Starting a ride from remote locations

[Ratman]

I don't own an iBike currently but intend to get one soon. I frequently ride from my home during the week, which should make it pretty easy to do the recommended iBike pre-ride setup steps, i.e., wind offset, tilt calculation, temperature acclimation, etc. On the weekends, however, I enjoy riding more scenic routes with my bike club. This usually requires putting the bike in the car and driving to the starting location (generally a state park or other such public location). There isn't always a sheltered area from which one could do a proper wind offset (as I understand it) at these public parking lots. Is it possible to do an adequate wind offset in the garage before leaving? If not, does anyone have any advice/tips on how to handle the wind offset issue when you're likely to have limited shelter from the wind?

Thanks!

[racerfern]

I usually just run into the bathrooms, which at my age I have to do anyway and do a quick wind offset. Just make make sure it is acclimated to the ambient temperature first. Say 10-15 minutes outside and then quick into the bathroom, inbetween two cars, around the corner of a building or structure where you have little or no perception of wind. No biggie, takes all of five seconds.

When you get home, any minor corrections can be made by getting the weather from the closest station.

[travispape]

Fernando's method is good if you have a place you can find to do the wind offset. You can even step into your car long enough to get the wind offset cal done. (It is the temperature of the iBike's internals that is really imporant, so the temperature inside the car doesn't have to match the outdoor temperature. Just get it done in less than a minute.)

However, doing the wind offset cal in the garage before you leave will give you good results as long as the temperature is about the same as the riding temperature.

Travis

[Ratman]

Fernando and Travis:

Thanks for the pointers. I always wondered if there could be something positive about prostate enlargement!

David

[ddotmark]

If I'm starting a ride from a remote location, should I at least set the altitude for the iBike at home before traveling with my bike via car to the remote start point? I can set the tilt and offset when I get to the remote location. I know the altitude for my home location because I have looked it up via my zip code. However, there is a local state park which I regularly drive to to start a ride. The park does not have zip code which I can use to lookup the altitude. The ride starts at the top of a mountain. So what is the suggested method to get the correct altitude set in my iBike for proper readings and recording of the trip?

Your advice, tips and hints are appreciated.

[racerfern]

Two ways to get altitude.
1) Use Google Earth to get altitude. It is quite easy to move the pointer (hand) over the spot you plan on starting from. On the lower left corner you will see lat, lon and altitude if you have your settings correct.
2) Since I also have a Garmin, I create my desired route in http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com , save it as a tcx and put it into the Garmin. In the process the entire elevation of the upcoming ride is stored so I can actually look at the screen and see how far to the summit. Works very nicely.

[Velocomp]

It's fine if you set altitude at home, then go to your starting location to ride. Remember that if the weather changes while en-route to your starting point the elevation your iBike reads at your actual starting location may be different from what the actual elevation is, but that's ok, too. After your ride you can correct the starting altitude in the main screen of iBike 2. Click "iBike Settings" in the analyze portion of the main screen, and adjust the starting altitude to whatever you want. Alternatively, you can use the Tools/Analyze iBike Settings... command in the menu to accomplish the same thing. Note that starting altitude does NOT affect power calculations.