Summer, 2019 is within striking distance! Well, it is, it’s arriving this Friday, June 21st. 2019!
If you live in the eastern part of the country, for that matter anywhere east and north of the Mississippi, you know the weather has not been optimal for anything outdoors so far this year. But that is going to change! At least we HOPE it’s going to change! But knowing that everything rights itself in time, we are looking forward to a summer season with hot, sunny weather that’s just made for any cyclist to want to hop on his or her bike and start taking the high road to scenic vistas.

Knowing this day has been coming you’ve already gone through all the necessary steps to make sure your bike is in good condition to take to the open highway or those mountain trails! And if you haven’t done so yet, shame on you. So, we might just cover those steps in an upcoming post! Lucky You!

Making sure your bikes in great shape, is only one point to consider, knowing you're in good shape, physically is also important. So, before you start going on long distance bike hike or inspiring cycling journey, which is what we like to call it. Regardless of what you call it, you need to make sure that you stay on top of your physical game. Get yourself checked out by your physician before undertaking any new physical endurance challenges. After all, if you’re not familiar with all the rigors that long distance cyclists can encounter, and there are a few, having an unknown ailment happen when your miles away from home can cause a serious problem that you don’t need to have happened to you! So make sure you get a clean bill of health from your physician, and you can peddle your way down the road knowing you're in fine shape, physically to enjoy the ride.

Besides a good, reliable bike and the customary cycling attire, one item that serious cyclists take with them on their rides is a good, accurate cycling computer. After all, you want to know not only where your going, but WHERE you are at any time during your ride. How fast you're going, distance traveled, distance to go, your cadence and even the ability to have your route available with turn by turn navigation available. One such bike computer is the Garmin Edge 830!  This reliable cycling computer by Garmin will take any guesswork out of a cyclists trip and provide the peace of mind any cyclist would like to have so that they can enjoy their bike trip. After all, isn’t that the whole point of getting out there on a bike? Well isn’t it?

For an overview of just what the Edge 830 has to offer, we’ve listed a few here below:

Performance GPS cycling computer with mapping

Dynamic performance monitoring provides insights on your VO2 max, recovery, training load focus, heat and altitude acclimation, nutrition, hydration and more when paired with compatible sensors
Cycling safety features include new bike alarm, group messaging and tracking, incident detection and compatibility with Varia™ rearview radar and lights so you can see and be seen

Includes routable Garmin Cycle Map with popularity routing —which helps you ride like a local —plus off-course recalculation and back to start; mountain biking model has integrated Trailforks data, including trail difficulty ratings

Customize with free apps, widgets and data fields from the Connect IQ™ Store

MTB dynamics track jump count, jump distance and hang time as well as grit, a measure of the ride’s difficulty, and Flow, which tracks the smoothness of your descent, so you have a score to beat next time

Battery life: up to 20 hours with GPS; works with Garmin Charge™ power pack for up to 40 hours of additional battery life

Garmin Edge 830 setup and app functionality:

The Edge 830 has both onboard WiFi and Bluetooth connections so it’s possible to directly pair the device to any WiFi network. Once connected, the device will automatically link to Garmin’s servers where it can sync your device.
If WiFi isn’t available and you’ve got your phone, the device can connect to the internet via your smartphone using Bluetooth.
It’s startling how easy it is to set up the Edge 830 with or without the smartphone app, Garmin Express or Garmin Connect. Turn it on for the first time and you’re prompted to input a few crucial bits of personal information (that can later be edited if required) and the GPS is ready to use.
Likewise, fire up the app on your phone, connect it to the Edge 830 device and everything that you wish to achieve such as route mapping, training load, performance and health status and activity syncing, it’s intuitively ready and easy to use.

It’s a similar affair on the computer using the Garmin Connect web-based app, via the Garmin Express computer program. Everything that’s available online in Garmin Connect is in the smartphone app, which ensures seamless compatibility and functionality between your devices. The level of usability and inter-app syncing really impressed me.
Strava integration is top-notch too, and after just a few clicks that are needed to authorize Strava to see my data, the Garmin Edge 830 was already connected, and my rides synced with Strava.
However, on-device Strava Live segments require a Strava Summit membership, and for your smartphone to be connected to the device.

Bundled in this feature-set is the device’s ability to act as an alarm for your bike
The incident detection feature, which alerts a pre-defined contact that you’ve had an accident, requires that the device is paired with and connected to your phone which needs to be smart.

This feature provides the device to act as an alarm for your bike. Activate the alarm on the device and if someone moves your bike then the Edge 830 will send a notification to your smartphone.
Once again, while this sounds like a great idea it won’t stop or even deter a determined thief who’ll end up walking (or riding or running!) away with your precious bike and fancy GPS computer. If they have the mind to steal it!

If you’ve got your smartphone tethered to the Edge 530, the device displays notifications from incoming calls and text messages — these help you to quickly decide whether you need to answer your phone or can safely ignore the interruption to your blissful ride.

Garmin Edge 830 route finding and mapping performance
The turn-by-turn navigation is fantastic on the Edge 830. The on-screen map, when zoomed in, provides excellent levels of detail and accurate guidance instructions with ample warning — both audible and visual — when a turn is approaching.
When you’re not on the mapping screen the navigation notifications with a map appear over your current screen, so, in theory, at least, you should never miss another turn again.

The navigation function works fantastically when you’ve uploaded a pre-programmed route on the device, but relies on the device’s own smart routing functionality, and you’re in for what can be a rough ride — quite literally.
Although the on-device route creation is intuitive to use, and for the most part doesn’t require hours of studying the instruction manual, some of the menu functions are a little clunky. It’s possible to find yourself two, three or even four menus deep before you can change or select the option you’re looking to modify.

That said, if you’re without a smartphone or computer, route creation far exceeds what used to be possible on-device from both usability and technical points of view compared to only a few years ago.

There are plenty of options on the Edge 830 to create routes with different parameters, such as ride type: road, mixed, gravel or unpaved and mountain biking. This makes you able to explore new roads, paths and gravel sections close to home that remained undiscovered.

To help the device create great routes, Garmin uses data similar to that created by Strava’s heatmaps that it’s called Popularity Routing. Garmin claims it should help you ride like a local. The Edge 830 creates routes using this data to help you ride the best, or at least most ridden trails or roads in any area.

Once you’ve dialed in your chosen route parameters and set the device to create a route, it takes anywhere between 15 seconds and a few minutes to generate a route, depending on route length and other parameters, such as waypoints. The route can be either point-to-point or circular.
The get you home function works well, and you can choose between a different route entirely or follow the same route you’ve just taken to get you back to your starting point. If you need to get back to the start for whatever reason, it’s a good, reliable method.
It would certainly be fair to say that Garmin’s claims of ‘riding like a local’ are true; the device’s route creation isn’t ideal but is a great feature to get you out of a bit of bind if called upon.

Garmin Edge 830 displays and information
In record mode the device has four screens as standard — one that displays current speed, average speed, distance traveled, time, calories burnt (with compatible sensor connected) and current elevation. There’s a lap screen — the device records a new lap every 5km by default — that displays current speed and distance with your average speed for your previous laps.

The navigation and map screens show your current location on a map and your route if you have one programmed. The final screen displays past elevation data in a graph, your current heading, and current altitude.
Each display is crisp and purposeful and shows you more than enough information for any given ride.
The device’s display and functionality are customizable with apps, widgets and data fields from the Connect IQ Store. Conveniently, the store is available directly from the device’s home screen.

Garmin Edge 830 battery life
Garmin claims the battery can last up to 20 hours on GPS mode and up to 40 hours with an additional power pack or if it’s in battery save mode.
In reality, these figures are going to be less but like any electronic device it’s battery life depends greatly on how you use it and what you’re using it for, how bright the display is and how many times you use the touchscreen.

In navigation mode and with plenty of device messing about, route reprogramming and general use I drained about 25 percent of the battery after two hours of recording.
With these heavy usage habits, it’s safe to extrapolate that the battery would last eight hours on-trail recording — pretty impressive considering the outgoing Edge 820 only lasted four hours in similar conditions.

Garmin Edge 830 bottom line
With an impressive array of interesting and useful — if a little clunky at times — features, the Edge 830 is a true class-leading GPS that really offers plenty of useful functions above and beyond its competition.
The maps and navigation features are easy to understand and it’s relatively simple to program in routes. On-device route calculation isn’t great, though, and it certainly didn’t live up to Garmin’s claims of riding like a local.

The on-device data and displays are fantastically simple to read when you’re on the move, but it’s certainly worth investing in the additional sensors if you don’t already own compatible ones.

So, there you have it. Summer Sun, heat and cloudless skies. All you need to give you the itch to get out on your bike and view some new sites and smells as you traverse the miles of roads that will soon welcome you as you travel on down them. And with the Garmin Edge 830 your going to able to plot your way not only there and benefit from all that data it gathers. But you're also going to have an easy time traveling back the way you came with its “At a Glance” retrace your route function.

So, I guess we’ll just have to say, see ya on the road!

Now that the weather has finally given us a break and is starting to act like it’s the end of May/Early June, it’s the perfect time to get out and get riding. After all, taking up cycling can be one of the best decisions you’ll make in life. Whether you choose to hop on a bike for health reasons, to help the environment, try a new activity, or even to supplement another sport, cycling is a ton of fun.

And if you're taking up cycling for the first time, you’re going to be joining a great group of people that are already out there enjoying the road on a two-wheel, self-propelled means of transportation. Globally, more people own bikes than own cars – about 42% of the world’s population – and that number is growing every year.

FOR EXAMPLE, in the US, the number of people biking to work has grown by 60% over the past 10 years and the number of cyclists has grown by 15 million people overall.

And there are many benefits of taking up cycling, the best is to get yourself in better shape by taking up a cardio sport like cycling. After all, exercise Is A Critical Component of Staying Healthy. But the Type of Exercise You Do – Strength or Cardio, Sprinting or Endurance - Also Matters. Cycling, Is a great way to capture the health benefits of these different styles of fitness since It blends the line between lower body strength, aerobic training, intervals, and long rides in the “Saddle”.

Of course, health benefits don’t come for free. While you might see some benefits after your first few times on the bike, many of these benefits require cycling regularly to develop and maintain these improvements. Mixing up your cycling workouts, for example by doing intervals one day a week and a long ride later in the week, can help you to hit on different aspects of fitness.

Build Muscle
Cycling is a serious leg workout, and your quads, hamstrings, and glutes are sure to respond by building new muscle fibers to adapt. Although cycling at low resistance will slowly build muscles, you can maximize the gains and build muscle faster by riding uphill, riding in higher gears, or including sprint intervals in your workout.

Cut Fat
Low intensity, aerobic, and consistent exercise is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat. Cycling for an hour or so each day is plenty to begin losing fat, and you can maximize the loss by heading into a training section after fasting for a few hours – but be careful not to overeat at the end of the ride.
Low Intensity, Aerobic, & consistent exercise Is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat.

Strengthen Your Legs
Cycling is far more fun than lifting weights in the basement, but it can help you achieve similar strength gains in your lower body. The best way to build brute strength, particularly in your quads, is to grind away in your highest gear – but if you drop below 60 pedal strokes per minute, drop a gear so that you don’t crush your knee joints.

Decrease Your Stress
Many athletes point to the “runner’s high” as a zen mental state that comes from exercise, but the same stress-free feeling can be found through cycling. Cycling forces you to regulate your breathing, breathe more deeply, and focus on the task at hand rather than the stress of other parts of your life.

Save Your Knees
Unlike “Running”, and most team sports that involve running, that high impact shock of your feet hitting the pavement or that hilly mountain trail can, over time, slowly breaks down your knee joints. Cycling, on the other hand, has a low impact on your knee joints and as a result, is a sport you can participate even in old age. Be sure to fit your bike properly, since a seat that is too high or low can cause grinding or overextension.

Breath Deep
Just as you can train the muscles in your legs, you can train the muscles that expand and contract your lungs. Cycling is a great way for this because there are ample opportunities to include intervals in your workouts or to practice cresting a hill and then keeping up the hard effort. This type of training can help to expand your lung capacity and teach you to move air more effectively.

Reduce Anxiety
Cycling has been shown to reduce stress levels by up to 40%, and as a result, can keep feelings of anxiety at bay. By keeping your mind on the road in front of you rather than aspects of work or life that are bothering you, cycling can provide a much-needed mental break.

Stretch Yourself
The motion of cycling forces you to extend specific muscles in your lower body that don’t often get stretched, like your glutes and hip flexors. This stretching can increase your overall range of motion and flexibility. However, it’s also important to remember to stretch these muscles after rides so they don’t tighten up after expanding.

Sleep Better
Decreases in fitness have been found to correlate with levels of insomnia in both men and women, so it’s important to stay in shape to give yourself the best possible chance of a good night’s sleep. Cycling, in particular, is a great way to reap exercise-induced sleep benefits since it reduces anxiety and keeps weight down, both of which are thought to contribute to insomnia.

Heart Healthy
Hopping on a bike can drastically cut your risk of heart disease. One study found that cycling regularly can decrease your chance of developing heart problems by 50%, while another study found that those who ride just 20 miles per week have half the heart disease risk as people who don’t exercise.

Now that you’ve seen the benefits of getting that bike out of storage and hitting the open road or mountain trail, if you’re going to put some significant miles on that odometer of yours then you should get yourself a good cycling computer. One that can track your distance, your leg reps, the measurement of your ride’s difficulty and with Garmin’s GPS functionality, it can not only tell you where you are but provide maps that help to get you where you're going! The cycling computer that does this and more is the Garmin Edge 530 . It also has functionality built in to provide cycling safety features, which also include a new bike alarm, group messaging and tracking, incident detection and compatibility with Varia™ rearview radar and lights so you can see and be seen!

Now, just so you have an idea over the features that come with this model of cycling wonders. The Garmin Edge 530 has the following features designed in:

Increased display size 13% from 2.3” to 2.6”

Increased battery life from 15 to 20 hours, and to 48 hours in battery saver mode

Significantly increased processor speed: Results in much faster route calculation

Maintained complete onboard turn by turn map database for your region

Added WiFi: Used for syncing of activities/metrics/routes (not during the ride)

Added ClimbPro: Automatically shows how much distance/elevation remains for each climb on the route

Added Mountain Bike Metrics: Shows Grit, Flow, and Jump details on both unit and Garmin Connect

Added Trailforks maps to the unit: Added global Trailforks data/maps to baked-in data on the unit (no downloads required)

Added ForkSight: Automatically shows mountain bike trail options when you pause at a fork in the trail

Added Heat Acclimation: Will automatically take into account heat/humidity for performance/recovery metrics

Added Altitude Acclimation: Will automatically take into account (high) elevation for performance/recovery metrics

Added Training Plan API support: This includes a redesigned structured workout execution page

Added Hydration/Nutrition Smart Alerts: When using a course/route, it’ll automatically figure out how much water/calories you should be taking

Added Hydration/Nutrition Tracking: It allows you to record this data in ride summary screens and log it on Garmin Connect

Added Edge Battery Pack Support: You can now attach the Garmin integrated battery pack to the Edge (you can still use generic USB power too)

Added Bluetooth Smart sensor support: You can now pair Bluetooth Smart sensors like heart rate, power, and cadence

Added Performance Power Curve: This shows you your mean maximal power over different durations/timeframes (like many training sites)

Added Bike Alarm Feature: Used for cafes/bathroom stops, emits loud alarm if bike is moved

Added ‘Find my Edge’ feature: Automatically record exact GPS location on your phone if Edge is disconnected (in case unit pops off)

Added Training Plan Weather/Gear Tips.

Now if the above is not enough to satisfy you, then YOU are a very finicky person! So what are you waiting for? Get that bike out, give it a “Once Over” to make sure it's in “Tip-Top” shape. Get yourself that Garmin Edge 530 GPS Cycling Computer  and go ahead and start those peddles churning!

Yes, the warmer weather is here and many of us have dusted off our bikes to get reacquainted with our favorite biking trails. You may have had to give your bike a once over to make sure it's in the best condition it can be. After all, you need to rely on it in order to get you out there on those trails and more importantly, bring you back safely, and without any mishaps.

In order to make sure your bikes up to the challenge, we put together a few simple checks you can make in order to be sure your bikes ready to peddle you onward.

1. Clean It! OK, that sounds like the obvious, but we mean properly clean it! Rinse it thoroughly, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies, apply a reputable bike cleaner of your choice and leave to stand for a few minutes, then rinse clean.

Stick your bike in a stand and dry it with an industrial-spec paper cloth. Yes, it may be more cost effective to use that grease and mud-encrusted promotional t-shirt you have lying in the corner, but the point of this exercise is cleaning. Drying, as well as cleaning not only makes sure that all the muck is removed but also leaves the bike cleaner so that there’s no residue or paint damage. An old toothbrush is great for de-mudding cassettes and removing the wheels will help you to get right into the rear linkage.

2. Lubricate It: Think about the parts of your bike which rely on a good smothering of grease to move smoothly. Headsets, axles, bottom brackets and dropper/seatposts are all great places for mud, moisture and hasty post-ride, pre-pub washes to strip off the grease. A good quality bike-specific grease will hang around for as long as possible and a torque wrench will help to eliminate any creaks.

3. New bits (tires, grips, chain, lube)
You’ve got the whole summer of ripping turns ahead of you, so why not freshen up your ride? A new chain, cassette, and inner gear cables can make an unbelievable difference and will really go a long way towards replicating that ‘new bike’ feeling. New grips offer a nice new perch for your hands and new tires will open up levels of gripping the road, which has gradually disappeared from memory as your tread depth has worn away.
Why not try switching up your seat set-up slightly too? Moving your position around, even slightly, can dramatically alter how your bike feels out on the trails and won’t cost you a penny.

4. Seal lube:
Your suspension stanchions have been oscillating back and forth through their seals all winter long. Each cycle stripping grit and re-lubing in oil in equal measures. Every-Single-Cycle. Worth showing them some love then? Probably, yeah!
Take some fork oil on a cloth and apply it liberally to the base of the stanchion where it first contacts the seal. Cycle the fork or shock through its travel a couple of times, clean off any excess then repeat. If you’re lucky enough to have air-sprung suspension, then take a second to check your pressures.

Now that the basic checklist is complete, you may want to consider adding another component to your bikes arsenal. Lights. Yes, its summer and the daylight hours stretch out now for a couple hours and its light enough to see after 9 pm on most summer evenings. But with the passing of the 4th of July, the daylight hours are beginning to decline. And there may come times when you’re out at night and the shadows begin to encroach upon your biking trail. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a good reliable cycling lamp mounted to your ride so that you can not only see where you're going and what’s coming up around the corner, but any on-coming traffic can also be seen, by YOU!

The Garmin Varia Smart Cycling Light  is one such lamp! The Varia smart bike lights help to create a safer riding environment by adjusting to changing light conditions as well as bike speed when paired with select Garmin Edge computers. As speed increases, the headlight automatically projects light further ahead, to where it’s needed most. As the ambient light fades or gets brighter, both the headlight and tail light adjust automatically when paired with a light-sensing Edge 1000 bike computer. Beam cutoff prevents headlight from blinding oncoming drivers.

So, there you have it. With your bike having passed its checklist with flying colors and you're incorporating a safety zone of illumination by mounting the Garmin Varia Cycling light to your bike, your now ready to see where you're going and more importantly be seen by oncoming traffic.

It just gives you a sense of “ piece of mind” that you're doing all you can do in order to have some fun as you cycle, safely on down the road.

Ok, it’s now approaching the end of April, in fact, it’s the last full week, and the weather is just now beginning to corporate in as such I can begin thinking of getting my bike out and hitting the roads and trails around where I live. Here in the northeast, we have been seeing more white than green and the temperatures have been hovering closer to 30 than 50 degrees.

Sure, we’ve had a couple of teasers as far as warm weather goes, but those days, were far and few and when they did make an appearance, well like most of us, we tried to make use of that time to try and get our yards cleaned up from what Mother Nature deposited on our lawns throughout the long, cold winter.

But, I think that is all behind us and even if the temperatures do drop down to a chilly state, we can handle it, especially if we know in advance and dress a little warmer, than we would normally like. That being said, there are a few needed steps you need to go through in order to make sure your bike is ready to take you where and as far as you want to go.

1. Dig Out Your Bike! Get your bike out of the garage, down from the loft storage or any place that its been stored since your last excursion. Hopefully where you’ve had it stored up off of its tires this past winter to a place where you have room to check it out.

2. Give those pedals and tires a couple of turns: Make sure everything glides properly, without any rubbing or snagging. Make sure the chain moves smoothly, without any skips or stiff spots, and listen for any clicking, popping, or grinding noises, which can indicate drivetrain issues, and make sure you check your bike’s gears by shifting through all the possible gear combinations. It’s a little too late if you run into trouble out on a secluded road or path and your bike fails to shift gears properly!

3. Pump up your tires to your preferred tire pressure; 24 hours later, check the pressure again. If a tube goes flat immediately, it needs to be replaced. If it loses more than 75 percent of its air overnight, it’s probably time to replace the tubes.
If you have tubeless tires, make sure that the sealant inside is still liquid. If not, clean them out and fill them up again.

4. Tighten Things Up! Check all of the nuts and bolts to make sure they haven’t loosened. You’ll want to use a torque wrench to make sure you’re tightening them to the correct spec. While you’re doing that, watch out for bolts that have seized. Nothing can be more frustrating than snapping a bolt or nut, just because you think tighter is better. It's not, this is why you need to periodically go over your fasteners to make sure none are becoming too loose.
Keep in mind, all of the above you should be able to take care of all by yourself. If you find one of these problems and you’re not comfortable doing work on your own, take your bike to a reputable bike shop. While tune-up costs can vary widely between shops, most will run you between $45 and $75, and you’ll have the peace of mind knowing your bike is safe and ready to ride for the rest of the season.

Even if you decide that your bike is in good working order, it still doesn’t hurt to take it to a reliable bike-shop and get a safety check done. A mechanic will go over the bike and confirm everything is in tip-top shape, a process that usually only takes a few minutes and dollars to do. Think of it this way, most states have yearly car inspections, it makes sense to treat the integrity of your bike's mechanical parts the same way.  Then you have the peace of mind of having a dependable bike under you, and you should be ready to get out there and enjoy your ride.

Now, that we covered the Basic-Spring-Bike-Checkup, we can concentrate on the whole purpose of why you’re getting your bike ready for the road. To get out and peddle! Going for a couple of miles bike ride is very enjoyable, but if you are one of the biker elites, you may venture out to go on some very long rides, perhaps even participate in a hundred or a few hundred-mile bike-endurance run.

These runs are nothing to take lightly and are only for the more experienced biker. You have to be in proper physical condition, and of course, your bike is of the kind that can handle any kind of rough or smooth terrain. Making sure your staying on the proper course is very important too! Over the years personal GPS devices have become more popular and there are a lot of companies out there that provide them, from bike computers that are mounted to your bikes, frame, ones that easily detach and if you want can be used in other forms of transportation like motorcycles and autos. But for reliability and accurate course plots, nothing beats a GPS computer tailored for a bike! Now it took me a bit of time to convert from downloading a preset course from the web and carrying it with me as I took part in these long-distance runs. And this is fine if you consider yourself a purist at heart.  But finding a good reliable terrain map is not always an easy option, especially if you happen to run across a complicated bike run challenge.

Cycling has always been about adventure and enjoying the fact that I was seeing new areas and vistas, for me, sometimes a wrong turn can lead you somewhere beautiful. And truthfully, relying on others for partial route knowledge on long rides has been a great way to meet people and make new friends.

But, having the ability to use an onboard GPS navigation unit is definitely a plus when your biking on trails that you were never on before. Participating in these types of rides are all but impossible without route directions guiding your way.  Turn-by-turn navigation is necessary if you plan on competing in these runs at an individual level against a clock. After all, if your competing, the longer it takes you to bring out your smartphone or unfold a course map to make sure you're on the right path, the longer your overall time will be when you cross that finish line.

After making up my mind and doing a lot of online research and looking at reviews, I decided on the Garmin Edge-520  It's compact and rugged, which was a big factor for me and it's 15+ hour battery life make the Edge 520 perfect for off-road trails and competitive biking. It’s also compatible with GPS/GLONASS satellites, so you benefit from more signal options, wherever your ride takes you, and never have to wonder just where you are in relation to your checkpoints on the course.

Uploading and enabling the "MapMyGPS" route was straightforward, and starting out on my journey, the device would beep 300 feet before upcoming turns, giving me both the street name and turn directions. This provided me with plenty of time to be aware of what and when I needed to do something. I could keep the course displayed on its screen in order to view upcoming course features or rely solely on those notifications while looking at other ride stats like my power average or speed.

I found that if I did happen to make a wrong turn, which was, of course, my fault in NOT paying attention, the Edge 520 brought me back on course by letting out a booming "Off Course” alert, with the aid of which I was able to correct my mistake instantly! Now having something with you like the Garmin Edge-520 provides you with a bit of a safety net. There is nothing like having a reliable device that can pinpoint your location with the aid of those GLONASS satellites overhead. Since my goal this year is bike through at least 3 national parks this year, having the Garmin Edge with me can give me accurate course adjustments if I want to get off the normal bike trails and take in the scenic beauty that each park has to offer.

So there you have it, give your bike a good once over and if need be, take it to your local bike shop for in-depth checks and when all is checked, get out there and enjoy the clean fresh air via your bike-seat and see where that open road or mountain path leads you. And if you take along that the Garmin Edge-520 , you can be sure your going to arrive at your specific destination, safely and best of all with its smartphone connectivity, your friends and family will know where you are, when you are. Happy Biking!