lovely trail, not long enough for horses! |
Now, onto the GPS quandary: I like my tried-and-true GPS program, MotionX. I use it on my iPhone, as I can't justify buying a new GPS device when I have a perfectly capable one. I've tried a couple other apps that I just haven't liked. But then Funder posted info about Strava, and I figured to give it a try. So I had a small head-to-head competition. On December 31 I did a short ride, and turned on both GPS apps.
Motion X tracked me at 5.57 miles, 1:23 time, average speed 4, max 11.9
Strava tracked me at 5.7 mph, in 1:15 moving time, average speed 4.5, max 14.6
(If you look a the Performance graph, the ride chart is completely spastic. Major and I were working on walking, then trotting, then walking calmly again on loose rein)
I like the average moving speed aspect of Strava: I'm always deducting the minutes we spend standing around on MotionX. Likewise the average moving speed is then more accurate on Strava. The distance is confounding, do I use the longer Strava one or slightly shorter MotionX? (Doing the math: even if it differed that amount for 50 rides it is only 6.5 miles total, so ignore that). I like the graphs that Strava provides, though MotionX provides them separately within the app. Strava doesn't have any map integration, with MotionX I can download maps for offline use, very handy when out of service area, and an absolute when in unknown territory.
I think I'll keep using them both for awhile. With a fully-charged phone using both apps at once for 1.5 hours I only lost 9% of battery life.
And with this we have reached the end of the geek post!
Ooh, glad you liked Strava! Amazing battery life running both those apps - I used MotionX years ago on the iPhone 3 and it devoured battery like the cookie monster. I could ride for no more than an hour before 80% of my battery was gone. That's why I shelled out for a real GPS, actually (and I got mine for $40 at an REI sale, so I didn't even shell out too much.)
ReplyDeleteI need to hike more. I *really* need to take Dixie out to some long hilly trails nearby, ride her down to the bottom, and hike / ride her back to the top and get MY fitness improved. But I sprained my big toe and that sounds like a great excuse to put off hiking ;)