[HAMR] Another go .. TG??

[Basil]

Thanks Ivan.  Really appreciate your time.

[24hourmaths]

I had the pleasure of speaking to Steve on the phone this morning for 10 minutes or so. He seemed in good spirits but is very stressed about his powermeter(s) - they seem to be continually cutting out due to a bad signal and he can't work out why. He's been moving them around his bars and has managed to make the signal better temporarily but with no permanent solution, he also seems to think that they have drifted to be up to 20W out from where they should be.

I was only able to suggest that it might be the battery but he says the batteries are being changed every 10-12 days so it's not that. He is even considering riding with his Garmin in his sock, which seems to kind of defeat the point of having the Garmin in the first place.

He has Stages PMs and the problem is repeated across two of his bikes, which I presume have different PM units on. If anyone has any constructive suggestions then i am sure that he would be all ears... although he is fairly hard to get hold of 

[Wowbagger]

None of that last post made any sense to me, other than that Steve is having trouble with a particular bit of kit.

[Kim]

Wireless voodoo pixie dust strikes again...

Closest thing I can come to a constructive suggestion is whether there might be another piece of kit putting out enough RF noise to interfere with the connection.  I'm thinking USB battery packs or something else with a switching regulator (presumably not going to be lights at this time of year).

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Steve regularly rides well into the night.

[Kim]

Steve regularly rides well into the night.

Sure, but he'll be doing plenty of daytime mileage with the lights off, so if it were a lighting-related problem he'd probably have noticed that the power meter stops working when he turns the lights on.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Steve regularly rides well into the night.

Sure, but he'll be doing plenty of daytime mileage with the lights off, so if it were a lighting-related problem he'd probably have noticed that the power meter stops working when he turns the lights on.

How does that change riding summer or winter?

[lahoski]

How does that change riding summer or winter?

Cos there are more daylight hours in summer than winter? And one might run lights constantly in winter to counteract the gloom. In summer one would be more likely to switch one's light on halfway through the that day's ride?

[Kim]

How does that change riding summer or winter?

Cos there are more daylight hours in summer than winter? And one might run lights constantly in winter to counteract the gloom. In summer one would be more likely to switch one's light on halfway through the that day's ride?

That's what I mean, yes.  Anyway, it's just a stab in the, erm, dark.

[SoreTween]

Could someone please let Steve know he forgot to reset his computer on Wednesday early hours. His main ride on Wednesday on Strava (Corinium) includes the short ride home after midnight Tuesday. If he's submitted those same files to UMCA he's doubled up on 9.9 km. It would be a shame to see those files excluded.

[zigzag]

regarding his power meter - which version is he using? if v1, then it's possible that one of the three "legs" on the battery cover broke off and the battery is not pressed against the contacts sufficiently and the unit shuts down. in that case i'd stock up on spare covers.

[Wobbly John]

I've just listened to Steve's latest video, and he seems to be having a tough time at the moment.

If you get the chance, go for a ride with him or cheer him on.

He comes this way often, but it always seems to be when I am picking up Mrs WJ from work, or with the grandsons, or I've just missed him. 

[mattc]

I've just listened to Steve's latest video, and he seems to be having a tough time at the moment.

If you get the chance, go for a ride with him or cheer him on.

He comes this way often, but it always seems to be when I am picking up Mrs WJ from work, or with the grandsons, or I've just missed him. 

Is he having any involvement with LEL?

(I've given up trying to meet him on the road - last time he came quite close to here several times, but always when I was at work. :\ )

[rob]

Should see him on the 24hr a few times this weekend, hopefully.

[Wobbly John]

Well, I just sat down with a cup of coffee this afternoon, looked at Steve's tracker, and saw he was at the end of the road - about 1/4 mile away. 

I quickly changed into cycling gear, got the fast bike out, and set off in pursuit.

It took me about 4 miles to catch him on the A10, and we turned off onto a quieter road so we could have a chat.

He's hoping that by going easy for a while, he will recover and be able to develop more power. We U turned at around 95 miles for Steve, and retraced the route. He will aim to take a slightly longer homeward route, but thinks he will end up with a 'short' (210mile) day!

I think it cheered him up lots having someone to ride with. 

[whosatthewheel]

I also listened to the youtube thing... he was going on about having left the rubbish for weeks and maggots and possibly having caught something out of poor hygiene...
Does ho not have anybody who looks after things for him? Like laundry, cleaning the house, doing the shopping, possibly cooking... are these attempts that cash strapped?

[toontra]

I also listened to the youtube thing... he was going on about having left the rubbish for weeks and maggots and possibly having caught something out of poor hygiene...
Does ho not have anybody who looks after things for him? Like laundry, cleaning the house, doing the shopping, possibly cooking... are these attempts that cash strapped?

I think it's probably more a case of volunteers (or lack of) than money.  For his first attempt there was a team looking after things at base camp - at least some of the time.  As we have gone on to a second and now third attempt perhaps some of that support is unsustainable for the volunteers.  A year of one's life is one thing, but 2 or 3?

The successful challengers have had unlimited family support - something money just couldn't buy.

[whosatthewheel]

The successful challengers have had unlimited family support - something money just couldn't buy.

I see, that makes all the difference... anything on that scale can only be a team effort. As I understand, given the low average sped compared to AC, he spends anything upward of 14 hours a day on the saddle... add 8-9 hours a day in bed, that leaves very little time for anything else.. he needs someone to organise everything for him.

It would be different he was riding around a track at 32 km/h... then he could be done in 10-12 hours a day and have more time

[Ian H]

Steve's local volunteers have jobs and family, so can't devote an enormous amount of time to him.  His Mum is doing quite a bit, including collating his finances.

This is the toughest of tough challenges.  Remember Kurt calling for a mobile saline drip? Or Alicia going off for heart tests? 

I have just put up a list of donors to the current attempt on the website.

[Basil]

Does Steve need donations?   Has the. money run out?  Just say.  Happy to help.  In a small way.

[Ashaman42]

I'll chip in again, (especially after not chipping in again as much as planned first time round  ). Alas I haven't the time or transport to help out physically but if a few chipped in we could at least get someone round to tidy up the place and whatnot surely?

[Ian H]

We don't think he has quite enough to get him through the entire attempt, even though Steve is remarkably parsimonious.  Things that can eat into money happen, such as his phone just recently succumbing to the rain. It's the one he uses mostly to upload the data, so also a time sink.

[Ashaman42]

Assuming of course he wants someone in - wouldn't want to sound like I'm making choices for him.

[Ian H]

Assuming of course he wants someone in - wouldn't want to sound like I'm making choices for him.

It's possibly an option.  But again that would cost a surprising amount.

[Ashaman42]

That's true - I imagine even a couple hours a week ain't cheap