jbm blog

Time Trials

The organization of the TNT events is amazing. Everything is carefully coreographed with great care. I’m very impressed. 

This second ride is designed to sort the riders into groups of 6 to 8 people who have a similar riding pace. We all set out in blocks of 4 and gradually broke up into our own pace. I tried hard to scale back my pace because I naturally enjoy riding fast, but I doubt I could maintain it over > 100 miles. I ended with an average speed of approx 18MPH over the 13 miles in Portola.

I was pretty quick, so I went back to find Lisa and encourage her along. She did fine, and I’m very proud of her for grinding away at something she has watched me do for years.

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So I’m Riding a Century And Raising Money For Leukaemia Research

I’ve been a moderately keen cyclist for the past few years. I have a good road bike and a tolerable mountain bike and I was riding 30 miles once a week, and running 5 miles.

 In July I started riding more, partly to take advantage of the good weather, and also because I developed plantar fascitis in my left foot and I don’t want to run on it until it’s fully recovered.

In 1999 and again in 2000 my wife Lisa ran a marathon, receiving training through Team in Training (TNT) and raising money for Leukaemia / Lymphoma research. TNT also supports people attempting a century ride (approx 100 miles by bicycle), triathlon and others. Lisa decided we should both attempt the Tucson century ride in November, and we were just in time for the introductory ride.

The ride itself was around 10 miles in Los Altos, with the purpose of making sure everyone can ride safely, and getting newbies like me familiar with the ‘pace line’, ie riding close together in a line drafting the person in front. The frontmost rider changes position to the back every couple of minutes. I went out with the fast group and was pleased to manage the pace with no problems.

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Mercedes SL / Dension IceLink install

Update:

My IceLink 500 no longer works due to a software problem. The menus never appear on the ipod and it’s impossible to control playlists. The only way to make it work is to start the car, unplug the ipod, select an album or playlist and then plug in the ipod. This fools the IceLink and prevents it forcing the default ‘all songs’ playlist.

This problem started after my dealer serviced the car, and I suspect upgraded the COMAND firmware. I’ve asked Dension for help several times, but they have not achieved anything beyond the usual suggestion to upgrade the IceLink firmware. This has been going on for a year.

I can’t recommend this device as it seems Dension cannot keep up with firmware updates.

The Dension IceLink 500 is an interface between factory head units and an ipod, along with other sources. It enables playing of the ipod in the car, with the high quality sound, and some control of the ipod itself from the head unit. In essence it does this by emulating a CD changer.

My 2004 SL55 has the Mercedes COMAND unit installed, and I was reluctant to replace it. It’s well integrated into the car and although the GPS is pretty clunky, it does at least work. The IceLink seemed like a good compromise of cost, hassle and quality.

Now that I have been using the IceLink for a few months I can report that it works perfectly, though there are some unavoidable quirks due to the limitations of the head unit. For Mercedes owners with COMAND and D2B or MOST interfaces, it’s the easiest way to get lossless ipod control. This article explains how I completed my installation. Follow at your own risk.

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Posted in ipod, cars | 4 Comments »