As Team Garmin preps to compete on cycling’s biggest stage, they’ve had a support crew of sorts here at Garmin. Many folks are working to ensure the team has course mapping, Edge 705 bike computers with the latest software and nüvi 770s to guide the team bus and support vehicles. In fact, one of our software engineers who has worked on the Edge series since its inception made a house call last week to take care of some details. David Downey traveled to Girona, Spain, home of the team’s European offices and training facilities.

There, he worked with a representative from Saris to update the power hubs on the riders’ wheels so that their power meters will display power data on the Edge 705. Over two days, they cranked through about 100 wheel sets, then traveled to La Molina, Spain, where riders David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, Danny Pate and Ryder Hesjedal were training in the hills. Downey — an avid cyclist who’s been testing the Edge 705 with various power meters for several months — got to meet the riders before updating their wheel sets. He also met with the team’s sports physiologist, Allen Lim, to get feedback on their training thus far with the Edge. He also met rider Dan Martin, who recently took first in the final stage of the Route du Sud.  After the updates were complete, David and the Saris rep did some riding to test the power application, logging a 90km ride to the coast. The “sand between the toes” photo shows David on the beaches of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Follow more Team Garmin news, including today’s announcement of the 2008 Tour squad!

Comments

[jasper9]

Wow, talk about dream job! What an opportunity for a bike geek.