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Fitness Monitor Sample Output Instructions |
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Coachs often recommend doing a short time trial to test a rider's fitness and to give a benchmark to which future improvements can be compared. Coaches go on to recommend that a rider note the conditions at the time of the ride, implying that one will later need the information to explain differences. But the coach seldom says how one should make such adjustments. This calculator can help with this last part, doing the adjustment. We assume that a rider rides the same course with the same bike and the same wheels. We assume a short course, that the course is point to point and straight, and that the riders start from a standing start (or close to a standing start). This calculator adjusts for wind speed, wind direction, and air density (temperature, air pressure). It answers the question, "At the same effort level as last time, what would my time have been today under today's conditions? If your actual time is better, it would indicate a higher level of fitness. You can do an analysis before your effort. This would give you a goal for today adjusted to today's conditions. So if there is a tailwind today, it will give you an estimate of the speed at which you should ride in order to maintain the same effort level. Try a few hypothetical cases with wind from different directions. It does make a significant difference. Riders usually ride slower in the winter. The air is usually denser. Cold air is denser than warm air. A rider has more bulk from extra layers of clothing. This adds drag. Slope. This should be in percent, defined as rise/run x 100%. A flat course would be 0, a course with a small up-hill slope would be 1% or 2%. Very steep courses are 12% or so. If the course slopes down-hill, the value would be negative. The coefficient of drag and frontal area are assumed values since most people don't know these values unless they have been measured in a wind tunnel. The coefficient of rolling resistance is assumed as well, a value appropriate for public roads. If you want a better estimate, run a case using the Wind On Rider calculator. If that is not good enough and you have wind tunnel measurements of your drag, ask about a custom model. Wind Direction is in relation to the rider's path: zero if from directly ahead, increasing as the wind bears from the right. So wind coming directly from the right side would be at 90 degrees. Wind from the rear would be at 180 degrees. Wind directly from the left would be at 270 degrees. Measure the direction when stopped. A good guess is close enough. Where does one get temperature and, especially, barometric pressure? Weather Underground If you need to convert temperature from one unit to another or speed from one unit to another, click on the "Conversions" button at the top of the right input form. You will be presented with a calculator that you can use to do the conversions. If you are serious about your training and find this calculator useful, you may want to add comments and dates and print the results for future reference. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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© 2000 Tom Compton |