Like others I switch off notifications and keep the computer fields to a minimum.
I got a second hand Varia after hearing so many people rave about them but I found the adio alerts too distracting and I don’t find the field on my computer that useful. I use it and I think it’s OK but I certainly don’t find it as indispensible as others.
I sometimes do intervals outside but make a point of not staring at the screen to hit power targets. I’ll usually glance a few times in the first interval or two to gague the effort but once I’ve done that then RPE is usually close enough.
Not at all. I mean, my power data distracts me from the horrifying reality of that 16% hill I am struggling up but I welcome that distraction. Other than that I barely glance at my head unit unless I’m trying to do zone training. And most of those zone training rides are on the trainer anyway so I can just enjoy riding outside.
Only when I’m on-call for work and I have to pay attention to things that roll in. Otherwise, I like the fact that texts show up on my wahoo because most of the time it’s easy to triage them and say, “this will wait”. For most anything else I just ride my bike and only pay attention to tech when it’s relevant to the ride, e.g., directions, or time-of-day/etc.
But also, I’m pretty good at ignoring things and focusing.
Had to turn off all the beeps on the Garmin head unit. It is just too much. Would be nice to have a way to choose what beeps, but the options are so limited, better to have everything off!
Meditative: No head unit, phone on silent, no power meter, no Strava, only a basic watch for the time, normal food & coffee. If I feel like going hard, go hard. If just want to cruise, go cruise.
Events: Head unit, power meter, gels, Strava, etc. and push to my limits for the day
I don’t stress about training rides. I’ve spent way too long over analysing Strava & intervals.icu detail, to only injure myself and not ride for months then get discouraged about how bad my form followed by how long it takes to come back.
Head unit not connecting, therefore route/map/workout not loaded
Disc brakes with oily pads after longer stays abroad
Shifter batteries empty
Sealant dried out
I still have my old rim brake, mechanical shifting bike, and the beauty is I really just need to pump the tires and it rides perfectly fine every time I need it.
I find the ride distracts me from the tech, so I often just climb off the bike and listen to the soothing sound of pings coming from my phone as I argue with fans and trolls on my feeds. After a few hours of that, I head home, pour some water on my head to simulate sweat, and continue the online arguments from my couch.
I’m a lover of tech, but riding in London means that i have to be alert. Unless i’m navigating a weekend club ride in the country and need to see a map, i’m not really looking at my head unit. I don’t look at numbers until i’ve finished. I do like to have WA messages as that’s how the wife contacts me. Annoyingly, on the karoo that means allowing emails and other alerts as they are all in the “other” category. I would never listen to anything. This isn’t about the sanctity of the ride experience for me - it’s purely a safety issue. If i’m doing intervals on rollers, those rules don’t apply - i listen to music and have bleeps for interval changes.
Thanks everyone for the responses - really fascinating to see the breadth of experiences here. I go back and forth with this (and tech in general). Connectivity is a tool, and sometimes I struggle to manage my relationship with it. But that’s primarily phone-based. For riding, I have my rear radar, but like some of you I set the head unit to map screen unless I specifically want to see a particular data field. As you might’ve guessed, I’m interested in this as a story idea. I’m intrigued by the relationship between riding and the mental break it offers us from an increasingly distracted world, and I’m curious about how those distractions may be starting to creep into riding. Really appreciate all the thoughtful responses so far. Keep ‘em coming!
I like having the data to look at after the ride, but not so much during a ride. In my pre-head-unit days I’d record the ride on Strava using my phone, which was sitting in my back pocket. No distractions while on the bike and I could geek out with the numbers afterwards if I wanted to. That’s still a good option.
With the head unit I have used the heart rate data field when I’ve been sick and wanted to keep an easy ride easy.
I have a focus mode on my phone (iPhone) for riding, that only allows notifications from my wife and kids. If I’m training or riding somewhere I don’t know, then I use my Garmin for maps/directions. Any other ride though I just use my Garmin watch, so I can record all the data if I ever want to see it later, but the tech is essentially invisible while I’m riding. For my true soul rides, I ride the single speed, so I don’t even have to think about changing gears…pure bliss.
It has, on occasion, distracted me in racing. Approaching a corner at speed, with one eye on the computer’s map function, only to realise a fraction too late that everyone has slammed their brakes. In that situation, it’s distracting.
Like you’re walking down the street, on your phone, to realise with a jolt that you’re an inch away from running into a streetlamp, or another person.
Whilst on training rides, the bike computer remains; it is far less appealing now. But that has taken time to sever my relationship with starting it like I’m Chris Froome.
I do feel headphones and music, and podcasts amplify the experience of riding and training rather than take away from it. It adds to the atmosphere whilst riding through some of the picturesque French mountains.
Not for me, no phone notifications appear on my Garmin screen. I wear 1 earbud for music while riding most days, my phone is 99% of the time on silent so I don’t have audible alerts for messages, emails etc.
I knew screen notifications would really annoy me when riding so first thing when setting up any new head unit is switch that option off.
For training I have the audible countdown to next effort etc which I need to keep me on track and the Garmin Varia alerts which I find comforting in the fact I know there’s a car approaching.
Phone calls are alerted in the earbud, if I know the person calling I then decide whether it could be important or not and that decides whether I stop asap or wait until next junction, cafe or just when I get home.
I’ve spent… years? Trying to break up with/moderate/have a good relationship with my device. It makes its way into every facet of my life, and that doesn’t sit well with me.
A goal/objective of mine for years has been to be able to sit and do nothing. No scrolling. No reading. No tasks. And not meditating or actively doing something, which I consider another task. Wool gathering?
Haven’t reached that goal. Generally the more unsettled I am, the more I lean on tech. I’ve been unsettled since at least 2020
On the bike I use a watch or have the screen off, because any active screen draws my eye. Although, given I don’t race or actually ‘train’ what am I logging for?
I will trying the phone brick in the next few weeks to see if that friction will help at all.
I am similarly trying to move away from gadgets when I am home….while I will read, watch TV, etc. I am working to avoid he compulsion to pull my phone / tablet out constantly. I call it “being present”. Eliminating all my social media accounts helped tremendously.
When I really want a break from tech I pull out my old Kona Hot singlespeed. No computer, no suspension, no shifters, and with the right trail, nobody and no traffic.
