As you know already, I’m in the process of training my body to ride around Mont Blanc for a maximum of 19 hours. While the jury is going to be deliberating for the 5 months on this one, I’ve got another thing to try and go the distance…

My Garmin 1030 has never had such a task and I’m not convinced I’ll be able to squeeze so many hours out of it. They claim up to 20 hours of battery life, but my machine is a few years old already, so I’m doubtful. I’m looking for solutions and found this:

The bottom part of this contraption is Garmin’s battery charger; neatly integrated and out of sight. It’s also over a hundred euros and will add 133 grams to my weight, of which I already have enough. I’m not doing this.

My only thought is to start testing out the battery saving mode on the device and see how much riding I can do with that on. I’m not sure how much juice maps take up, but I think I might need the route on the device – if I take a wrong turn on a 330km bike ride, I’m just stopping at the next bar and drinking to another shot in 2025.

Other than ‘buy a Wahoo’, does anyone have any suggestions?