self-supported brevet updates

[Greg Merritt]

Wherever you have cell phone coverage, you can likely quickly and
easily post progress to your ride to the Web by making Twitter
postings from text messages on a cell phone.

If your group agrees to a hashtag, then the whole world can easily
follow multiple riders as the event unfolds. It's super-super cool.
:)

Several of us riding the San Francisco Randonneurs brevet series did
just this. We used hashtags like #sfr600k and #sfrfleche. When
stopping to eat and whatnot, I (and other riders) would send a quick
text message to twitter. Friends and family could easily follow our
progress by looking at our twitter pages or simply the twitter search
page for the event's hashtag.

As a spectator, there are other fun options. A friend was tweeting a
400k brevet that I was not riding. I set my twitter account to
temporarily send her tweets straight to my cell phone as text
messages. As I was out and about doing errands and whatnot that day,
I could see her progress live as she reported it to twitter, since her
updates would come directly to my cell as text messages. I could also
shoot back replies of encouragement and whatnot.

This doesn't require a fancy cell phone. My cheap pay-as-you-go cell
phone costs $10 at Target and I pay $20 every three months to keep it
alive.

One annoying thing: it looks like the twitter search only reaches
back at most a couple of weeks, so I can't send a simple link as an
example any more. Google helps a bit, though. For example, try
this...

http://www.google.com/search?q=site:twitter.com+sfr600k

...but click on the "Cached" version of each link -- if you click on
the main link for each result, you'll probably get each person's
current page instead of the slightly-older version cached by Google.
Er this will eventually get purged, too, but it's good at the moment.
;)

If any of you are going to tweet a brevet, please pick a hashtag and
post it here to the Randon list! :)

I'll paste a set of my tweets below as an example. Newest are at the
top, oldest at the bottom.

-Greg

#sfr600k done. too hard. 6:31 PM May 31st
#sfr600k gville. beautiful morning for a bike ride! 9:53 AM May 31st
#sfr600k searching bottom of teacup for the will to live at cloverdale
starbux 6:20 AM May 31st
#sfr600k bragg knees hurt 9:06 PM May 30th
#sfr600k bag of ice on knee in cloverdale O.o 1:57 PM May 30th
#sfr600k healdsburg. going to slow down now. 11:48 AM May 30th
#sfr600k petaluma 9:34 AM May 30th
#sfr600k pt r station 8:10 AM May 30th
#sfr600k checked in and stretching in the lee of straus 5:43 AM May 30th
#sfr600k on the bus to sf! 4:38 AM May 30th
#sfr600k tea & pastry. sunscreen, yuck. about to head out! 3:59 AM May 30th

[Emily O'Brien]

Along similar lines, I'm wondering who her calls in updates on rides?
Part of me is very resistant to the idea of doing that, because I go
on brevets to get away and I think it's nice to be able to temporarily
cut the electronic tether to "real life". That's not to say that I
don't bring my cell phone, turned off, just in case (although I don't
always).
And for myself, I would feel that my updates on most rides would be
just more of the chatter of the Twitter age that no one really needs
to hear. And while Jake and I certainly enjoyed following each
others' progress on the longer brevets we did separately last summer,
since the event organizers posted updates online, I wouldn't expect
him to update me all the way through a ride, nor would I feel it
necessary to send him updates. I guess just on general principle I
think we ought to be able to go for rides without someone needing to
keep constant track of our whereabouts, and on that basis I'd be
inclined to be resistant to the whole idea.

That said, I can also understand how regular updates can be fun for
friends or family who want to enjoy your ride with you, support your
efforts, or participate in a way that doesn't actually mean riding
with you. And of course it's useful for someone who might be coming
to pick you up to know when you might arrive. It is also a good way
to put the minds of worried spouses at ease. For a ride that is
really a new or unusual challenge, like a much longer distance for
example, knowing that friends or family were following one's updates
could be a motivating factor. I know that the times I have done long
events that posted rider updates, my parents enjoyed being able to
follow my progress and send the link to their friends. Although I
don't think I'd bother with it if I had to do it myself, even if it
were as simple as fishing out the phone and sending a text message
(but I may just be lazy in that regard).

Just wondering what others' thoughts are on this topic.

Emily

[Spencer Klaassen]

I have often struggled with this issue as my family and club mates like to follow along with some of the long rides that I like to do.  My attempt with this issue has been the use of a SPOT messenger.  This way, I can be on my ride (cut the electronic umbilical cord) and anyone who knows me (and the web link), can follow along.  

I often see riders at every control pull out their cellphones and call their significant others as I chill out for a few minutes.  This often brings some strange looks from other riders as they assume that I don't care enough to let others know what is going on.  Maybe I have been doing these rides for too long, but my family doesn't really care what I am doing at a control.  They often don't care how I am feeling as I am accused of punishing myself all the time anyway.  They do wonder if they should hold dinner (or breakfast) until I get back to join them.  They can just check the website and will know if that is necessary.  I call when I am done with the ride (if I won't wake anyone) and we then plan on getting back together.  

It is probably that I am very selfish of "my time." Or maybe that cycling is my Yoga, but having to talk when I am out riding is just not pleasant for me.  If anyone is interested in my mindless drivel, they can hear it after I decompress.....

My cycling buddy and I just got back from four days in the Nebraska sand hills.  It will sound strange, but we talked a lot about the importance of silence.  In our society, we often don't "unplug" and give ourselves a break.  Touring with Joe in a desolate place allows me to cut those ties with the modern world.  As usual, the first day is the most difficult as we struggle to break with our "worlds."  The next three days were just like the heart beating, we wake and do our thing all day and then we are at the overnight.  No thinking, no worrying, just doing and enjoying the experience.  I wish life was more like touring......

Regards,

Spencer

St Joseph, MO

[cris.co...@gmail.com]

On Jun 26, 9:31 pm, Emily O'Brien <emilyonwhe...@emilysdomain.org>
wrote:

> Along similar lines, I'm wondering who her calls in updates on rides?  

my standard policy with my girlfriend is to call her or send a text
message when I'm done and/or if there's a mishap of some sort that
might delay my finishing. She already has a general idea of how long
it will take for me to finish a certain ride, and just wants to know
if that 'worry threshold' might warrant an extension.

for the VanIsle 1000k, since the ride was unsupported and ventured
into some rather remote territory, I just sent text messages whenever
I arrived at a control (assuming said control was in an area with cell
coverage); if only to confirm that I had not been eaten by a bear yet.

However, in general, my friends and family tend to prefer the extended
summary ride narrative to a 135-character blow-by-blow.

> For a ride that is really a new or unusual challenge, like a much longer distance for
> example, knowing that friends or family were following one's updates could be a motivating
> factor.

Perhaps, but I don't think that's any more of a motivation than having
to tell friends and family at the end of the ride that one had to bail
or quit due to some mishap. I think, if anything else, it may be
easier to succumb to the temptation of broadcasting a message of
surrender when your spirits are low; but then have to recall that
message after one has had some rest and food. Perhaps as an adjunct
to the maxim of "never quit on an empty stomach" one should be mindful
of "never text on an empty stomach".

-- cris
(... who has a ride report of the VanIsle 1000k to post ...)

[littlecircles :: mikeb]

I'll often send a quick text, or give a phone update. I agree with
Spencer on cutting ties to the 'normal' world... but depending on
event, terrain, night riding, weather - I find it useful to keep my
wife and little one in the know. For my Sunday long ride - we've
agreed that it is essentially 'my time'. Aside from calling for a
mishap or if I'll miss our agreed upon worry time - the morning and
early afternoon are a chance to get away from it. It takes special
commitment in a relationship to pull it off - but we've been at it for
2 years now, and with the little one in the mix it is important for us
both to have decompression and 'me' time.


The SPOT is something my wife and I have talked about. It is a bit
pricey, especially with the service agreement for tracking - but I
think that we'll end up with one next year. I really like the 'set it
and forget it' aspect of it.

-Mike



On Jun 26, 11:32 pm, Spencer Klaassen <sklaas...@ponyexpress.net>
wrote:

[Ryan Golbeck]

Hi all,

Like another poster, I prefer to be kind of cut off from the wired world when I'm out on my bike, so I don't text or call anyone when I'm out riding except under special circumstances.  But this was my first year doing a series of rides, and I did also get a SPOT messenger to use when doing the rides.  At first it was just because I'm a bit of a geek and I liked the idea of my friends and family being able to follow me, and I found it hard to get anyone else excited about using it.  But once I actually did use it, my spouse and the rest of my family were fairly excited by it.  And even friends of friends liked to see the map and follow along the ride at parts of the day, and it was motiving for me to get back from the rides and hear about people following along.  I think that motivation will make a difference at hard parts of longer rides.

That said, I can imagine that after doing many more brevets, that it will become less exciting for all involved to follow along all the time, and that much of the novelty will wear off.  But the SPOT is still useful to ease any worries that my wife has while I'm out on longer rides, even if she's not following along for much of the ride.

If I had to do something active most of the time to keep the tracker going, like pulling out a cell phone to text, I really doubt I'd end up doing it too.  I thought that I would take a lot of pictures during the rides, but as the road progresses, pulling out my camera and snapping shots seems to just become less and less important.

-ryan

[Ryan Golbeck]

One note about the SPOT. I'm not sure how much success other people
have had with it, but make sure you read reviews about it before you
buy it. I'm not entirely satisfied with its performance. The
tracking option is supposed to send update messages every 10 minutes,
and I can understand it missing a couple of messages here and there
because of reception issues, but I'm guessing I'm getting around
60%-70% messages through in the best cases.

I've never had a problem with it failing to send a deliberate "OK"
message though.

Also, I've tried putting the unit in different spots on my bike on
rides to test the reception. Putting it on the side of my handle bar
bag, which seems fairly open, resulted in getting no tracking messages
through in a 3 hour ride. For all my brevets I've found the best
place to put the unit is in a jersey pocket.

-ryan

[Greg Merritt]

Ooh, thanks to everyone for their thoughts! Interesting stuff.

It surprises me that a number of folks are lumping texts/tweets with
voice calls as being similar.

To me that almost seems like equating a note left on the fridge with a
presidential debate. Ok, that's a bit of a stretch, but I think you
get the idea.

One of the things I like best about using twitter via sending a text
message is that it totally liberates me from the complete, utter
hassle of trying to make a "hey there things are going well!" phone
call while doing a brevet. Phone calls soooo broke my flow. I'm
trying to pee, fill my bottles, complete my brevet card, eat
something, stretch, and get back on the bike. Chat on the phone for a
couple of minutes? Are you kidding? Minutes?!? Grrr, I'm trying to
do something.

If I get on the phone, my attention is diverted away from what I'm
doing for a solid chunk of time. With a tweet, I can type my 140
characters if and as I please, while my friends and family can receive
it as a push or a pull, however and whenever they want. I can post a
tweet at 5am on a Sunday, and my wife can read it as soon as she gets
up -- whether that's 7am or 11am. If she wants to be woken upon its
arrival, she could instead choose to direct it to her phone. Her
option.

And see? I can even post a tweet while I eat and stretch:

http://tinyurl.com/mw2wff

:)

It's also interesting to me how many of you are looking not just for
an escape while you cycle, but are also looking for cycling to be a
very personal, private experience. For me, randonneuring is a huge
escape from the things... from which I'd like to escape. Work, bills,
the news, traffic, chores, errands, and so on. However, the one-way
broadcast of twittering doesn't tether me to these things, and
connects me to things from which I am not looking to escape -- family
and friends, for example.

Also, in these parts, cycling is intensely social. On one of the
clubs we ride with, the regular outings practically feel like a tea
party where a bike ride breaks out. Also, the local randonneuring
club encourages folks to try to group up naturally according to
similar pace for brevets. In my experience, tweets extend this group
experience, not unlike post-ride writeups and ride photographs. I
wish all of my friends and family could enjoy these brevets, and I'd
like to share my rides with them. Twitter helps to bring them along,
and they tell me they enjoy the (virtual) ride.

I also like the added bonus of a mini-diary with timestamps that I get
from my twitter log.

Fun stuff. So many options, and so many riding styles!

-Greg

[Nick Bull]

Cell phone really does seem to break the flow. I want to just report
in and then be on my way, but it feels a bit rude to be so abrupt. So
I usually just call at sundown (when I'm stopped to put on the night
gear) &/or at non-randonneur wake-up time (on an event longer than 24
hours). Two calls a day isn't too bad of a compromise. I hate text-
messaging, so I don't think I'd like twittering any better :-)

Nick

[Chicken Sandwich]

This is an interesting thread. For us single and childless guys, I
don't really ever call anyone to let them know where I'm at. The
people that need to know where I am are usually the friends that I am
riding with :-)

[Charles Coldwell]

On Jun 26, 2009, at 1:15 PM, Greg Merritt wrote:

>
> Wherever you have cell phone coverage, you can likely quickly and
> easily post progress to your ride to the Web by making Twitter
> postings from text messages on a cell phone.

Why wait for the riders to post tweets when you can have a real-time
update of their position WHILE RIDING using VHF amateur radio and APRS?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Position_Reporting_System

73 de W1CMC

--

Charles M. Coldwell, W1CMC
"Turn on, log in, tune out"
Somerville, Massachusetts, New England (FN42kj)

GPG ID: 852E052F
GPG FPR: 77E5 2B51 4907 F08A 7E92 DE80 AFA9 9A8F 852E 052F

[Charles Lathe]

I haven't actually talked on a cell phone yet, nor, of course, sent a
text message, and I have only a vague idea what twitter is -- I do
know that CNN, Lance, and Ashton Krutcher send a lot of tweets -- so I
obviously don't feel the need for connection. One of the things I
like best about riding a brevet is the clarity of purpose. There are
so many pulls and tugs in life, that I cherish the times when I
clearly know what I am supposed to be doing -- ride my bicycle to the
next control and then don't waste a lot of time there. I also
remember the Bob Newhart episode where Bob got a beeper, but no one
sent him any messages. Near the end of the show, he was sitting on a
park bench next to a sleeping bum. When the beeper went off, it woke
the bum and Bob informed him that it was his beeper. Bob checked the
beeper, but there was no message. The bum sat up and said it was
probably his. It was.

When I came home from a 600K brevet a few weeks ago, I found a note on
the kitchen floor that said Nina had gone to Asheville with Angela and
that they'd probably be back late. If I was hungry, there were plenty
of beans in the pantry.

If I wanted to leave a message about where I was, I suppose I could
take chalk and write "Chuck was here" on the road, but I won't bother
because when I'm on a brevet, I know that I'm supposed to ride my
bicycle to the next control and then not waste a lot of time there.

Anyway, that's the way I like it. I don't have an iPod either, but I
do sing badly.

Regards, Chuck trying to be here now Lathe
Franklinville, NC

[Lisa Susan McPhate]

This argument about text messages and cellphone isn't occurring
through quill-inscribed missives delivered by horse drawn post.
Feeling slightly superior to people who use cell phones and twitter by
sending an email to over a 1000 people using a internet-based google-
group is odd. Clearly none of us on the list are adverse to easy and
quick communication.

I like twitter; its fun and meant to be fun. Using it is a bit like
passing someone in the hall you know, smiling and saying hi.

lisa-susan mcphate

snip

[feli...@fuse.net]

"I cherish the times when I clearly know what I am supposed to be doing -- ride my bicycle to the next control and then don't waste a lot of time there."

Regards, Chuck trying to be here now Lathe
> Franklinville, NC

I totally agree with Chuck... you rock! Baby!
I don't do cell phones, GPS, bike computer... nothing on the bike...
Just Ride...
Lisa...what Chuck and I do off the bike is another thing altogether...

[Ken Shoemaker]

Sounds like different strokes for different folks. I'm presuming that
it was no one's intention to imply that their own styles or preferences
were in any way superior to their others'.

For myself, I normally like to check out on rides but on the SF600k I
tried the twitter thing and found that my wife really appreciated
getting the periodic updates. For me, it is easier to twitter than to
try to call (less interactive, easier time management, no day/night
issues). I normally do call at the end of long day rides to let folks
know all is well and I think this is just an extension of that for even
longer rides. I also got feedback that other folks were following along
and enjoying the updates that got cross-posted to facebook. But that is
just me. I don't feel the need to let folks know what I'm doing or
thinking most of the time but these long rides are pretty extraordinary.

But if you want to selfishly keep things to yourself and if your
minuscule circle of friends only includes those you're immediately
riding with, well, that's not my problem :-)

Ken

[Don Bennett]

If you can in fact easily type 140 chars while filling water bottles,
eating and stretching, I can see the attraction.

Whether due to lack of experience or poor handset for texting, I find it
much easier to chat briefly or leave a short
voicemail (2 buttons) than to send a short text.

How long does it take you to send your tweet? I just timed myself at 3
minutes to send a 46 char message, timed from
turning the phone on to selecting the recipient and hitting the send
button, and it would take even longer if I was 400k
into a 600k brevet. And my attention was pretty focused on the task at
hand for those 3 minutes.

Clearly many/most people must be faster or else it wouldn't be so popular.

Don

[cris.co...@gmail.com]

On Jun 29, 2:56 pm, Don Bennett <d...@donbennett.org> wrote:
> If you can in fact easily type 140 chars while filling water bottles,
> eating and stretching, I can see the attraction.
>
> Whether due to lack of experience or poor handset for texting, I find it
> much easier to chat briefly or leave a short voicemail (2 buttons) than
> to send a short text.

... or lack of a cell phone with a full\soft qwerty keyboard. On my
old conventional cellphone with three letters mapped to each key, I
always felt like exchanging text messages with my smartphone enabled
friends was a decidedly one sided affair.

me: "hey, want to see a movie?"

smartphone friend: "oh yeah, sure, what do you want to see? I heard
Transformers kind of sucks, but The Hangover and Terminator look kind
of 'meh', too. Have you seen 'Up' yet? Maybe rent something? LMK!"

me: "...I'm going to call you."

... having picked up a Blackberry Storm recently, texting is much
easier/more accessible, but I still prefer to only send out text
updates for exceptional situations.

-- cris
(and that is just my preference, which is mine, and is not morally
superior to anyone else)

[Greg Merritt]

Don, did your 3 minutes including sitting around and doing nothing
while waiting for the phone to boot up and get a signal? That would
be silly.

This just took me 29 seconds, and I even made a goof-up trying to get
into text message mode:

http://twitter.com/gregm123456/statuses/2392695938

I'm not even very quick on the keypad.

I'm not saying that it doesn't take you six times longer to do on your
phone than it takes me to do on mine, but it doesn't seem plausible
that it would require six times as much time.

I can also do this while I'm sitting on the ground stretching a
hamstring. My physical therapist suggested I hold stretches for 30
seconds, so there ya go! I can even chew while stretching & texting.

Well, it works for me, anyhoo! And I wold be the last person to
suggest that all randonneurs have the same style. :)

-Greg

[Charles Lathe]

Being a fossil head has it's drawbacks! I clearly had no idea about
the scope of twitter or the vicarious interest in randonneuring. If
we get a dozen people at a brevet start, that's satisfying. I had no
idea there were so many fans following on twitter. I really am
impressed.

Regards, Chuck Lathe
Franklinville, NC

[Donald Perley]

Aside from style preference there is a real practical advantage to texting.  You can enter the text and hit "send" even with no signal.  Your phone will wait until you have signal for even a few seconds and the message gets transmitted.  This works in conditions where you wouldn't have a prayer of having a voice conversation or leaving a voice message before you get dropped.

[Bill Gobie]

I had no idea. This good to know. On the other hand, when I'm in an
area without cell coverage my phone appears to switch to analog and
sucks down the battery alarmingly quickly.

Bill Gobie