I decided 2024 was my year to get fit…why, I dunno, stupid…probably but actually quite enjoying the pain and the gain. As part of that, I bought myself a Garmin Instinct (Solar) 2 watch.

WTF does this have to do with K bikes and motorbiking in general, I hear you think. Bear with me…

The watch allows the user to track numerous sporting type activities, using GPS tracking etc and allows the activity to be reviewed on the Garmin Connect app. I’ve used it for walks, runs and even sailing…but there is no option of motorbiking. There is, however, a e-bike option so I edited out the e- and replaced with motor and gave it a try.

Perfect opportunity was attending a clan gathering near Inverness, Scotland. I was riding up on the Friday for the gathering (about 70 cousins & other rellies who had come from as far as USA, Canada and NZ), partying on Saturday and riding home on Sunday. Mostly motorway and fast main road riding (curse those average speed cameras that infest most of the Scottish roads), so not worthy of one of my ride reports but, to those of you who have read my previous reports you’ll know that I like to show maps of where I’ve been. Previously, I have down loaded my track from my Garmin LM 590 GPS using a mix of base camp and google maps software to create an uploadable map.

However, this is what my smartwatch gave me. All I had to do was press start at the start and stop some 10 hours later when I arrived, then upload to the connect app. Easy.





The great thing about the app is you can zoom in to the map and see detail. There is also a stats page …which shows average speed and max speed…not shown for potentially legal reason 

So, if you like to see where you’ve been and record your ride for posterity, this is great trouble free option strapped on your wrist that gives you both time and inclination!

And the slowest part of the journey was...

tada!!

Gosport to Newbury??

Dai wrote:And the slowest part of the journey was...

tada!!

Gosport to Newbury??

That part of the journey is actually pretty good now (Newbury bypass build a few decades back despite Swampy and his eco mates taking to the trees to stop them being cleared). 

The pic show my return journey…on a Sunday with delays (blue bits of track) at Tay bridge (road works), Preston/Blackpool (accident and daytripper home bound traffic)and Birminjam (spaghetti junction). Even with several miles of filtering/splitting and 3 fuel stops, still averaged 58mph.

That's interesting and good use of the Tech. Did you just edit the E to a K on the program?

Born Again Eccentric wrote:

Dai wrote:And the slowest part of the journey was...

tada!!

Gosport to Newbury??

That part of the journey is actually pretty good now (Newbury bypass build a few decades back despite Swampy and his eco mates taking to the trees to stop them being cleared).

One of the very few things that I reluctantly own up to is that I designed traffic systems for eleven years. Not long after it was opened and fully in use, the Roads Dept. did a follow-up traffic survey and found that the Newbury Bypass, on average, saved a whole two minutes per driver compared to going through the town. However! Offset against that was the increase in quality of life for the town residents. I always hated travelling through Newbury and would go out of my way to bypass it on back roads.