RIP, Ms. Astrale

It figures. Not two weeks after I say that I'm only going to count odometer-recorded mileage in the 5,000 miles needed for the Pilot's retirement, my bike computer stops recording anything altogether. About 3 seconds into the club ride on Saturday (literally--the time recorded is 00:00:03), speed went to zero and the timer stopped. I tried to hit it a couple times to make it work again(this had been successful in the past), but all it succeeded in doing this time is knocking the computer head off the handlebar mount and into the ditch. D'oh!

A couple of my regular riders was kind enough to find it for me after the ride (I did look, too, but didn't have any luck), and it seemed no worse for wear. However, the distance still says 4604.7*, and I've had enough of that crap. It's bad enough that I'm only getting 20-40 miles per week the way it is, and now my paltry mileage isn't even being documented?! Also, I'm already pissed that the cadence meter stopped working around the end of June. It's time to shoot this Cateye into the trash.

I had already started doing a little research on wireless computers a month or so ago (around the time the cadence sensor quit), and was seriously considering going to the Cateye Double Wireless. I did a few ebay searches, and had mostly decided on it for the new bike. But then nearly every Cateye in our group crapped out in the rain last Saturday, and I began to wonder about quality control. So, as much as I like the look and feel of the Cateyes, I started to look for something more resilient to inclement weather conditions. I mean, I'm kind of a lightweight, but even I ride in the rain occasionally. You'd think that a company that makes devices for use on outdoor equipment would design for weather other than "partly cloudy."

So, I thought and I looked and I asked around, and decided to go whole-hog into information overload with a Garmin Edge 305. Wireless! GPS! Heart rate! Cadence! Uploads! Software! And most importantly--waterproof.

It should be here by Wednesday. Since it is wireless, I'm even going to try to install it myself. That should be a laugh.

Song o' the day: Get Ready 2 Rokk (link removed)

*which is what it was on 7/11, too--I rounded up in that last post. Then I forgot the head on the desk when I went out on last week's club ride, and then this week...well, you know that story.