Speaker 1: The time has come for a big ride.
I've got my cross country bike kitted up.
I've got enough jelly babies and cereal bars to last me a week.
Plus, I've got the latest in bike GPS computers from my friends at Garmin, the 1030 Plus,
to make sure that I find the best trails and don't get lost.
[music] Big days out in the saddle are something that
I like to challenge myself to do, especially when summer rolls around, and I can get planning
and plotting the rides somewhere new to broaden my riding horizons.
This year, things have been much closer to home but that could be a blessing in disguise.
A chance to explore the places not so far from home that you've always meant to check
out.
Today we're in the Quantocks in the southwest of England, an area of outstanding natural
beauty and a place I've always wanted to explore.
I've seen it in the pages of countless mountain bike magazines, and today's the day for trying
to ride as many good trails as possible.
[music] I've plotted a mega ride on Komoot starting
in the popular riding spot of Triscombe and then venturing further into the wilds using
the highlights other people have placed on the map to link trails recommended by others.
A perfect mix of old school map plotting using new-school tech and apps to sync it straight
to my Garmin.
[music] Garmin originally set me the challenge of
can I outlast the battery of a 1030 Plus?
Can my legs outlast a unit?
I dug a bit deeper and actually the battery on this lasts 24 hours.
I was like, "No, no chance."
There's more things you could be doing with 24 hours, not just riding a bike, so I've
just compromised on a big day out on proper mountain bike trails.
I can't wait.
I've actually really missed doing some big rides, and I really missed doing some big
rides.
I don't know how fit I am, but it's going to be a big long day and I just want to enjoy
it.
[music] The new 1030 Plus actually takes away some
of the elbow grease of trying to find the best spots if you're going to locations that
you've never ridden before, just like this.
It's getting technical.
I use the Komoot integration to plot my map, and now I'm literally just following the navigation.
There's also Garmin mapping, Trailforks as well, so you can really try and find the best
trails even if you've never been to that spot before.
This is pretty flipping good, if not pretty technical on an XC bike.
Oh, do you know what I miss?
[music] If it's going to be a big ride, then I'll
carry a lot of food and water.
I might also plan some food stops at cafes, so I definitely don't want to miss a turn.
Just double-check that the cafe's going to be open because this one wasn't, but luckily,
we had enough supplies with us.
A bit of experience helps with planning big rides.
I think especially if you're planning on going hard and fast or racing, you need to get the
fueling right and often.
On a much more casual ride like this one, I tend to just carry loads of normal food,
things like sandwiches or nuts, and some pick me ups like something sweet if I'm feeling
tired.
[music] I've got a heart rate monitor and the power
meter on this bike and they import straight over with the new 1030 Plus because they were
set up on my old unit, super easy.
On a big ride like this, you could ride to your power meter or your heart rate, so you
don't go too high.
I'm not going to bother today and in fact, I wouldn't want to see my numbers too much
anyway.
It's all about the riding today.
[music] There is, of course, the old school option
of getting the old paper map out and doing it the old-fashioned way.
I can see the appeal for that, but I'd rather do the work pre-ride, sit down on my laptop
with a cup of tea and work out my route, stick it on to my computer, and then just crack
over the ride, so I'm not getting the map out every turn and second-guessing everything
I do.
Also on the navigation screen on my 1030 Plus, I'm following the map obviously but I've got
two figures on there as well.
You can customize the screens completely.
I've got the distance, how far I've been but also the distance to the next point.
At the moment, I've got 262 meters until the next time I've got to make a turn on the trail.
Hopefully, then I won't miss them.
[music] I've been using this 1030 Plus a bit on my
road bike and my mountain bike for the larger screen for navigation.
The feature I've used a few times which is really handy is the Back to the Start.
I just go out for a ride until I'm feeling tired.
Then I think, right, I want to get back to the start as quick as I can.
Press that, and it'll give you the option of along the same route or the most direct
route.
I know I'm going to get home without completely running out of juice.
[music] There's a host of safety features like incident
detection that could send a message to a contact in case of an accident and live-tracking,
so people can follow your ride and even see your planned route.
That's great for solo epics.
If you're slightly more social than me, then you can even send messages between devices.
[music] So 34 kilometers into the ride, feeling good
actually, I'm all right.
1,200 meters of climbing.
I've just realized, I've stopped to check my map and I've realized the route I planned
means I go 10 km out of the way down to the seaside.
I was planning on getting fish and chips but now, it seems quite extravagant to ride 10
kilometers and ride all the way to the bottom hill for fish and chips.
I think I'm going to save myself the bother, stay on the hillside, save myself a 400-meter
climb back up, and I'm going to do it.
I'm going to hit the 'find me a route back to the start,' the most direct route.
Hopefully, we'll find some more single track trails on the way home.
Back to the car, then I'll get some chips on the drive home.
[music] There we go, made it.
45 kilometers.
Done 1,500 meters of climb.
I wouldn't say I was toast but I'm definitely feeling pretty tired now.
A pretty leisurely pace, we were out for seven hours pretty much in the end.
Guess how much battery's left?
I've got 75% left.
In theory, I could do three more of these days and I wouldn't have to charge this thing.
Pretty incredible.
On the 1030 Plus now is where you've got those mountain bike dynamics.
It gives you a grit and the flow score for the ride, just saving it.
Also, it tells you your training status.
You can dig into so many details of that.
That was an aerobic ride, pretty much, making my base better.
Recovery time, 48 hours.
I've got plenty of time to charge this.
I can't ride again.
Well, it's recommending that I rest for 48 hours now.
It's the biggest ride I've done for a long time.
I know it's not crazy of any standards, 45 km, but I've not done much riding recently.
I know I've done 100 miles in the past, so well over 140/150 km is that?
I know, plenty of people will be shouting at their screens saying that they could do
way bigger rides than that.
For me, that's pretty full-on.
Calories burned, 2,232.
That means large fish and chips on the way home, so stoked by that.
Let us know in the comments down below if you're looking forward to getting out and
about and doing some big rides, I'm stoked, I really enjoyed that.
Actually, riding around the woods, I saw so many other trails I could see, and on here.
I'll definitely be back in doing some big exploration rides.
Thumbs up if you're [unintelligible 00:11:29] big rides.
[00:11:32] [END OF AUDIO]