Tinkering around for fitness applications on my iPhone, I found RunKeeper, a useful tool for tracking cycling or running. This is a free app found under the category of "Healthcare and Fitness."
Using GPS technology, it functions very much like a GPS watch. I use the cycling mode which tracks each course with a GPS map, distance, calories burned, elevation, and duration of activity. The interface is very easy. I click on "activity type" which for me is cycling, then "start activity." From there, it's a piece of cake.
After the ride, data is automatically imported to the www.runkeeper.com website where I can view ride history and compare monthly data. To see a specific ride, I click on the date, and data is a fingertip away. Pace, average speed and elevation are perhaps the most useful pieces of info for my cycling goals. It's no pain access.
Considering some GPS fitness watches can be $300 dollars or more, it's a deal. Yet unlike fitness watches, there is no heart rate monitor. But I have an inexpensive $25.00 discount store heart monitor watch for that - - which I shoot for 70 percent of the max.
I have been told other smart phones such as the Blackberry has similar apps. For runners and cyclists with a need for data, you cannot go wrong.
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