HRM1 vs MioLink...

This graph is a supplement to a comment I left on DCRainmaker.com concerning my results using the new MioLink optical heart rate sensor from Mio Global.

My testing was done using a Garmin HRM-11 chest strap (the original old style supplied with the Forerunner series units) paired with a Garmin Edge 500.  The MioLink was paired with the TrainerRoad indoor cycling application running on a PC.  Both tracks were recorded using the ANT+ protocol.

At the beginning of the activity the MioLink was intentionally moved on my wrist (Link was worn on left wrist) to create a "break" in the HR track for further positive identification of the MioLink's track.  As the graph above shows... after about one minute the tracks began to match fairly well and continued to do so throughout the activity.

Overall I would consider the results to be very respectable if you are using the HRM1 as the "standard" the MioLink should match.  Critical users will not that certainly, it’s not a perfect fit.

But personally I really believe power is the ultimate precision training tool anyway.  Heart rate is only a rough indicator of how hard I’m working because there are so many variables that can affect it. But power is power, whether you like the numbers on any given day or not.

However as a supplement to power (or when riding a bike/wo a meter) I think overall the Link would appear to do a decent job. Over the course of a long ride I really don’t feel the need for second to second correlation of heart rate with another device.

I think ultimately it would boil down to a decision about whether you want to wear the strap or not. And there are probably times I still would… like for longer events. If anything battery life is the biggest reservation I have about using the Link.

"Floating Leaf" - Centre County, PA

Floating Leaf - Centre County, PA

This is another one of my favorites from my "Black & White Period".  At the time I was heavily involved in trying to teach myself the "Zone System" (a system of determining exposure and film development) practiced and perfected by Ansel Adams. 

On late-fall a walk through the woods looking for subjects that would lend themselves well to experimenting with these techniques... I saw this leaf floating on the surface of a slow moving stream. 

I was attracted to the various textures and the range of tones... from a few near white grains of sand here and there to the deep blacks along the corners... all forming a frame for the remains of this decaying leaf.

Shot with a Nikon F2 with 55/3.5 Micro-Nikkor on Tri-x film.

"Abandoned Farmhouse" - Pine Grove Mills, PA

Abandoned Farmhouse - Pine Grove Mills, PA 

I've always been really fond of this photograph... shot early on in my career as a photographer.

I used to drive past this abandoned farmhouse quite frequently on my way to work and was always attracted to it because of the (apparently) freshly painted white posts which stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the house.

Since I was "studying" the zone system at the time (a method of determining exposure and processing developed and perfected by Ansel Adams) this scene made for the perfect challenge to my rudimentary skills with camera, film and darkroom technique.  My goal was to capture the "glow" of the posts, the details in the shadows of each window pane and bring to life on paper what I saw in my mind.

Looking at this image 35 years later I feel like I succeeded :-)

Photographed with a Graflex 4x5 camera using Kodak Tri-x film processed in D-76 and printed on Agfa Brovira glossy surface paper.

"Barnacle Encrusted Shell" - Sanibel Island, FL

Barnacle Encrusted Shell - Sanibel Island, FL

This photo was shot on an early morning walk along the "City Beach" on Sanibel Island.

I had forgotten to pick-up my cameras before driving from Fort Myers to the beach and only discovered I didn't have them when I got there.

"Midly" upset and armed with only an Android device I decided to try and make the best with what I had.

Although not of nearly the technical quality I would have gotten with my DSLR's... I still think this is a decent shot and an example of what can be done by anyone with the technology commonly available today.

"Colorful Plantings" - Old Main, Penn State University

Plantings - Old Main, Penn State University

This photo was taken on a slightly overcast day while photographing on the main campus of Penn State University.

I had already spent a fair amount of time shooting one of the most iconic landmarks at Penn State, "Old Main" which is the primary administration building on campus.

During a bit of a break I noticed these colorful, leafy plantings behind me.  They looked like they had promise, but something was lacking at the time so I went back to shooting the building.

Satisfied I had done what I could to catch some new angles on an already over-photographed subject, I turned around and went to pick-up my camera bag.  Just then the sun broke through a high overcast and created a mild back-lighting on these leaves.  That was all they needed to break into the vibrant and unusual colors you see in the photo here.

I used a Nikon D90 DSLR with a 180/2.8 ED lens close to wide-open to make this image.  This created the both shallow depth of field (which draws your eye to the main subject) as well as the vibrant and well saturated colors.  The back-lighting effect adds to the photo by creating a 3-dimensional feeling and is what really caused the colors to "pop".

And no, this was not PhotoShopped :-) 

Mt. Moosilauke - Aplenglow

M

Mt. Moosilauke - Warren, NH

t. Moosilauke - Alpenglow.

This photo of the last rays of sunshine falling on the western slopes of Mt. Moosilauke was shot on a cold and windy fall evening from the summit of Mt. Cardigan in Orange, NH.

I had hiked to the summit to witness a relatively rare astronomical event.  Sunset and moon rise were both going to happen simultaneously (or at least within 5 minutes of each other) that evening and I thought it might make for some interesting photographs.

My first thought about how to illustrate this event had been to try for a panoramic that included both sunset and moon rise in one photograph, but the brisk and windy conditions on the summit of Cardigan crushed that plan relatively quickly.  

Changing up my approach, I set up 2 cameras, one facing east to shoot the moon rising over Newfound Lake and the other facing west toward Mt. Ascutney in VT for my sunset photos.  Both cameras were mounted on "mini-pods" close to the ground to try and minimize any wind induced camera shake during what would be long exposures.

As the moon come up and the sun sank below the horizon, I managed to shoot the equivalent of about 5 "rolls of film" while laying on my stomach and trying to time my shots between 25 mph gusts of wind.

This photograph of Moosilauke (roughly 27 off in the distance), is one of my favorites. 

Shot with a Nikon 8700 at 1/8 second.

Moss & Pine Needles on Forest Floor

Moss & Pine Needles on Forest Floor - Cardigan Mountain, 

This photo is one of a series I did a couple years ago exploring the colors, patterns and textures of the forest floor.

Shoot while hiking on Mt. Cardigan in Orange, NH it features elements of all the above.

My style of photography tends to focus on use of long lenses (a result of my years shooting sports) or looking for the patterns, colors and textures that occur in Nature and "zooming-in" on them to produce a different and visually interesting composition.

Shot using a Nikon Coolpix 8700 camera using close-up mode and a very slight amount of user controlled fill flash.

One of the biggest challenges in making this photo was all the black flies that were trying to eat me alive while I stood still long enough to grab the photo.

Old Main Bell Tower

Old Main Bell Tower - Penn State University Main Campus

The Old Main bell tower is instantly recognizable by anyone who has attended or visited Penn State... and it is no doubt one of the most photographed sites on campus.

The challenge for any photographer is how to shoot it in a new and visually interesting way.

This photo was an experiment in trying to do just that.

While not for everyone... this photo was post-processed in Nikon CaptureNX using the "Levels and Curves" adjustment to vary the intensity, density and value of the original colors.

Purists, traditionalists and straight shooters will probably not care for the result or techniques used to get there... but there is no doubt that digital manipulation is a technique that is here to stay.  It's at least something worth experimenting with next time you're shooting the "Same Old".  The results could surprise you.

Android Simplicity

Paper Lanterns - PowerHouse Mall, Lebanon NH

Sometimes it's actually pretty incredible to me what you can do with a cell phone camera and a free photo app these days.

As someone who started their photography career using manual everything cameras, film and needing a darkroom plus 2 hours of time to see the results of a shoot... it's pretty amazing.

This photo was shot on the fly with an Android device and post-processed in Adobe PhotoshopExpress.

All in about 5 minutes :-)

While not gallery quality... what the average person with little to few technical skills can produce today both scares and impresses me.  

Inside the CycleOp's Fluid 2 Trainer...

Photo - Courtesy CycleOps

For anyone who's interested in what goes on inside a fluid based cycling trainer go here:

http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/bikes-and-gear-features/how-it-works-fluid-bike-trainer

The illustration above shows the Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer.

Felt Z-85 Long Term Review...

Date Reviewed: April 18, 2013

Strengths:    Value, comfort, performance.

Weaknesses:    Paint (USA - 2012 version ). OEM Brakes.

One of 2 Felt bikes in my assortment and arguably the one I like the most based on 9500 miles of riding experience with this bike during the past 2.5 years. This was my first Felt bike (also recently purchased an F4). 

Comfortable and predictable ride, good choice of components out of the box (2012 version anyway). Straight off the sales floor this is a great everyday training bike for the Cat 3-4 racer or the perfect tool for the weekend group rider. The OE build offers both great performance and solid value for the money. Can't add much more to the previous reviews other than to reinforce the positive and say you definitely need to upgrade the brakes. Immediately if you live in hill country.

For someone looking for a long term relationship with this bike note that it is totally worth upgrading the group-set (or individual components) as the stock 105 components wear out. The frame is worthy, even if others might scoff at the idea of putting higher level components on an alloy "recreational" frame.

I've upgraded my saddle to a Prologo Skratch Pro, the crank to a full size Ultegra 6601, the front and rear mech's to Ultegra 6600 and my wheels to Ksyrium Equipe (which came from my F4, but which wears Cosmic Carbones). I changed out the brakes to 105 very soon after initial purchase and started riding Conti GP4000s when the OE Vittoria Rubino's wore out. Built up with these components the bike is a very solid trainer or A level group ride or fondo bike.

The only issue I've had is with the paint bubbling-up around the breather holes in the seat stays, seat post clamp area and bottle cage bosses. A little irritating since I basically put the bike thru a pro-level cleaning after every ride, but not structural and I suspect easily repaired. In fact it probably says a lot about how much I like this bike that I am considering investing in a custom paint scheme in the near future.

Bottom line:  You could do a lot worse and might be hard pressed to do better! 

Can Trainer Road and the CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer Produce Consistent Results?...

Test-1 @ 80 rpm

Test-1 @ 85 rpm (dropping 2 cogs)

Test-2 @ 80 rpm

So one of the biggest questions about Trainer Road (and other similar programs) that produce a virtual power is "Are the numbers accurate?" or "Can they produce repeatable results?"

My somewhat non-scientific testing done today and seen in the charts to the left would seem to indicate that the results are repeatable enough to allow use of the program as a reliable training tool.

Are the numbers the same as you would get using a $1000 to $1500 power meter?  Probably not.  But they do match up pretty well to the numbers I got last year riding on the CompuTrainer, a system which sells for $1600 plus and that doesn't include all the software necessary to graph results and create workouts.  My testing was done by warming up the trainer for 5 minutes.  Then spinning for a minute at as consistent a cadence as humanly possible.

Test-2 @ 85 rpm (dropping 2 cogs)

One minute tests were done at 80 rpm and then dropping 2 cogs and spinning for one minute at 85 rpm.  Then the bike was removed completely  from the trainer, a bit of air was let out of the rear tire and the resistance unit backed off from it's clutch locked tire tension position.

The tire was then aired up again to 100 psi, the bike placed in the trainer and locked into the same position.  The resistance unit was then tightened until the clutch mechanism slipped one notch indicating proper tension on the tire.  The second set of tests was then run.

As you can see from the charts, the results are very similar, accurate to a watt or two at the same cadence.  That's close enough that I think it safe to say you can use Trainer Road and similar programs as a useful (if not completely accurate) training tool.  And given the cost it's a bargain for the cyclist that would like to train with power on occasion but who isn't ready to take the $1500 plunge into crank or pedal based power metering.

As I spend more time using the program I will post updates, so stay tuned :-)

(For those interested: Testing was done using a Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheel with a CycleOps Trainer tire inflated to 100psi, CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer with slip clutch tension adjustment and Garmin GSC-10 speed/cadence sensor.  The test file was then exported from Trainer Road and imported to Strava for "analysis").

Holiday Gift List for the Cyclist on Your Shopping List...

Everyone seems to be putting together top-ten gift lists, so here's one I put together for the Prouty (or other) event rider on your Holiday shopping list:

Road ID Interactive. – On the road peace of mind for cyclists or runners.

http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx

Strava Premium Membership. – Track your rides, watch your friends & claim KOM’s.

 http://www.strava.com

SRAM Handlebar mount for Garmin Edge. – Great improvement over standard mount. Puts the unit out front for better visibility and access

Garmin Edge 500 or Edge 510. – GPS based bike computer.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/into-sports/cycling/cIntoSports-cCycling-p1.html

Garmin GSC-10 Speed/Cadence sensor.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/into-sports/cycling/cIntoSports-cCycling-p1.html

Continental GP 4000s tires. – One of the very best road tires out there and don't under-rate the importance of good tires.

http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/race/

Shimano Ultegra Carbon Pedals. – A great bang-for-the buck upgrade you can make to any bike.

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/road/ultegra/product.-code-PD-6800.-type-.pd_road.html

Shimano C 24 Wheelset. – Better wheels are the best upgrade you can make to any OEM spec bike.  Watch those Ulitmate miles melt away under this all-around wheelset.

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/wheels/road_wheels/product.-code-WH-9000-C24-CL.-type-.wh_road.html

Professional Bike Fit – The benefits of a professional bike fitting are huge.  Increased comfort, improved power output and better handling are just a few.

http://drummondcycles.com/about-us/

http://thebikehub.com/

Prouty Ulitmate (Full) Donation. – The Ultimate Holiday gift for the rider who's been very, very good this year!

http://cancer.dartmouth.edu/dv/friends_event_prouty_ultimate.html