Epic Riding. Epic Writing.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

posted by Grizzly Adam at 8:13 PM | Permalink |

Finding the Way

I unloaded a bit of used gear, and turned the proceeds into a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. The unit arrived today, and it is really nice looking. It's super light, compact, and the screen looks great. I have messed around with it briefly, learning the basic controls and functions. First impressions are very good. It locked into a strong signal in my basement right out of the box. I think Garmin has found a way to put high end GPS features into a more consumer friendly package. Once I get a chance to really use the thing I will post my impressions. But out of the box, I am impressed.

I was looking at some of the gear I have recently put together, and realized that I am out of excuses. I have all the essential multi-day items I will need. I guess all that is left is to actually go ride one of these beasts. The problem is, I don't think I will have a chance until '08. Which gives me time to learn how to use all the gear, figure out a good strategy, and see if I can strap it all to the bike...good times ahead!

But, as I seem to be doing a lot of this year, I have gotten ahead of myself. Right now it is time to focus on Saturday, and the E50. I am going to try a new tactic in the race....going fast. :)

6 Comments:

At 12:35 AM, FixieDave

do abunch of over nighters were the focus isn't mileage and test, test and more testing to see what works... hit hike a bikes to see how everything is to push...

Head out with some bad weather (with a bail out option if it gets to crazy) just play around with stuff.... Feel free to email if something comes up =)

At 12:45 PM, Unknown

I've had an eTrex for years and it's worked well, but it looses location lock in the trees. I'm glad to see they have refreshed the eTrex line with a higher sensitivity receiver. Now I'm tempted to buy a new one. The features on your model look good. Didn't you have an EDGE 305?

At 9:50 AM, Dave

PCNation has a great price on that! Bummer they are out of stock now. I think Garmin nailed it with this one as I really like the size and functionality of the orig Vista. The better antenna and color screen will be great! What handlebar mount did you end up buying?

At 10:12 AM, Grizzly Adam

Kris, I still have the Edge, I just wanted something that had a longer battery life, and more robust navigation features. The edge will still be my primary bike computer.

Dave, yeah PCNation is where I got mine. I jumped on it when I saw the free 3 day shipping and the fact that it was in stock. I picked up the Garmin bike mount, so I will be testing that out next week.

At 2:01 PM, Unknown

I had a bike mount for my eTrex (until it was stolen along with my bike) and it worked OK. On rough terrain I did have a problem with the GPS shutting off due to the batteries loosing contact with the terminals. I was able to fix the problem by adding another spring behind the weak terminals to help them hold the battery better and stay in contact. I would hope Garmin has fixed this problem by now so you may not have this problem. Now I just put the GPS high in my CamelBak pack (so it gets a clear "view of the sky") and use it for tracking my ride and occasionally I pull it out to navigate. My cyclocomputer is good enough for distance as I ride. The GPS is also better protected in my CamelBak than on the bars.

At 10:22 PM, Chris

What's it weigh sans batteries (or with lithiums)?

If the battery cutout issue is fixed I think this will be my next GPS. The Geko is still holding it down though. I fit the whole GLR in it.