R T F M

RTFM. Google it. Some dude might as well have said that to me when I asked for help with his software. "It works for me" - he said. Great, but that's no help what so ever to me. Since this isn't Chad Valley software I am working with I do presume it's well tested and actually works. I don't always make that assumption. Thus I assume I have made some error in my configuration, that's why I am asking for help. I have read the manual, diligently worked through the tutorial and the software doesn't do what it should do. It works, it works properly but wouldn't permit it to be used in the advertised manner and in the way I want to use it. An error message would have been more helpful, you, the owner, could have been more helpful instead of telling me to RTFM twice. I know it's Open Source and free and you can't give all your time for free helping people use the stuff you have create, I understand, I make a living in IT Support. But you do have a forum with the title " productname Support" and if you want to have people adopt this stuff and pay for consultency and support they need to get a good impression of it from the start. First impressions last. Faultering on the tutorial leaves a bad taste.

Dark Peak

It was getting colder as we approached the start, the thermometer in the car was reading 0 degrees Celsius. Outside, cyclists were wearing shorts though some were properly muffled up. It was relatively early, the sun was still low in the sky and we were in the shade, the day would surely warm up.

Steve’s front tyre was flat on unloading the car, broken valve. He replaced his tube while I sat in the car keeping warm. Finally about 30 minutes later than planned we started ‘Dark Peak’ with a long climb to Hade Edge, I think. The day was warming up, in the sunshine with the northerly wind behind us it was very pleasant. The air was cool still, it’s October in northern England. Up we went passing two other riders on the climb. On the top we could see that it was going to be a special day. Blue sky, clear and a superb view over the north Peak District with the leaves changing colour as autumn advances. We were heading towards Langsett and then over Strines Road towards the A57. I’ve been on this road before, a few years ago but in the opposite direction. I knew it was hilly, it’s a hilly route in the Peak District after all. Today though, with the recent weather and cold, the roads, particularly the descents were very difficult. The thawing frost was still damp, the fallen leaves were accumulating in the sheltered parts and compressed leaves make for slippery surfaces. Riding into the Sun with no peak on my hat, in and out of shade made actually seeing the road very difficult; coupled with my crashes in the last few years which were with similar road conditions I descended very very gingerly. I was glad of the climbs, non of which were too troublesome. Most were challenging but the speed we rode made them doable.

The first part of the day wasn’t one for hurrying. Super views, little traffic, sunshine, many other cyclists, made it one of those days when you are glad you came out. Lunch in Edale after 50km approximately half way. We missed a turn before this though, just after Derwent Resevoir, probably did about 1km before realising and doubling back. The dark glasses the sunshine and the National Park made it damn nigh impossible to see my track on my GPS. The National Park ? Well, I make my tracks green as they usually show up best. My GPS shades National Parks green too, green on green isn’t very visible and it was hard to see the track with a quick glance which is all I could afford at the speed we were travelling at this point !! At last a flat bit, from Hope to Edale.

The cafe was busy, we arrived at the same time as a group of muddy mountain bikers. They had their coffee outside and soon after we arrived the place was quiet again. Out on the road, the easy pedalling continued for a short while, then the road went up again, for a long time, to take us out of Edale and back into the Hope Valley. There is probably a name for this climb, it was quite spectacular with great views to where we’d been then narrowing until the road cut through a gap in the hill to pop out the other side. It marked the transition to a new landscape, a downhill one out of the hills for a while. Steve enjoyed the main road descent too much and missed a turn, I waited, thankfully he realised very soon that I had stopped and u turned to come back to me. Right, and up another hill then down down down to New Mill. Heavier traffic to Marple but wide roads meant it wasn’t too troublesome. Quick control in Marple. 25km or so to go, only two or three big climbs.

It all seemed much easier to me now, often does in the second half of a ride. The wind that assisted us when heading south wasn’t having much effect when we were heading north. I think the south side of the hills were sheltered but even on the summit of Holme Moss it didn’t seem that windy. It was still sunny and not too cold. After a very long climb out or Marple or was it Glossop we joined the road high up the side of Longendale overlooking the Woodhead road. This is one of my favourite views, seems like a foreign land, the wooded sides of the valley in their autumn colours, the cars on the road so far below us, silent, the barren tops of the hills. We stopped in a car park on the Trans Pennine Trail for the toilets and some water then headed for the last climb of the day, Holme Moss from the easier, Derbyshire side. I’d been up here a month or so earlier, today it seemed easier than then. I’d not spent all day riding into a headwind this time. We cruised up steadily not beaking any records, we kept together and had a brief stop at the top to admire the view. Last time I was here my GPS registered 3m higher than the sign said, 524m, today it was 8m higher, it’s well known that elevation on GPS devices are not very accurate!! It’s all downhill from here, the tarmac had a very thin cover of rain, we’d just missed a shower so we descended carefully and made it to the town about 20 seconds after the Tourist Info. closed – it would been nice to have them stamp out card for the final control. These places justify their existence by the number of callers, I like to support them as I think they add something to a town.

A good ride, challenging but not too difficult to spoil the enjoyment. A nice route made great by the weather conditions on the day. Mostly hilly, 2300m of altitude gain for 106km route, 2.25 AAA points, not much flat but some nice long fast downhills. Some very tricky and dangerous ones too though which on a dry day will be easier.

Yet another Vale of York 200

Back in February I did the same route as I did yesterday. It was more remarkable back then, floods, wet feet, I wasn't a happy bunny. Yesterday really was unremarkable. A silver van man took offence when I shouted at him for cutting me up in Sutton Upon Derwent. He pulled alongside me then cut right into the left of the road. The road narrowed on approach to the bridge, the light was green and a car was approaching. No excuse for knocking a cyclist off. He didn't though. He engaged reverse, to scare me I suppose, I rode onto the pavement he drove off. Crossed the bridge then slowed down, not as slow as me though. Then, I suppose he got bored and continued his journey. I continued mine and for a few moments was a little concerned that he'd hunt me down, then I got bored and forgot about it. All this was after Castleford, I didn't stop there yesterday, just sped on through so Pocklington was my first stop for lunch after 76km. The usualy cafe was full, after locking my bike up I went in and could find no spare table. I rode around the town and went back to the other cafe, I could find no third one. The one I went to was nicer anyway. Into the gatherinfg headwind to Easingwold where I had my pudding. It rained a bit, I got cold but at least the road wasn't awash, apart from the place where they were repairing a burst water main but that doesn't compared to last time. After Easingwold it was due south to Cas. Non stop with a tail wind. Traffic was building close to the A1(M) and the roundabouts were tricky with a light covering of rain. I survived. The uphill all the way home from Cas Vegas. Back in less than 10 hours, not overdistance, what's not to like ?

The Garmin is working well still after my repair.

Redundancy, but it's not all bad

While I am here I might as well make another post,I'm feeling literary today. Back in March I was handed my notice from work, 9 weeks notice calculated as four weeks plus one week for every full year of service so that's 4 + 5 since I had been there for nearly six years. My payoff wasn't great, the statutory minimum, £380 for each full year plus some accrued and unused holidays. The third time I have been made redundant, at least this time I got some payoff, other times were due to insolvency. That sucks. I started job hnting of course, in the meantime I fell off my bike and hurt my pelvis again, March was a crap month for me. I signed on the dole on after the May bank holiday, the first one. I had some interviews, one rejection and a couple of leads that have jsut fizzled out. To cut to the chase, I have secured a new position, one that I am really excited about, a big company, an old company, a publishing company.

Shockproof your Garmin

There is an instructable called Shock-Proof your Garmin GPS where the author details how he solved a common problem with older Garmin handheld GPS devices when used on bicycles or motorcycles. The have a tendency to vibrate and momentarily lose power switching themselves off. My Vista C is no exception and seems to be getting worse. Various 'fixes' are talked about, more padding under the bracket seems to be the most popular. Didn't work for me though. Thus, inspired by the link above I took mine apart to see what was what. This is what I saw. You are looking at two halfs of the shell of the GPS. The right hand part is the top and it's face down. The left is the botton and it's face up showing the underside of the mouldings that hold the batteries. Note the two metal tabs at the top of each battery slot, these make contact with corresponding squares on the PCB in the other half. The disconnect problem is caused, I believe, by this contact being broken, the surfaces getting oxidised (or something) and becoming insulated by the oxidation. A good clean may well fix it but it would continue to degrade still.

Now an senor in Spain showed how he soldered wires to make these connections permanent, this is exactly what I was thinking so I gave it a try myself. I cleaned the four contact points the carefully tinned them with solder. I tinned the ends of my wires and quickly joined them up taking care to match the battery polarity and not apply too much heat. I planned the route of the wires so they'd tuck up nicely ahead of the batteries in the large void in the casing.. Maybe my wires are a little too long ! The picture shows where I can tuck them up.

Does it work ? yes it does.



Since the wires are soldered onto the contact points reassembling is a little more tricky but it all snaps together properly, I took great care in making sure the wires were not intefering with the touch connectors for the USB connection too.

I just need to try it out on my bike now. If it doesn't work well, I have wasted any money, just half an hour of my time.

A word about dissassembly and reassembly of the Vista C
This page shows how to dissassemble a Vista HCx which has the same shell as the Vista C.

The rubber bumper strip round the outside is held on by a permanently sticky double sided tape that is beneath it. Carefully peel the rubber away starting with the cover of the USB connector.

Then, even more carefully remove the double sided tape. Start at the seam and pull it away from the GPS device keeping is taught so it doesn't stick to itself. Stick it onto a shiney surface such as a plastic box so we can refit it. Similarly with the next layer which less sticky.

The two parts of the shell are held together by five moulded tabs, two on each side and one on the end of the device. There are small rectangular holes that the tab engages in which can be used to loosen the halfs by pushing through a small screwdriver. The two parts will separate easily once two or three tabs are released. No cables or anything connect these parts.

Assembly is the reverse procedure. Take care with the tapes, they should have indents and holes for the control buttons so use these as reference points to refit the tapes in their original positions. Finally the rubber bumper.

I have no idea at this stage if my mod. has fixed the disconnect problem, I'll report back. I can't guarantee that you won't damage your device if you try this. Do it at your own risk.

Yet Another Vale of York 200

Every year I get sick of riding on the Vale of York over winter. This year is not exception, it's not quite so bad this year as I've mixed it up by going due north sometimes, though the road back from Boroughbridge is now very familiar. It was daylight yesterday though, made a change. Another 200km DIY, on my own, only the second every lone DIY actually. I was meant to meet Deano at Escrick but he dibbed out due to having a cold. So I was alone. Soul searching on the long stretch to Pocklington. Second breakfast first though at the bus station in Cas. I amused myself by reading the headboards on the buses, thinking of the cool places those drivers would be visiting today, "Normanton", "Wakefield", "Fryston Ferry". I was looking forward to lunch, last time we did this route it was market day in Pocklington and Heicke's Imbiss was full, today it wasn't. I did notice another cafe, loads of bikes outside. Got my feet wet in a flood near Ledston. I listened in on a conversation at another table, some pensioners talking about cinemas 50 years ago, broadband, someones banking problems, quite entertaining.

It warmed up outside and my feet started to dry out. Not for long though, I had to go through another flood. Another cafe, got chatting to another cyclist, an old chap, doing 75 miles or so. He cheered me up a bit. Then to Boroughbridge. The home with no more stops. The final 65km passed relatively quickly in my mind though in real time they were only as fast as the rest.

Nothing really to say about the pedalling, it's the Vale of York, pretty unremarkable.

Back in the saddle

After one month of no cycling the snow dissappeared and I got out cycling last weekend, 16th January. 140km very very flat, some rain. The final 30km was hard, it was a little hilly and I was tiring. I was cold. Four days of commuting, then 218km yesterday. Very flat again but I didn't go too badly. Cold once the sun went down, the hills were difficult again but I did OK. It's nice to be back. Another couple of weeks and I'll be grand.