Datafest

I got home today from work and there was a box waiting for me patiently by the front door. I opened it when I got inside and there sat my new Garmin GPS unit. I had to charge it before using it so I plugged it into the wall and then went to pick up my KLR at the motorcycle shop after it's spring service. I got new handlebars to replace the my bent old ones, and Progressive fork springs. Holy crap do those springs make a difference! At the first stop I immediately noticed how I didn't have a ton of fork dive when I used the front brake. The bike for the first time felt balanced front and rear, somewhat firm at each end, instead of being excessively mushy in front. It just stabilized the whole ride, no rocking back and forth, it just felt way more solid on the road. It was cold and windy but I had to go rally around the dirt roads for a bit before going home. For about 100 bucks I don't think there is a better upgrade for that bike.

I got the GPS running and then got myself running, literally, to test it out. A half hour later I plugged the thing into my computer, and got the data into the Garmin program, and saw all kinds of neat stuff: graphs, numbers, little maps, oh boy!! Data: 2.5 miles, Avg heart rate 152, Max HR 178 (I sprinted for a bit to see what would happen), and a cool map of my route. I found an option to export data to Google Earth, but that will have to wait till tomorrow, as I have to go to bed. The damn thing seems to work though!