I started using a new Windows Phone 7 app today: Marathon. Finally I can map out my bike rides with ease!
I know there are GPS apps for iOS and Android, but I must confess, I’ve never used any of them. Over the weekend, I came across Marathon, and given that it only costs £0.79, I thought it was worth giving the application a try, and, having used it today, and can recommend it!
When I first installed the app and launched it, I was asked if I wanted to allow the app access to my data collection (without it, the app is pretty useless) and if it could be used whilst the phone is locked (to prevent the app from suspending when I put it in my pocket). So, obviously, I selected “yes” to both, and then went into the app.
The general setup options are obvious – language, measurement units, links to social media – and then this morning, on the way to church, I set it up, ready to go. I decided to cycle along the River Kelvin to the University of Glasgow’s Kelvin Campus, then along Maryhill Road and up through Bearsden. I set the time delay at the start to fifteen seconds to give me time to put my phone away and start pedalling before the GPS initiated, and cycled all the way.
Now, I figured something might be up en route, as I was expecting updates at five minute intervals, telling me how far I had gone, what my average speed was, etc. I didn’t get them. I got to church and discovered that although I’d allowed the application to run under lock, I hadn’t set up a separate option telling it to run under lock. So it didn’t. Disappointing.
Anyway, I rectified this, and set the whole thing up again for the journey back. After checking everything was working, and plugging in an earphone so I could keep track of progress, I set off up the hill and down the road. Success! Five minutes in, I was gleefully told I had averaged about 11mph, not bad considering the start of the route is uphill, twisty and bumpy. I knew it would get quicker.
Sure enough, as I sailed downhill, my average speed increased, although a red light didn’t help. Still, progress was good, save for hitting a drain cover at speed. Nevertheless, I continued, at speed, up to the roundabout at Kelvin Campus, where I managed to take a wrong turn, but found my way. But disaster struck. Clunk… clunk… clunk. Curse of the drain cover. The bloody drain cover. My rear tyre had been stabbed, and it was bleeding air. I was nowhere near a station (not one of any use anyway), a bike shop, or anything else of use.
What do you do? Well, As there was still some air in the tyre – and don’t try this, since you could damage your bike, or more likely, seriously injure yourself – I stood up on the bike, leaned forward, taking as much weight as I could off the rear tyre, trying not to go over the front handlebars, and continued cycling. I can tell you that cycling in such a manner is very tiring, although according to my GPS data, I still managed to hit 13.6mph…
Anyway, having managed to cycle another half a mile or so that way, maybe a little more, all the air was gone from my tyre. Therefore, to avoid damaging my bike, I had to get off it and walk, thus spoiling my nice test run of the GPS app. I then spent the rest of the afternoon getting back home and fixing the problem, and by the time that was done, it was too late to go out again to where I was meant to be.
Still, I did manage to fix the bike myself – first time I’ve actually managed to change a tube on my bike without suffering a mental breakdown – and my old tube is now awaiting repair.
I have managed to upload the data from the GPS program. It’s interesting reading. My best one-minute average was just under 20mph (it would have been faster had there not been a red light) and my fastest mile took 3 mins 21 secs (again, red light affected). The best bit about the reports the program generates is that the altitude and speed graphs are one above the other, so you can see the correlation between the two. So, next time I go up a hill, I can empirically measure the suspicion I hold that I actually sometimes speed up.
And hopefully, next time, I won’t be rudely interrupted by Bearsden’s stupidly placed drain covers.