Tip #2686 - Gpedometer
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Gpedometer
Attention all runners,
cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers or anyone who routinely likes to take
jaunts around the park or neighborhood and would like to get a little
geeky about it. By geeky, I mean streamline your excursions and suck all
the data you can from the experience. "That’s the way I roll”
and with this week's download, you can too!
This program, called
Gpedometer, was written by a runner who wanted to get
a better idea of the distance his various routes were, without lugging
around a GPS or a pedometer. He did this by writing a route planner for
the incredible Google Maps that
allowed him to utilize its capabilities with a mix of other services,
providing him with an incredibly useful application. Since Google Maps
allows you to zoom in to roof level of almost any region (within the U.S.),
you can easily pinpoint where your trek will take you, whether you're
going two miles or 20 miles. Once you have the route laid out (which is
easy to do with the recording feature that Gpedometer has), you can then
calculate the distance you've gone and even estimate how many calories
you burned on the trip.
Gpedometer’s
Features:
Saving Routes
- If you want to save your map, click the Save route
link and all current route information, including the location, distances
and elevations. The other settings will then be saved in the database.
When the route has been saved, a URL will appear below the link. This
is the URL to use when accessing the route later and it can be placed
in a bookmark or an e-mail. (In Internet Explorer only, you will also
be presented with a link that will allow you to automatically add this
URL as a bookmark).
Units - Use
the English/metric radio button beneath the distance
boxes to choose your units.
Elevation
- If you want to view a graph showing the elevation of each point plotted
against distance, click the small or large
link next to the Elevation heading. (Note that this will
only work for U.S. maps. Sorry about that!) Update:
Actually, some users report that this works in Canada and the UK as well!
Mile Markers
- By default, markers will be placed at the end of each mile or kilometer
and at the beginning or end of your course. Use the Turn off markers
and Turn on markers links to toggle whether links are
shown or not.
There and
Back Routes - If your course is a "there and back"
type thing, click the Complete there and back route link
once you reach the midpoint.
Calorie Counter
- If you wish to calculate how many calories you've burned in the course
of your run, click the Turn on calorie counter link and
enter your weight in the Weight box.
Printing
- Click the Print map link to temporarily reformat the
screen to make it more suitable for printing.
You can also find
resources at the site that will help you with every aspect of the service.
These resources include a message board, FAQs, an instruction manual,
among other things that should have you plotting courses like Magellan.
So, as I always say,
if this is something that you are interested in, please give it a try.
This is a wonderful little program that I’m sure a lot of you will
find great use for!
You can find Gpedometer
at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/.
~ Chad Stelnicki
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