Strava

I wish I'd kept a log of my rides when I was a junior rider - it would be nice to look at them today. Back then some riders did keep ride logs with locations, maps and distances but being young and foolish I never did. It would not only be nice to look at those rides but it would also be a reminder of those I rode with. Many of the roads I rode in the south of England don't even exist anymore - they are buried under motorways - most of the people I rode with are probably buried too! 

What we had back then in the 1960's were paper maps to plan rides and a Lucas Cyclometer. The cyclometer was an analog distance computer bolted on the front axle with a pin attached to one of the spokes which clicked on a star wheel, sort of like the wheel magnet used today but with a mechanical read out. You just had to live with the tick-tick-tick while riding. If you were really into planning rides you could buy a map wheel which gave you an approximate distance when you rolled it along the route on your map. I only know about this because someone in the club had one. 

A Lucas Cyclometer and a map Wheel

Nowadays my Garmin, Strava and Ridewith GPS take care of all this stuff for me - and then some. It's hard to believe the first Garmin Edge and Strava were only launched 13 years ago. Now I can create a route anywhere in the world, follow it on my Garmin while riding and afterward see the result on Strava - wow!

I especially like Strava because I have a log of my rides in which I can see the routes and even illustrate them if I wish. I can also see who I have been riding with and keep in touch with with friends I have made riding at home and in Europe. It is the only social network I belong to! As for the rest of the features it's nice to see the mileage and elevation I have completed in a year. Oops! - I forgot, Strava won't tell you that but a handy Chrome extension for Strava called Elevate will!

Allan Broadribb