Month: August 2006

Yesterday a coworker and I road from an office we have outside of Richmond back to the main office (well, he peeled off and went home).  It was so so hot yesterday.  Officially the temp in Richmond never broke 100 (it got to 98); however, it felt like 105-110.

When riding while it was this hot, my water in my bottle got very hot very fast (imagine nice warm bath water and you get the idea).  Any ideas on how to keep it cool?

When more than one person asked me about my Roady 2 PAS, I realized I had never posted followup on my article about purchasing the PAS.  So, here it is:

I don't use the stock headphones that came with the Roady 2 PAS.  They have foam coverings on the ear pieces, and I was worried that they would get clogged with sweat.  Nevermind the fact that VA law doesn't allow both ears to be covered while riding a bicycle (except in certain circumstances).

I went to Wal Mart and bought the cheapest pair of earbuds.  I split the cord so I can leave one in the pocket of my pack and put the other in my ear.

For an antenna, I use the vehicle antenna that came with my Roady 2.  I just purchased a big washer so I could magnent mount it to my pack.  Reception is good.  I only have a few (3-5) places where I drop out for 1-3 seconds.  I think that is because of trees.  Overall, this yields good reception.

I had to turn the volume up way louder than I thought to compensate for the wind noise.  I tried listening to Fox News on XM, but decided music was better.  I usually spend my ride time listening to "The Message" XM32 (Christian "Pop" is what they call it).

Battery life is good.  I have spent 3.5 hours on my bike and it was still going.  As the battery gets weaker, I think reception gets a bit poorer, but I haven't tested it enough to be sure.

Overall, I think this is a very good solution.  I only wish the battery pack were lighter and lasted longer and that it had a belt clip so I could use it without having to carry it while I'm off my bike.