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Smart Training Hacks: USB Dongle

author : alicefoeller

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How to avoid losing an expensive USB dongle for ANT+ or Bluetooth

If you're using a smart trainer for your bike or using your laptop to watch yourself run in the Zwift universe or doing any other "smart" training, you may find yourself with a very expensive tiny little USB dongle that plugs into your laptop or TV. If you can't leave it plugged in all the time, you face a dilemma. How can you keep track of something smaller than your fingernail that costs $45 to replace?

Here's the Beginner Triathlete Smart Training Hack for the month:

When you remove the USB dongle from your laptop or TV, immediately plug it into something larger and harder to lose, but portable and small enough to keep with your other fitness electronics, including your heart rate monitor, footpod, chargers, etc. Examples of things to plug it into for safe keeping include:

The USB outlet plug for charging your fitness watch or phone

A cheap cigarette lighter/car charger you use only for this purpose

A multi-port USB hub

Keeping your devices together

You need a home for all of the wired stuff that you now want with you on your workouts. (Otherwise you'll become frustrated with the setup process and stop using all of the fun gadgets you spent money on.)

A zippered sunglasses case, camera case or pencil case makes a good storage container for small electronics you need with you for every workout. It's easy to keep together and toss in your gym bag.

As we adopt more and more electronics, it becomes important to have a strategy for storing and protecting the chargers, connectors and tiny little bits that make our equipment talk to our computers and phones.

Here are few things you might want to add to your small electronics organizer bag: