My Excuse

I haven't been keeping up the blogging because I've been spending way too much time trying to make this crap from Polar work right. The WIND speed sensor (which doesn't measure airspeed, in case you were wondering) has an advertised battery life of 3000 hours. My new one came up 2941 hours short. I tried all kinds of things assuming it can't be dead, it's brand new for cryin' out loud. In the end I bought a new one since I didn't want to wait around for Polar to send a new one. Having two will make switching between bikes much quicker, as it came with a new CS600 mount as well.

PS: In the end I sent it back to Polar and it was returned in working condition. We'll see how it goes.

More Polar CS600 Advice

The CS600 is the follow on for the old 720/725 units. I think they still make 725s, perhaps for the running market. The coded wireless parts represent a big step forward, making the installation easier and performance almost seamless. Now for my BIG gripe. They still use an IR interface, and the one they make sucks horribly. Here's roughly the sequence of events:

11/17/07: I ride the PAA/John's Bike group ride, Burbank-Acton-Burbank (90 miles, 5h9min - my teammates like going fast and I don't like being dropped). John's had a one-day 20% off sale for PAA members and I score the complete CS600. My next easy day is Monday so...

11/19/07: I read all the instructions and find the part where Polar says something like "Oh, you wanted to USE the software, you'll need a Polar USB/IR interface!" I get one at Helen's in Arcadia, which was the closest shop to Pasadena which had one on hand. Prior to this, I hand recorded some data on the CS600 under "No Bike" to check the WIND WearLink (which worked much better than the older, non-WIND unit) so I could make sure data upload functioned. The installation of ProTrainer5 was easy, as was the transfer of my old data. There's a little weirdness: if you have old PPP data in that you create a fake "Team Member" (ProTrainer appears to be geared to use by a coach, you have a team which will be one person in most cases) add yourself, then delete the fake one.
I installed the driver for the USB/IR unit, hooked it up and....NOTHING. What followed was a classic case of modern living. We have scads of really awsome techno-gizmos which are, in a real way, dirt cheap. The problem is that the installation and use of these devices can be complicated and confusing. Here's the thing, I make my living as a computer system administrator. I deal with Windows and Linux on multiple platforms every day and what followed was difficult for me. Good luck to the typical user. In any case, after waiting more than 30 minutes for tech support we conclude that the problem MUST be in the CS600, and not the IR unit.

11/20/07: As luck would have it, my job brought me out to Burbank during the day so I stopped by John's with the idea of trading my CS600 for a good one. Just to be sure, I brought my work laptop and tested the unit John's had on hand. STILL NO DICE! So, the problem is not the CS600 unit, but the IR.

11/21/07: Just to be sure, I go into Best Buy with the CS600 and locate a demo laptop with a built in IRda device. It recognizes the CS600 as a valid device right away. During my lunchtime at work I try the Polar IRda on several computers and still nothing. Thanksgiving is coming up so I put the problem away for a while.

12/5/07: Turns out Helen's has another Polar IR device on hand. They trade me and send back the first one. The new one works, but let me make note of something: I thought I had de-installed the driver, so I went through a re-install. After I was all done with my test and went to close and detach the USB device I noticed that it was labelled "IRda #2"!

12/6/07: Normally, the install of the Polar WIND Power unit would be considered somewhat cumbersome, but compared to the crap I went through it seemed easy and wrapped up in about 30 minutes. The task was made much easier than it might have been because I've switched to the Wippermann Connex type chain which is really easy to remove and install. Compared to the wired unit that came with the 720, this was a breeze. A few notes:

• There is a typo somewhere that suggests that the IRda will work within 10cm. I think this should be 10mm!
• The CS600 mount looks flimsy to me. I've met at least one guy who had broken his, so be gentle. Careful positioning makes things go more easily.
• My previous Polar power unit didn't work properly with my original chain and that problem went away when I added 1" to it. I don't know if the new one has the same problem yet, but I'll be checking.
• At this writing the USB/IR interface doesn't have a driver for Vista. I expect this will have to change.
• I recommend installing the drivers and then rebooting your computer prior to connecting the USB/IRda interface the first time.
  
• Here's Polar's page on uploading.
  
• Check this out.
  

Resolved

I'm going to:

• blog at least twice a week
• stay on my training regimen
• get to know my PAA teammates better
• never say to the guy coming last at the regroup "have a flat?"
• stop obsessing
• start enjoying
• remember there's more to life than the bike.

Hiatus, Part Deux

I've been busy. One time a biker passed me on a hill saying "Can't talk, breathing", and that's how I feel in general. Since my last entry I've ridden around 2000 miles, a lot of it pretty hard. Enough about me (strange from a blogger), I'll talk training later. A few reviews:

Wippermann 9 Speed Nickel Connex Chain: Wins. I got 1900 miles from one (last time I kept track I wiped out a Shimano in under 1500). This makes it about the same cost per mile, but it wins on convenience, even over the SRAM with master link.

Polar CS600, with power: Without going into too many details (waiting for phone support for 30 minutes, returning to bike shops multiple time and so on), it does function, and the ProTrainer software is a step up from PPP version 4. I haven't investigated the resonance phenomenon, but will eventually. This wins over the 720 since it has the following:

• More readable display
• 1-sec record rate
• More info in display
• Display flexibility
• Fewer data dropouts (none so far actually)

I also suspect that the accuracy is somewhat better. Power spikes occur on occasion still.

Polar Power & Resonance

So the program my coach has me on is power based. This meant I had to get out that damn Polar power meter and install it on the bike I'd use for most of my training. It only took a couple of hours and things seemed to work great, until I noticed that in one, and only one, gear combination the power went through the roof. So my wonderful wife suggested I try using her chain (wipperman connex, rather than my cheapie SRAM). Lo and behold the problem went away!

So we took out one of her spare chains to put on my bike. In life there are these moments when something tugs at the back of your brain and asks for your attention. I had one. As we're prepping the chain my wife asks "Should we leave it the same length as mine?" The obvious answer was "Yes!", but I said "Gee, it should probably be the appropriate (shorter) length for my bike. How could the overall length possibly matter?" Bzzzzzzzzzzzt, wrong answer.

What happened was that the resonance (that's what must be going on, because clearly the pickup is reading the wrong, higher frequency) moved from one gear combo to another (less bothersome) one. Crap! By the way, Polar will absolutely disavow any knowledge of this phenomenon. I'm having trouble getting my head around it, since the source must be in the static chain tension. I don't know if a longer chain length throws the resonance onto a gear combo you'd never use (say, 50x26) or just in between two existing ones. It doesn't matter, when my new chains come in I'll set one up as long as I can and test it. If the resonance is still there, then I'll cut it down and hope it falls into limbo between two gears. I'll let you know.

Hiatus

I'm making several entries today, catching up and keeping the topics distinct. Much has transpired. First I noticed after returning from DC that, in spite of taking four days off the bike, my knees were still somewhat stiff. Following my usual habit of ignoring all possible warning signs I did the following during the next week:

• The Rose Bowl Ride
• Shakedown cruise of the cyclocross bike
• Cool Breeze Double Metric

Guess what? In spite of all this nice exercise the knees didn't improve. It would have been better had they hurt like hell, instead they were just somewhat bothersome. Then I found myself thinking about an upcoming GMR ride. I realized I'd have to strategize based on protecting my knees. Maybe something's wrong, ya think?

A solid week off the bike. Limited walking. Lot's of ibuprofen, glucosamine, MSM, icing, elevation and swimming seemed to help. Now, I think I'm just a wee tad arthritic. This is not the first time middle age has jumped on my chest and laughed at me, but maybe the worst. Everyone thinks their own passion is just the coolest, but cycling has to be special. So many aspects, so many people, so many places. The thought of giving it up was a bit much.

So things are manageable. A month of limited activity has played hob with my LT and maintainable power levels, so back to work. With a coach this time.