Miles: 24.0
Time: 2:18:13
Elevation: 507
Average Speed: 10.4
Max Speed: 31.6
I did the usual loop out to the airport and return on the touring bike and mostly in the dark. I got away about 6:45 and the sun set within the first 2-3 miles. By the time I got to the end of Valley Vista (about 7 miles in) where a lot of the road is covered with dirt from recent rains it was dark enough to turn on the headlight. From that point on it was definitely a night ride.
It was a beautiful warm evening for a ride, 94 when I left home and 90 when I returned. The traffic was very light. There was an annoying 5-10 MPH east windgoing out to Goodwin Road but then it died out or became a mild tailwind which made the climb back from the airport much more pleasant than usual. I did stop at the airport briefly for photos and a drink but otherwise rode straight through.
I left home wearing a flashing LED safety vest and a flashing ankle light. I also had the Planet Bike "Blinky" mounted on the rack and flashing. Did I look like a geek who gives bicyclists everywhere a bad name. Probably. Was I visible? Definitely and I did live to tell about it. How did the new gear work you ask?
The Biologic Recharge Unit: I left the house with the phone battery at 92% and running the Strava app. I rode with the hub charging the Biologic and the Biologic charging the phone. When I turned on the headlight I turned off the charge to the Biologic battery and left it charging the phone with no input charge. When I got to the airport the phone was at 93% where it stayed until I got home. The Biologic reports that it is still fully charged. I am not sure what this all means, if the Biologic cannot gain on the phone's battery drain or if the phone is limiting the charge received from the Biologic. Either way it could make using the phone to track a tour and to keep other devices charged a bit difficult. More experience is needed to figure out how this setup is going to work.
The Lumotec Headlight: My assertion of yesterday that the light makes maximum illumination at or above 5 MPH turns out to be untrue. The beam gets noticeably brighter around 10-12 MPH. It may get even brighter beyond that but it is hard to detect from the riders vantage. The beam is somewhat irregular in shape but it lights the road well and I was very comfortable riding in it up to my maximum speed of 30 MPH.
As I was climbing a short very steep hill on Pinto Mountain Road at about 4 MPH with the light flickering and getting very dim a car came over the brow of the hill from the opposite direction. I was momentarily concerned about being seen but then realized my vest and other lights probably made me quite visible, perhaps even a spectacle! In the future I will carry my small battery powered headlight and run it in flash mode just to guarantee some light in situations where I am going too slow to power the generator light.
All in all I consider the ride and the new equipment to be a great success.
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