Post-ride review

Later that evening, I located my iPod Shuffle, which is virtually weightless and clips on to a sleeve, or belt, whatever, so it saves the weight of an iPod Touch and the bracket (mentioned in previous post). Progress!

On the main GPS tracking device is my iPhone 3G, and I must remember to turn off the phone, 3G, and wireless ("Airplane Mode"), and test if the screen can be turned off/dimmed for greater battery life. A few minutes after uploading the GPS stats, right after the ride, the battery went critical. That was after only an hour plus. I'm thinking I need at least two hours for a decent ride, plus break time and photo taking, etc might stretch requirements to 3-4 hours. More testing (rides) needed to learn maximum battery life per charge (and therefore maximum ride length with GPS tracking). Maybe there are hot-swappable battery add-ons in the aftermarket.

There was a gnarly scratch on the left front fork, a result of the Fiesta Island ride, where my bike rode, flat and loose on top of another bike, in the back of a pickup truck. This sort of damage is avoidable, so I'm getting some devices for vertical mounting. Maybe they have such things where I got my bike: Bicycle Discovery in Pacific Beach (no website, can you believe it?).

The scratch got me to thinking that maybe I want to put together two bikes, one for show, one for go. I was thinking a showpiece painted deep purple superfine metal flake with some ghost-painted flames. Pin striping, of course. Who is the custom bike builder in San Diego?

Another post-ride thought. I still don't have the seat adjustment right. Maybe what my butt needs is some more padding, and the only way that's going to happen is if I put the padding in the seat. I'm thinking of the material I had put in the pilot's seat of my open-cockpit biplane. Very good at absorbing shocks, yet gives relatively good support. It diffuses sudden energy outward, not straight down. Who can build a custom seat? Maybe it's just a case of having mine re-upholstered and padded properly.

I removed the wireless bike computer which I recently installed. After the iPhone 3G GPS tracking software proved such a success, the old computer was redundant. Will donate to good home. And because I no longer have that sub assembly, I no longer need the special screwdriver in the tool kit. Simplicity rules!

The iPhone 3G bike mount worked well. The product I used is from Arkon, (CM032-ST-AMPS - Bicycle Mount Pedestal). You also need a separate bracket for the iPhone.