I picked up a Garmin 60CSx at the REI sale this week. I’ve posted before about my use of GPS when mountain biking but as a recent member of the Orange County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team I needed to get a full featured unit. So far I like it. A lot of the team members were singing its praises at last weekend’s training session. Anyone have any tricks or tips or better yet, experience with the Mapsource Topo software?
Garmin Edge 305
Over the last few weeks I have been playing with the Garmin Edge 305 on my mountain bike. This thing is incredible. It measures and monitors everything: pace, speed, elevation, heart rate, % of max heart rate, cadence, grade and maps everything via GPS. All of this downloads to your (Windows) computer. There are also a few additional mapping and training programs that interact with the desktop software Garmin provides. My favorite feature is the ability to race against yourself. You choose a course you have completed and set it as your training course. As you head out and ride, the Garmin Edge 305 shows you how far ahead of or behind you are of your last ride. It is a great way to give you the incentive to push yourself each time. It also can make solo rides a bit more interesting. If you are a mountain biker and and a tech geek – check it out.