David and his Edge 705 muddle through World Cyclocross Championships

Feb

Posted in GPS MANUFACTURERS on February 10, 2012

We love to hear from customers who are putting our devices to the test while pushing their own endurance. Local cyclist David Conrad sent us a note after his recent competition at the Masters World Cyclocross Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. David has been riding and racing with Garmin Edge products since they first hit the shelves, though his racing career predates our product line. He used to race with John Vande Velde, father of Team Garmin-Barracuda leader Christian, as well as father and uncle of Team Garmin’s Peter Stetina. Bet he has some pretty impressive photo collections and memories from his career. Here’s what David had to say about his experience in Louisville:

My Edge 705 was with me and kept up to the muddy mess and the hosing off later. I still have some Louisville mud on my Edge and my bike (also my bags and more places to discover). The race on Friday, Jan. 13 was to determine starting spot on the starting grid. Sunday’s race was the actual championship. I let three guys pass me because Ned Overand passed me and I thought they were in second place chasing. I did not want to be "that guy" to affect the front of the race without being in the action for those places and realized the error as soon as they passed me. I crashed hard a couple of times on Sunday and was just in survival mode by the end.

Thanks to his Edge 705 and Garmin Connect, David is able to track every mile, minute and minutia of details about his rides. While he said his overall mileage for 2011 was down from typical years due to work demands and other events, he logged 5,822 miles for the year (compared to 8,417 in 2010). He continues to inspire many of us here at Garmin. After seeing his gritty pics from the Championships, one associate who recently got bit (hard) by the cycling bug, said “My bucket list now has a new picture to add to it. Though I love-love my nice clean road bike, I so want a reason to pick it up and run through something I'd yell at my kids for jumping into.”