Service after the Sale. Part 1.....

By: Brent

I had a very good holiday season. VERY GOOD. I would imagine so did Garmin. I know this because between gifts and gift certificates, I got TWO devices to feed my running / biking / geeking habits. The Edge 500 I have spoken about which sits on my bike and is an amazing little creation. The second item I bought on my own will with a gift card to Best Buy. The Garmin Forerunner 305. This little critter handles it all, in a wrist mount version, but unlike the Edge 500, it can handle multiple sports so when I am running, it talks to me in minutes/mile and when it is in biking mode it is in miles per hour mode. This 305 is MANY triathletes go to devise because of how easy it switches from sport to sport. I love this devise a lot, yet for different reasons than my Edge 500. Other than being in a Tri, I doubt I would use it on the bike because it is a bulky piece to have on the wrist while riding the bike. I also love it because as far as GPS watches, no matter what amount of sport you are doing, the 305 can cover it, for "only" $150 dollars. It really is a great watch.

I have used it 4 times. 2 training runs and 1 trail race, then I also went out on Sunday for a training run, getting ready for the Indy Mini in May. The weather called for snow to start up in the late morning so I chose to get out before it all started. I thought I would shoot for a 6 mile run or so. All was going well. A bit windy but until I made the turn back on my out and back route, no issues. Well as the turn was made to head back, the big FAT flakes started in, but the best part of running outdoors, now I had to finish. Again nothing really amazing to report, but all went well. As I was finishing up my route I stop at the same point every time and walk the last 1/4 of a mile for my cool down. On this last stretch there is a little half circle road that adds next to nothing to the distance, maybe a 1/10th of a mile, but since this was the longest I had gone in a while I figured the extra cool down would be good for me. As I was wrapping up this little bonus cool down, I started to slide on my left foot. I rushed to get my right foot down and thought, "Okay, everything melted and I am on the smoothest ice ever created" So I safely stepped to the right to get off the ice and started to repeat the process. As I was doing the boot scooting boogie, Gravity decided to get involved and hurled me to the ground.

As I stood up I did a quick dust off and glanced at my beloved Garmin Forerunner 305 watch only to see the display was smashed. I hit some buttons and heard it was still beeping telling me it was on, yet I could see nothing. I was just a short walk from home, and while evaluating myself and deciding I was fine I was really annoyed with myself and what I had just done.

This morning I hopped on garmin.com and sent the service depatment a letter to see what can be done. The good news is it still works, I just have no idea what it says until later when I log it into garminconnect.com but on the run, I would much rather know what is happening.

Yes, I am okay. Yes, I will be better when garmin gets back to me in "3 working days"

Last Minute Switcheroo.

By Brent:   

During the day Jeff and I had been talking and prepping for the group ride when we decided it would be in our best interest to call the shop to confirm there was a group ride to go to. GLAD WE DID! The owner of the shop was on vacation so there would be no riding. We quickly came up with a new plan. Once again Jeff would come over and ride our stationary bike, while I would use his trainer again and log miles on my bike. I was able to show off my Garmin Edge 500 to Jeff and we kicked on the TV. To keep with the spirit of cycling we watched the Cervelo Test Teams podcast called Beyond the Peloton. It is a personal favorite and well known series within the biking community. Now with the demise of the CTT cycling team and its joint venture with the Garmin cycling team, there are many people hoping these podcast continue on.

So with everything set up we hopped on our bikes and set off down the non existent road and pedaled our little hearts off. I managed to log another 16.51 miles averaging 76 rpm's and maxing out (for a split second) at 56.0 mph. The trainer gets buzzing pretty good at that point. I can only imagine the damage should some bolt give out and your rear tire would make contact with the carpet. It would be quite the sight to see.

With this 16.51 miles added to my previous figures, I am now up to 992.87 miles leaving me 7.13 miles to go to hit 1,000 miles of running and riding. This is something I will be pretty proud of and look forward to crushing next year. Can I hear 1,500 or 2,000 maybe?

After the riding was over it was "Geek Time". We hooked the Garmin up to the computer and uploaded all its information to Garmin Connect. This is some cool FREE software. Check out below my ride (mind you I forgot to turn off the GPS portion of it so the map is a little awkward, yet in the same breathe be impressed that I was in the basement, and I still picked up a signal!)

After "Geek Time" concluded we began plotting our outings for 2011. We will post those hopeful outings soon and add them to our Schedule tab.

See ya in 7.13 miles!