The weather forecast for yesterday (Sunday) turned out to be off base. The rain was just enough to cause me to not ride but I was back biking today. The bike ride was 39.59 miles long as I rode the “Kingwood – Splendora – Kingwood” route. This is the second ride with the PowerPod power meter and I am still trying to figure it out.

I did learn that the desktop program I have used for a number of years, SportTracks ST3, does not support the data file from the Wahoo Elemnt with power meter data. I must import the data using the Garmin .tcx data file format. An option is to use the online version of SportTracks but I am not excited about paying $59.95 per year. The desktop version is already paid for. My inclination if I am going to pay an annual subscription price is to use Strava.com. I use the free version of Strava.com and have for several years. I was happy until I added the PowerPod. Like upgrading a computer a simple upgrade can cascade into other upgrades which cost money. Another desktop program I have used off and on is Golden Cheetah. This program goes deeper into analysis than SportTracks but does not have a goal tracking function. I started setting goals last year and find this helps keep me on track.

Speaking of upgrades, I purchased a Barfly mount to improve the position of the PowerPod, moving it out front from below the left side of the handle bar beside the stem. More money spent in the upgrade cascade.

Back to today’s bike ride. The wind was very helpful riding to Splendora as I watched the watts reading report numbers below 100 for most of the time. At FM 2920 I made the u-turn nack to Kingwood and that friendly wind became a tough headwind. I expected the watts to go up but they didn’t go over 200 except when I stopped at a traffic light and restarted. Figuring out how the power meter works and what the numbers mean is ahead.

The cloudy sky and rain of Sunday left in the late afternoon and today the clear blue sky and 85 degrees made for perfect bicycling. I wore a short sleeve jersey and shorts and was comfortable. The weather looks like repeat for tomorrow. I hope to ride again. I am at the 10% point of reaching my 772 miles for April.

Golden Cheetah ride summary

I adjusted the Power Zones in Golden Cheetah to reflect the ranges in the Wahoo Elemnt app.This put 71% of today’s bike ride in Zone 2, Endurance. I need more rides to see if this is normal for me or what.

Link to Strava.com metrics and map.

[iframe http://rwgps-embeds.com/trips/13733606/embed 90% 700px]

Weather conditions at the start and finish.