"Run the Map" Windows phone app for cycling.

 An example of the route tracking.

I don't like bicycle computers. In the old days you had to string wire all over your bike, they required set up and batteries and heaven help you if you wanted to change your wheels, or even your tires! Then you had to reprogram the thing to get what was at best, an approximation of the distance you were covering. They were also a distraction while riding. I once tried a wireless computer, it was very unreliable. Really, all I ever wanted was some sort of record of the distance covered. Speed was secondary to me. The Huret "Multido" was in my mind almost the perfect cyclometer...

Now however, we are in the wireless golden age! Wireless phones that is. My wife and I recently made the leap into the 2010's by going in with our sons on a wireless plan. My wife got my son's old LG and I found a new Nokia 521 Windows phone for a hundred bucks.

Well, the 521 is certainly not state of the art but it still offers a lot of handy features for an economy price! Since I'm a noob when it comes to smartphones, starting with a Windows phone posed no problem for me. I found it fairly intuitive. The phone is capable of voice commands, has a decent enough camera, (though no flash), and GPS. This last feature was actually what sold the phone to me. I was toying with the idea of getting an inexpensive Garmin GPS for riding, but now you can have all that with the Nokia, plus you'll get a camera, Wi-Fi portal, texting, hey you can even CALL somebody with it!

The only problem with Windows phones is that there are fewer apps available compared to the i-phone and android hordes. So, I had to search a bit to find an appropriate app. I tried "Map My Ride" but it clearly wasn't ready for use on my phone. "Run the Map", a weirdly similarly named app from MicroSoft, works rather nicely. It better, I suppose, considering who made it and my phone's operating system!

Starting point. Push start, then pause to stop. 

Run the Map is not solely a cycling app, of course, but can be used for running, walking/hiking as well. You select which mode you want by pushing the button on the start screen above which is displaying the cyclist. You push once to display a runner, again and it will show a cyclist, next a car(?), then a hiker. I'm not really sure what changes in each mode.

After selecting your mode you push the Start button to begin moving. You may hit pause anytime, then resume to continue. When your ride is finished, hit pause. To store the ride and it's stats, hit the + sign at the bottom of the screen. This starts a new ride! But before it begins, it will ask you if you want to save the previous one. (If you want to delete it, you check the box to delete, otherwise it's saved).

This app performs pretty well. It is important to put your phone into "sleep"(?) mode, in order that the buttons are not disturbed while it is running. On my Nokia, I tap the on/off button once lightly and the screen goes dark. The app continues to record in this mode. Tap the button again and you'll be back to your display. When I first tried this app I left the phone on. The phone then responds to every touch the screen gets when getting jostled around in your jersey pocket. This usually results in the app getting paused or worse! Pausing to do something else with your phone, like snapping a picture is no problem, just don't forget to "resume"!

 Here(above) is a screen shot showing the paused mode, ready to resume. If you want to save it, or delete it at this point, you'd hit the + sign on the bottom right of the screen and you will see...

...this screen. Check the box if you don't want the ride saved, then hit OK. Default option will save the ride.

Here are examples of the data you get from this app:

A nice graphic showing your route...

Your basic data, including distance, average and max. speed.

Interesting elevation profiles, but be aware that GPS elevation data is pretty near worthless.

There is a web site that you can upload your rides to if you want, and there if you buy the paid version you get some more bells and whistles, but I'm not really interested in all that. All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this app. The distance and speed is accurate enough for my use, and this is one cyclometer that can be moved from bike to bike with no effort whatsoever! Oh, and one of the best things about this app is its price; Yup, free....