When I did the 200 in 2014, in the last 50 miles I came up on a group of about 10 riding together. As I passed by one of them asked me "do you have GPS?". They were all dead and following the one person who actually had a GPS still working. Most of them latched on to me. I learned the term "Garmin Zombie" during that year -- someone with a dead battery who just follows another rider who still has navigation. I learned in subsequent years that plug-in cables to charge a head unit while riding often doesnt work. The cable jiggles over gravel and then your GPS constantly beeps on and off for every failed connection and reconnection -several times per minute. Plus it isn't charging effectively when it is "unconnected". When I updated my garmin to the next model, I learned to carry my old one as backup in my pocket. With the expense of doing UB, it is nice to know you have a back up plan in case your gps dies or runs out of juice much faster than you expected. I also learned that when you are using the map feature it burns through the battery faster. You can also switch out your GPS at the halfway point if you carry a spare with a support crew. Now I use the extra battery pack that attaches to the back of my Garmin and gives me at least 60+ hours of juice. The solar recharging one is a good option too.
Just curious. Did you try the power guide feature in the new 40 series Garmin edge devices? Breaks down the route into segments and gives guidance on what power to use and a finish time window if using it.
Lezyne mega xl is 48 hours battery charge but 4-5 years old cycling gps computer and mount so may harder to find 3rd party mounts for. Way ahead of time when it came out with so many features, but starting fall behind. B&W screen but has mot everything of the Garmin 1040/ 540 has expect for solar. Great back up gps computer as it cheaper than the others or main on a budget.
I thank you for this video. Lots of info and detailed explanation. Really well done. There is one issue that detract from the from the top mark it deserves, is the background music. too loud and disturbing. But than again thank you very much. OdedBC
