin cancelled my original flight and now instead of arriving mid afternoon, I arrive close to midnight on Sunday. Not at all happy with this but it is what it is.

So lots of challenges but I'm guardedly optimistic that I can pull this off . I guess my subsequent posts will tell the story.

iPHone bike applications, round 2

I went ahead and purchased the Cyclemeter product and just don't think it stacks up to the BikeBrain Lite. Unlike the BikeBrain lite product where you can sweep across from one screen to another, with Cyclemeter you have to press little icons and I found these hard to pinpoint when actively riding.  The map tracking  and input interface was also less polished in comparison. No odometer settings and once you stop a track, you can't restart it...Note to self: Pause, don't stop!

 I also discovered that if you have data roaming off, it doesn't take long before your map turns into a grey background, showing just your track. This was also true for the BikeBrain lite product. I need to see if there is a way to pre-load maps as I don't want to pay for roaming charges while riding. So much for slick maps!



Finally, the default options keep powering down the phone. Not a big deal as the application keeps running but I found this annoying. Certainly this should help with battery life, but I like to see, if not the map,  at least the numbers while riding.

I was out for about 2 hours and the battery drained down to about 40% remaining charge.  Better than I expected especially with the video experiments I ran, but it  looks like I would need to invest in an external battery if I want to make sure I have a phone when I need it.

As far as video quality goes, I was using the Otter Defender case mounted on my handlebars. This blocked the back camera but the front camera was still unobstructed. Though its resolution is lower, it seemed to work as long as you avoided any vibrations, which is difficult when riding, even on nicely paved Swiss roads. But it was fun to do and I enjoyed talking to my self as the video rolled on...

Here's a sample...



At best, I'd give it a C- as a video camera. The distortion effects are likely due to the case optics and possibly software. Interesting.

For now, I'm going to stick with my love hate relationship with my Garmin and keep the iPhone in my back pocket. It might be interesting to play with a helmet mounted video where the vibrations will be less noticeable and see how the bike applications progress.

Cheers, Dave

Footnote: I just read that if you preview your planned route in the BikeBrain application (probably also true in the Cyclemeter) the maps you need will be cached. That's neat!

iPhone Bike applications

Well, I'm slowly becoming an iPhone convert. If you have to carry it with you when you ride in order to have a phone (albeit a marginal one at that), why not see if it can perform double duty?

To start with I downloaded a free version of the Dahon Biologic Bike Brain lite. I felt a bit like a traitor, being a big Bike Friday fan, but you've got to hand it to these guys. They really are on top of technology integration.

Since I have yet to buy a bike mount for my iPhone, I simply strapped some velcro thru the clip on my Otter defender; probably the geekiest cell phone holder you can wear. It definitely looks better on my bike than on my belt! In any case it seems to work, but long term I will probably buy one of the Dahon mounts, retire my Otter, and get something a bit more professional looking for daily wear.

Outer case of Otter Defender simply strapped around handlebar stem


To test out the performance, I mounted both items on my bike and did a small shopping tour, hitting the coffee supply store, the Asian market, and our neighborhood COOP. When you consider the short distances and parking constraints, doing this by bike definitely beats driving.

I've heard complaints about the iPhone brightness, but at least in the Defender sealed case, I had no problem viewing the stats and map as I rode. My only complaint is that there are so many cool features that it was hard to keep my eyes on the road. Good thing I've got a nice helmet.

The most impressive feature is the Google-like mapping. Completely free and orders of magnitude better than the Garmin version I purchased for around $99. I really liked how you could see your route as you rode.

After the ride I compared statistics and generally the two devices tracked.  The Dahon software may need some tweaking as it let in some glitches, showing a max speeds that were outrageous considering I was just doodling around town.

The biggest limitation with the Dahon lite product is that you can't upload the data to your PC or the web. This requires their paid version which is not yet available.  The jury is still out on battery life and whether I will need to invest in an external pack to make this work...and of course still need to wait for the sensors that will allow me to track cadence and heart rate; both which I currently have with myGarmin. 

But if all this comes into play, it's pretty clear to me that the future of map tracking for cyclists is with software that enables smart phones and not with GPS specific products like the Garmin hardware. In fact, the Garmin web site now advertises iPhone and Android applications. To me they appear to behind the other players, and quite frankly, I'm not a Garmin fan after putting up with years of buggy expensive software and unreliable bike mounts.  On the latter point, I've gone through at least 6 broken mounts ($15-$20  poorly designed plastic) and have seen my unit fly off 3 times. Hard to believe that they can't come up with a better design.  Perhaps now that there is some real competition they will get their act together.

Next step for me is to try out the Cyclemeter software  by Abvio. This will set me back only $4.99 and will allow data to be uploaded after rides...I'll try this on a longer ride so that I can also judge battery life.

;-) Dave

Spring 2010

Swiss Alps in Background, believe that is Mont Grammont but am not sure!

Finally getting nice weather. Got in a nice 100+km ride in  today.....Early in the ride I ran into a cyclist   'Alberto' who started in Geneva and was doing the 180km lake  loop.  Impressive to be able to do that this early in the season. He was a fast rider and it was fun clipping along with the help of his 'draft'! He was pretty impressed by my Bike Friday... We split just passed Chateau Chillon and I continued upa few kilometers past Aigle.... The views were absolutely spectacular. Had to stop and take pictures. 

In my book this is what makes living in Switzerland so special. I love the daily routines, the gentle rhythm of the week,  the bike friendly routes, and of course the great scenery. ..

Better view of Swiss/French Alps

 Looking towards the Bernese Alps

Small Church in Villeneuve

La Riondaz

Click on this photo to see more pictures...



One of our Bike Switzerland riders (thanks Ed) joked that we should add this climb to the Challenge Tour...It's rated the hardest climb in Switzerland, and the 5th hardest in the world (out of 5,000 rated climbs: http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Rionda&qryMountainID=5550) .

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I not only attempted the climb but tacked on an additional 100km to get to and from the base. I'm also wanting to put my bike through the works having just re-adjusted my hub and perfectly trued my wheels.

I got off around 10 am and rode pretty easy through Montreux and up to Lavey-Les-Bains except for one stretch where I hooked up with a group riding in from Geneva.It's just too hard to let a peloton go by!

At Lavey-Les-Bains I stopped, stretched and refueled. I was a bit worried about the temperature...it was hot and sunny and high noon. Still, ignoring the temptation to enjoy the springs and pools in Lavey-Les-Bains, I started up the climb.

The 15km climb went from steep to steeper with very few stretches below 10%. Switch backs were spaced very close together and I could tell the descent would be a nightmare.(and it was)...After a few hundred meters of climbing, I reached the small village of Morcles where I found a much needed 'Swiss water bottle filling station'! I drank a few bottle fulls and filled up my two empty water bottles. I was sweating profusely and did not want to get dehydrated. I also dunked my head in the water to try and cool down.

From there I continued to climb and the conditions got worse. The paved road ended at a farm and now I'm struggling through gravel and sharp rocks with a 14% grade. This has to be what gave this climb the high difficulty rating. I passed a few hikers on the way up, and all cheered me along.

Finally I made it to the 'summit' where I strolled around a bit, took pictures, and enjoyed the views and fresh air.

The ride down though was a rude awakening. After about a km of steep descents while navigating my littel wheels between menacing rocks I decide this is too much and just walk the bike down. I touch my rims and they're hot enough to cook eggs on. Good thing I stopped. What a waste though to walk down a hill!

When I finally reach pavement, I try to ride, but here too, it's so steep and the switchbacks are so close together, I quickly note that my rims are getting hot and hotter.Nice smell of burning rubber... I walk a few switchbacks and finally decide, enough is enough, and I'm going to ride.

I go as fast as I dare (hoping the wind will cool my rims) but I'm still braking hard at these switchbacks.... Finally, after a few kilometers my rear tire blows out.

At this point, I call Zach and ask if he can walk Tigger and Telly as I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to get off this hill. Fortunately he can do this, so the time pressure is off.

So I go into my Zen bike mechanic mode, let my rims cool down, and replace my tube and nicely patch the blown one (for next time!).

I finally walk,ride, walk, ride my way down and then kick up the burners to ride from Lavey-Les-Bains back home. It's so nice to be on flat terrain. And I have a tail wind too!

I stop in Aigle at a farmers market and buy some fresh squeezed apple juice and 3-4 apricots. The sellers got quite a kick out of my bike and I enjoyed some light conversation with them.

From Aigle, I hoped to find another group of cyclist to share the work, but no such luck. Still my legs felt reasonably good (hydration is key!) and I pumped my way home!

All in all, I'd say this was an adventure, but not one I want to repeat!

Hike near Solothurn

Here's Dedi, Margaret and little Jan near Rotti, the summit of our climb. It was a long steep muddy climb from Oberbalmberg to get to this point.

The cows didn't seem to mind us (or the dogs) walking across their pastures.

The sun came out and I liked the view of the blue sky as we looked over the ridge.

Yaneck sure liked having the dogs around. The distraction helped make him a determined hiker.

View across the plains of the Alps

Not sure what this was!

Dedi feeling pensive

The climb down (over 1,000 meters) was painful to say the least.

Fresh melons for 2CHF on an honor system. This little break hit the spot! Good thing Dave brought a cutting board and knife.

Here we're approaching the magical village of Einsiedelei. This is home to a hermit and is a mystical village with a wonderful open church. The building are built right into the rocks...

Quite impressive no?

Joanna walking with Telly and Julia in the deep background

Inside view of the open church

Candles dotted most of the trail back to Solothurn.

All in all a nice day out though I really feel the 7 hours of hiking