Digging through some old files today, I came across a piece of software I wrote when I was 14 years old.
I had just bought my first cyclometer, and was pretty excited about having answers to questions like “how far?” and “how long?”. I was also teaching myself Turbo Pascal and was blown away by the graphical capabilities it had:
Check out that hand coded ANSI artwork! This was back when “power users” stuck with DOS and keyboard based stuff. Windows 3.1 was all there was, which wasn’t much, and all the cool kids hated it.
I have several data files, the earliest of which documents my mountain bike riding from ’93 to ’94. Here are the total stats, as computed by the software:
Not bad for a teenager, in less than a year and dealing with high school and Salt Lake’s winter. Riding kept me sane back then, kept me alive. I suppose not much has changed.
It never occurred to me how much it has in common with TopoFusion. Of course the Logbook is the most obvious parallel, but also just the stats and recording of rides. Instead of a GPS trace of where I went, I described where I went in the comments, which of course eventually found its way here onto the diary.
Though it says my longest ride was 100+ miles, it wasn’t. That was just from logging multiple rides without resetting the stats. Back then I only had one speed: FAST. If my feet were on the pedals, I was pedaling my brains out. Consequently I had no endurance. Two hours was a long ride. Three was unfathomable. In the summer, though, I often did two rides per day, eating lunch in between. I had no concept that you could actually eat while riding (and how can you when you’re redlining it?). It was many years until I learned how to ride slowly.
It’s hilarious to read how much I was loathing the coming of winter in the fall entries. “Riding days are numbered” … “Snow coming!” … “Getting muddy out there!” No wonder I ended up in AZ.
Pretty sure this pic is from that very fall (’93), squeezing in one last ride at Mill Creek Canyon.
That’s my brother, my sister and me (L to R). There’s so much to point out and chuckle at in that pic that I don’t even know where to begin.
Oh man, Scott. That pic was better left on your hard drive. Now the world knows that you were a bit nerdy when you were in HS.
Just a bit?! Ha! As if the whole post doesn’t already give that away. Here’s a hint: the popular kids weren’t even using computers back then. They didn’t have email accounts, or know Turbo Pascal. They didn’t spend all their free time riding bikes either!
I SO identify with this post. Hmmm.
Absolutely refreshing post Scott.
Love it! I can relate except for one important exception; I did not write any programs, I think most programs ran via punch cards when I was a kid. I spent ALL my free time (including a lot of playing hooky from school) wandering around in the forests. Endlessly exploring, mostly by foot. But even as kids, 8, 9, 10 yrs. old I remember riding on trails behind my friend’s house…hmmmm that as a long time ago.
Ed