CycleMetrics

Fixes some crashing when viewing the map, made graphs more visible, improved power measurement for Clydesdale riders.

Releases cyclemetrics, power, release, update, watts

CycleMetrics 1.1.5 adds gpx file creation for better compatibility with various sites that use that file format. I wanted to add it because I have recently started using endomondo and I have been loving it, but their iPhone tracker could use a little love. After I lost a few rides, I was pretty much done with that.

1.0.5 fixes a few bugs that you may have been encountering using iPhone 4, and adds some background processing for long running tasks like generating files to email and uploading maps and rides to Google Docs, and Google Maps. It also improves performance for the both. The iPhone 4 has greatly improved battery life, and I recently had CycleMetrics run for 5 hours continuously on a ride up Mount Diablo.

One caveat about CM 1.1.5 though, is that with the background processing, the GPS is continuously enabled, so you continue to get location, speed, altitude, updates, but you do not get power updating. If you wish to make sure you get power readings, keep CycleMetrics running in the foreground locked.

Releases iOS 4, iPhone4, new release

There was a bug in CycleMetrics since 1.1.2 that I hadn’t noticed. Google got a bit more strict in their data processing systems, and as such CycleMetrics was not writing the maps. CycleMetrics 1.1.4 fixes that bug in 1.1.3.

In other news, the bug that is present in some competing GPS applications, where the phone will go to sleep mode after a text message, alert, or notification seems to be fixed via an odd workaround in CycleMetrics 1.1.4. It should no longer be necessary to turn off auto sleep before your rides anymore.

In current news, I’m working on getting the web application for CycleMetrics together, and will attempt to get more meaningful altitude data out of the iPhone with some algorithmic help, or some data if I can get my hands on it.

bugs, Releases

In this update, I have added a total power output for the ride in watt-hours. This technically could be used to determine how many calories that one has used while riding.

While this is useful data, I don’t think that my application is the best thing to determine tailored calorie burn data. I would strongly recommend “LoseIt” if you want that data. It is what I use for calorie and weight monitoring.

The other thing that I added was total elevation. For those who have been using the iPhone for a while, you are aware of the issues with getting accurate altitude data. You might not be able to get exact elevation gained on a short-flat ride, but if you are going for a hill ride, or doing some serious climbing you should get decent overall numbers. If you want to see how to get the best possible GPS tracking data while cycling, check out my earlier post on what to turn off to get perfect GPS tracking on your iPhone.

Other improvements are mainly in the area of power. Average, peak, and watts per kilo should have improved dramatically, and as a result the GPS accuracy should have improved due to the reduced stress on the CPU.

One issue is that I have renamed the Google Spreadsheet that CycleMetrics writes to, so you may have two files. I hope these updates improve CycleMetrics’ usefulness for you! Good riding!

Releases altitude, cyclemetrics, cycling, power