Logging Data

As the summer threatens it becomes harder and harder to resist going for a ride at every opportunity. On Saturday this feeling meant I drove all the way to Cannock Chase (statistically the second nearest FC Trail centre to me) to satisfy my craving.

I was worried it be busy as other people had the same idea as me, but it looked like the rain held people's enthusiasm in check and I had parts of the trail entirely to myself. Cannock is a mixed bag of a centre, at places far better suited to a hardtail than a full suspension bike and with a lot of very narrow tree gaps that were a challenge with the wider bars my new Kona is running. However, when the track points downhill the suspension got a chance to work and made Cannock's brutal braking bumps easier to handle and letting some flow come out. Big puddles and constant adjustment made for a mixed up ride but nothing could dull the fun of having time on a bike and I got back in the car for the long drive home just visibly calmer and happier than I'd set out.

Another question that the trail raised was over the black sections. On the ride I chose the red options every time and by the end I was questioning my choices. Yes, the red offers more of a flowing ride and I am always aware that when I'm riding alone a big stack would be hard to deal with, but I think I have the skills, especially on the new bike, to ride them so why don't I? I need to challenge myself more and improve my riding and my confidence by doing this, rather then keeping my riding safe and on the red trails that I know. Maybe I would benefit form some training to get more out of my riding and perhaps also to adjust fully to the suspension bike I'm now on.

In other news all of that data you log from Strava can have a real world application for town planners as in Oregon. Looking at where people are riding and where they are braking and accelerating can help town planners build an infrastructure that is best for cyclists. Perhaps there is also an opportunity for trail centre builders to use similar data to better plan the way the trails are maintained and managed.

Finally there was yet another reason to ride with a helmet cam as a South African who was robbed at gunpoint in South Africa caught his robbers clearly on his GoPro:

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