Ones and zeros, faster.

In the 1990’s, endurance rally routing was done with paper maps. IBR lore has it that a king sized cigarette represents 200 miles on an AAA regional map. But times change. Today if you want to be competitive it takes some basic computer skills, the right software and some computing power. My five year old Dell Netbook just doesn’t have the power to run all the tools I need. The competition is stiff and I can use every advantage possible. The netbook will just wilt running Microsoft Streets and Trips and Excel while simultaneously surfing the Web for weather and road conditions or ferry schedules. Something more powerful was in order. The Acer you see in the photo fit the bill pretty well. The form factor is larger, but with an 11.7 inch screen it will still live a bike well. The big news is the power. This is a full power laptop, with a Core i5 processor and 6 gig of RAM. I’m still getting used to the larger keyboard, but I suspect it will earn it’s keep during the upcoming ride.