A number of people have asked me how my normal routes in southeast Michigan west of Ann Arbor compare to the daily rides we've done on this cross country trip. I've constructed the graph below to provide some perspective. Most everyone in my home area knows the Ann Arbor to Chelsea route with the Waterloo Loop addition, and many would consider this a "hilly" ride for southeast Michigan. In comparison are plotted some significant XC2014 routes I have described in this blog (route profile by destination city). You'll note there really is no comparison. Even the Day 27 Chillicothe ride has hills twice the number and at least twice the size with steeper grades than the A2ChelseaWaterloo route, though it would take a tighter range on the Elevation axis to illustrate this.
Many thanks to Mike K. and Tom M., both riders from CrossRoads XC2012, for their guidance during the planning and construction of this graph. Garmin 800 data were uploaded to Garmin Connect, and then exported to Excel for transformation of the latitude/longitude coordinates into distance measurements. The data were then plotted in Excel and the resultant graph saved as a JPEG image for incorporation into this blog. If that sounds onerous, it is, though I've developed a certain level of proficiency by now. If someone knows a simpler way to get multiple Garmin routes on a single graph, please let me know.
Looks like one would require a lot of Computrainer time to train properly. Can create the hills but might have to ride with a bag over my head to simulate the altitude. :-)
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