Cycleops PowerCal Review and 1st Ride...

PowerCal's 1st Ride by scott_t_ct at Garmin Connect - Details

Above is the link to my Garmin file which was recorded on my Garmin 800. 

Yesterday I finally received my Cycleops PowerCal that is a Power Meter HR Strap with Ant+ compatibility. I was originally attracted to the PowerCal as it was an inexpensive way of getting into power, as I am a data geek  I have trained with HR for 30 years or so, therefore I felt it time to more up in the world.  Originally I tried a CycleOps Power Trainer at Newington Bike during one of their indoor winter training sessions.  The Cycleops Rep was there who showed me the demo PowerCal, which was not in production yet.  I quickly ordered 2, one for me and one for my bother Nick.  Well after over 6 months of waiting, I finally got them.
PowerCal is Ant+ and it easily connects to the Garmin just like any other Ant+ device, and worked first Go.  The strap itself is very compact  and extremely comfortable with snaps on the main unit instead of clips.  I hardly noticed it was on, as compared to my standard Garmin Strap that is bulky and feels like a heavy weight on your chest.
During my first ride with the PowerCal the constant reading of power from the device onto the Garmin head unit had a lag was evident but not more than speed, cadence or any other unit of measure on the device, it seemed like between 1-3 seconds but was probably less than 1 second.  I tried to see if it was tied in a linear fashion to heart rate, but could not find a direct correlation while riding.  Actually it appeared to me that when I was riding the Power was directly related to pedal pressure, but this could have been me wishing it were so.  I have not trained with a PowerTap before, so I have no comparison to go by, other than a single ride on a Cycleops Power Trainer.  Cycling Concepts has offered to let me test their PowerTap wheel, and I may take them up on it next week, so I can get a better feel for the difference.
The Graph and Data Points on Garmin Connect were cool, but I had to look up what they meant.  Having the PowerCal on made me ride a bit harder in spurts than I wanted to on a recovery/rest day, but it was only a 12 mile ride, so no harm done.

I understand Average Power, Max Power, but I had to look up Normalized Power, Intensity Factor and Training Stress Scores.  I found a great article on Training Peaks: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/normalized-power,-intensity-factor,-training-stress-score.aspx  .  Basically Normalized Power is a calculated way at looking at Average Power. Intensity Factor looks at your rides Intensity, a good breakdown is given on Training Peaks.  My ride was a recovery ride according to the data of .756 .  Finally, Training Stress Score is an indicated of the amount your ride may produce fatigue or possible need for rest.  My score of 52.2 is extremely low, as it should be on a recovery day.  Again a good breakdown of the relative soreness can be found on Training Peaks. 
I love the data, but I am not sure I love what the data is telling me at this point.  I need a more longitudinal data analysis to accurately determine whether it will help me.  Anyway, it gives me one more graph to look at and a lot more data points!  Fun is...
To check out the Cycleops PowerCal you may look here.