MBlog

We Have a Winner

Turns out the Edge 305 (and our other fitness devices) paired with MotionBased can be used for more than a tool to track your progress.  User deefolse recently won a mountain bike race based on the information he recorded with his device. 

NORBA California State Mountain Bike Series puts on about 6 races for the season.  In bike racing, starts are determined by age and skill level.  Those in each "Class" start the race at the same time, so every competitor is racing against others in their Class.  In a perfect world this goes off without a hitch.  The first person from a Class to cross the finish line wins.  But this isn't a perfect world.  And in this story, that's where the Edge 305 steps in.

Amidst a scramble of chaos the Classes at the Big Bear Shootout got mixed and mingled.  Realizing that something was amiss, someone in deefolse's Class yelled out "When do we go?"  They were answered with the dreaded "They're already OUT!"  Deefolse and the rest of his Class decided this would be a good challenge.  Rather than get angry, they got competitive!  Having the wherewithal to press the Start button on his Edge 305, deefolse set out at blistering speeds and started picking off his competitors one by one.  Believing he passed the entire field by the time he crossed the finish line, he celebrated with his teammate, who finished right behind him.  Turns out deefolse was still 6 seconds behind the first guy to cross the line.  Amazingly he had the wherewithal to press the Stop button at the finish line (chalk that up to being an obsessive compulsive endurance athlete, perhaps).  Taking the EDGE 305 to the Course Marshal, deefolse was able to show him the exact time he started (almost 2 full minutes AFTER his Class set out!) and the time he finished, just 6 seconds after the guy who started at the right time.  Thanks to the proof on the Edge 305, the Marshal declared deefolse the winner.

With his trusty Edge 305 mounted to his bike, deefolse was able to come out the victor in some troubling circumstances.  Check out his race:

IMAX Crew Tracks Mount Everest

Every year, we have the pleasure of meeting inspiring adventures at the Outdoor Retailer Show. In 2005 we met backcountry ski pioneer Andrew Mclean (a.k.a. Paw Prince), who uses a GPSMAP 60CSx to track his winter ski pursuits and a Geko 301 for his unicycling rides challenges. This past year, we met Michael Brown, a pioneer of adventure filmmaking. His company, Serac Adventure Films, has been awarded with over thirty international film festival and industry awards, including three national Emmys from five nominations.

Michael approached us with an interesting project, he wanted to track an upcoming Mount Everest Expedition. As a filmmaker, Michael’s objective isn’t the summit, he’s been there bagged that, for him it’s about capturing the experience. Beyond just film, he wanted to capture every step with the latest technology.

The project reunited the original “Everest” stars Jamling Norgay and Araceli Segarra, in the “Return to Everest 3D.” That’s right, an IMAX film in 3D. It’s set to premier in March 2009.

In every IMAX film I’ve ever seen, they always labor over the size and weight of IMAX cameras, much less 3D IMAX. So, Michael wanted the smallest, lightest Garmin device. The Forerunner 305 was the obvious choice, but what about battery life? Fortunately, Michael has friends in the right places, like Stuart Cody's Automated Media Systems. After some fancy work under the hood, Michael’s Forerunner was official pimped and ready for Everest.

Here's a look at Michael's four-day journey up Mount Everest. As the man behind the lens, Micheal's route takes some interesting turns. Who else would go up, down, and back-up again on an Everest summit day. All 34 plus hours in the "Death Zone" (above 26,000) while maintaining an average heart rate of 53%. Clearly, he's climbed a few mountains. Check out Michael's MotionBased Digest to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.

Everest Day 1 Everest Day 2 Everest Day 3 Everest Day 4 (summit day)

Summit Day Elevation

Bike To Work Day

While this is Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists sets aside one special day for Bike to Work Day.  While nationally that day is Friday 18 May 2007, the Bay Area celebrates Bike to Work Day TODAY! 

To celebrate all but one of the MotionBased crew put their keys away for the day and rode their bikes into work on San Francisco's official "Bike To Work Day."  The majority of us commuted from various parts of San Francisco, so a plan was laid out to have various meeting points throughout San Francisco so everyone could ride in together.

The ride began in SOMA (San Francisco speak for "South of Market St.") where Brad and Jason pedaled only 50 yards before stopping at the first of many Energizer Stations set up throughout San Francisco.  After scarfing down a bagel, they we off to the Lower Haight to meet Sebastian and Michael. 

In route, they ran across another Energizer Station on Market St. and felt obliged to stop.  This time it was muffins instead of bagels.  Before rolling on, a reporter from the Chronicle interviewed one of our very own, Brad Scheppler, about his insights on Bike To Work Day:

Brad Scheppler, commuting from San Francisco to his job in Sausalito, said he favors Bike to Work Day because, by planning his route wisely, he can stop for a half-dozen free muffins on the 10-mile ride. On Market Street, he was already on Muffin No. 2.

"Bikes are great,'' he said. "You don't pay for gas, you help the environment, and today you get free food.''  Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer (full San Francisco Chronicle article)

The ride was just beginning.  The crew, now four in size, headed through Golden Gate Park and into the Richmond district to pick up Bobby.  After a few small climbs, San Francisco is a hilly city after all, the crew picked up Bobby and were on their way to the Presidio to the final meeting point to meet up with Aaron and Mike.  Aaron had made the ride over from Sausalito to meet up with the crew in San Francisco and be a part of the ride.

The crew was a little behind schedule but luckily one of the riders was wearing one of the new Garmin Astros (yes it is for dogs but it was for testing purposes) so Aaron and Mike were able to track them as they approached the final meeting point.

The final meeting point was, yes you guessed it, another Energizer Station.  At this point it was 11 miles into the ride and food and drinks were a must.  The crew, now 7 in size, took a group photo and then headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and descended into Sausalito to start the work day.

All in all, it was a great day for riding into work.  The weather was great, the views throughout the city were amazing, and there's nothing quite like riding over the Golden Gate Bridge on your way to work.  Best of all, the entire office joined in the fun!

Of course, not to be outdone by the city boys, our crew from the North Bay also hit the road.  As he does pretty regularly, Richard rode down from Fairfax.  Carlo made the trek all the way from the East Bay, commuting on the ferry first.  KK made her 3.63 mile ride all the way from Mill valley.  And who was the lone hold out who decided to forsake even the bike?  Well, Clark took Bike to Work day to a whole new (and different) level by walking the 1.25 miles to work.

Happy Bike to Work Day, folks!

Team Milram at Paris Roubaix

Our friends across the pond at the Garmin UK office have been working hard to spread Garmin - MotionBased though the professional cycling and triathlon ranks. In early 2007 they signed Tim Don, Great Britain's World Champion Triathlete, and in February 2007 they landed Team Milram, the UCI Pro Cycling Team.

Of course their using MotionBased for performance analysis. Giving us an inside view into their competitive world:
tim.don.motionbased.com
team-milram.motionbased.com

At the acclaimed Paris Roubaix, Team Milram was there tracking the action. The Dot Race below shows Marcel Sieberg and Ralf Grabsch.  Marcel was with the main-field, while Ralf got away in a long breakaway.

	Ralf Grabsch
	Marcel Sieberg

Tour de France: Stage 15 Preview

A big day in the Alps lies ahead in Stage 15 of the Tour de France. One of our lucky customers, or unlucky when you look at the profile of this route, pre-rode Stage 15 last week.

Props to bauerlab for tracking this nugget and notifying the MB crew prior to the race tomorrow. Looks like bauerlab is getting some good rides in the Alps right now.

Bike-to-Work

It all happens in May, Bike-to-Work month, week and day; a significant time for bike commuters and the cycling coalition. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the two-wheeled celebration. It's that special time of year when we applaud each other with subtle nods and pedal for a higher cause.

The League of American Bicyclists promotes this week, May 15-19, as Bike-to-Work week. If you're not already involved, it's not too late. The jewel, Bike-to-Work day, still lies ahead. According to the LoAB the national day is Friday, May 19th, but it may be different in your community. Here's where it gets confusing. In the Bay Area and most of California, it's May 18 th, most everywhere else it's May 19th. Check here of local info and events.

Every year we like to honor an MB user that tracks their commutes. Last year it was rwarren and tcazzard from The Great State of Maine (that's what he calls it). This year, the TrailNetwork watched an ambitious commuter arise from New York. Bowood came on strong, tracking an impressive 372 commutes over the Manhattan Bridge. Good on ya bowood.

 

Tour de Georgia - Stage 5

The climbing continues. Today's stage ascended 9,449 feet, from Blairsville to Brasstown Blad Mountain - the highest point in Georgia at 4,784 ft. There were three major climbs; category 1, category 2 and Hors Category to finish. Here's a Google Earth image of Brasstown Bald Summit.

Health Net rider Doug Ollerenshaw had this to say about his race, "It was hard.  I didn't ride fast." Check out Doug's blog post to read more.

Keep charging Doug! Just one more day..

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this weeks OLN Cylcysm Sunday is showing the Tour de Georgia. Maybe next week?

Tour de Georgia - Stage 4

The Tour de Georgia returned to Georgia after a quick dip into Tennesse. With over 10,000 feet of climbing, Stage 4 tested the main field. The lead group only included 39 of 109 finnishers. Health Net's Doug Ollerenshaw pinned it early, check out his heart rate on the first climb. His words, "Went in the break early, got caught around mile 70. Dropped on the second to last climb, grupetto to the finish." (Grupetto - the group behind the peloton.)

Without any significant changes to the General Classification, Doug's teammate Nathan O'Neill remains in fourth place.

See Doug's complete MotionBased Digest at ollerend.motionbased.com.

Tour de Georgia - Stage 3

Gotta love a good individual time trial, especial when it ascends 2,400 plus feet in 25 miles. Today's stage traveled from Chickamauga to Chattanooga, Tenn. So it's the Tour de Georgia with a little Tennessee. Check out the GE image of the major climb. 

Thanks to our Health Net friend Doug Ollerenshaw for tracking the Tour, and congrats to his teammate Nathan O'Neill with four place finish.

See Doug's digest at ollerend.motionbased.com and check out his blog for more color.

 

Tour de Georgia - Stage 2

Todays stage rolled 118 miles north from Fayetteville to Rome. Once again, Heath Net's Doug Ollerenshaw tracked the stage and said,"It was slow and easy until we got near the finishing circuits, at which point it became neither slow nor easy." If you're a MB Standard customer, check out the Analyzer and admire the fitness. What he calls nice and easy, I couldn't moto-pace behind an RV.