I have to admit – I thought I was getting a Garmin heart rate monitor that I could use for running when I first went to collect my new gadget. After having a quick look at the box though, I realised that the Garmin Edge 800 was actually a “GPS bike computer”!

Being that I’m more of a spinner than an actual real live cyclist I was a little daunted. Even more so when I opened the box and saw all the gazillions of bits and pieces that are to be used to attach said bike computer to real live bicycle. (They’re all sitting neatly still packaged in the box at the moment, and when I get my hands on an actual bike they will be whipped out, stuck together and attached. At which point I will hopefully have found someone to cycle with me as the thought of heading out onto the Jozi streets all by myself is yet another daunting task.)

I played a little with the actual computer - something that may take a little time to figure out. It has a touch screen and it plugs in and charges via USB which connects to both PC and Mac. It seems a little more complicated than your standard heart rate monitor, but I guess that is the appeal with Garmin and the incredible technology that they offer.

Reviewing gadgets is so much better if you can challenge yourself at the same time as putting the gadget to the test, so fingers-crossed, eyes squeezed shut and here goes...