Biking Walking and Eating across Italy

  We intended to put lots of miles on the saddle before leaving for Italy, so our bike rides would be a breeze.   Sadly, due to many rainy days, procrastination, and life getting in the way, we did fewer training rides than we had hoped.  At least we rode the "vista Point Loop" several times per week - from my house in the flats of Los Altos to the "Vista Point" lookout in Foothills nature preserve.  The following table shows how our training rides (in blue )  match up with our expected rides. [You can click on the table headings to sort the columns] Route Name Distance (mi) Elevation (ft) Hillyness (ft/mi) Radda - Siena 46.2 1979 42.8 Huddard loop 34.8 1919 56.1 Old LaHonda 37.9 2670 70.4 Portola loop to 92 43.7 3100 70.9 Vista Point 13.7 995 72.6 Florence to Radda 28.9 2219 76.8 Radda Loop 31.0 3256 105.0 Radda Loop (short version) 19.5 1800 92.3

With a three day bike ride planned as part of our trip, with several weeks to go, it's time to check in with the bike gear. The first thing I noticed was my trusty Knog bike computer is getting a bit long in the tooth: In the dozen or so years since I got it, its never failed me: the batteries last for years, it automatically records the distance travelled each day, and clearly displays the current speed and distance travelled. However, with age its gotten cataracts, and along with the scratches accumulated over the years, the display is getting hard to see. So it's time for a new one.  In addition to keeping track of speed and distance, since we will be riding in unfamiliar terrain, the one added feature that would be most helpful is an easy to see indication of the next turn.  Something like:  3.7km   ⇒ to indicate when the next turn is, and the direction to go.  On paper, the Bryton S500 seems like an appropriate gadget: It's easy to read the disp...