Does Using A Cycling Computer Make Riding Less Fun?
We live in an era that has become increasingly reliant on technology to assist us with every aspect of our lives. Every industry has been affected by an almost addictive need for devices and their apps. And if we can’t use them (the app goes down, the device breaks, or the app/ device fails to work correctly), then it feels like something is missing.
Technology makes it seem like we can’t do our jobs or partake in an activity we usually enjoy without being endlessly connected to the internet 24/ 7. It’s sad to think that we’ve forgotten what life was like before handheld devices permeated our lives.
Nowhere is the burden to use technology more prevalent than in cycling. Technology infiltrates the kit we wear, the parts on a bicycle, such as saddles, wheels, and bikes themselves, and in the way we track our rides. Cycling computers, for instance, are cool in that they allow us to see how fast we’re riding, how many miles we’ve trekked, how many calories we’ve burned, our average heart rate during a ride, etc., etc.
That data has even become a way to see our exercise exploits on forums like Strava. We can share rides with a cycling community and compete, indirectly, with other cyclists, then receive a digital reward for our efforts. It is, as one cycling columnist called it, “social media for athletes.” But many cyclists take what they see on Strava too seriously, riding their bikes to extremes to beat someone they don’t know nor will ever meet.
I admit that I enjoy my cycling computer, gazing down to see how many miles I’ve done on a ride, my speed, the grade on descent, and calories burned after I ride. My Garmin will even tell me how many times I shifted during a ride. But is all this data even necessary for a cyclist like me who doesn’t race or compete with others?
And once my ride is over, I don’t even review that data. It just doesn’t seem relevant to me. I don’t want that data to negatively impact how I feel about the thirty or forty miles I just rode.
I still find cycling, as an activity, extremely enjoyable and fun and a real boon for my mental health. I love being on my bike, I love being outside on a warm spring, summer, or autumn day, and I love completing a hard climb. After I ride, I feel more energized and engaged with everything I do.
So, do I really need to have some $600 device (or more) on my handlebars to track every parameter of a ride? No. Using a cycling computer to tell me if I’m performing optimally or at my best doesn’t really mean much at all to me.
If I couldn’t use a cycling computer on my next ride, would I be disappointed or lost without it? Maybe. But maybe I would enjoy my ride even more like I did before the days when technology shaped everything we do. In fact, I might enjoy it even more.
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