Android Applications: My Tracks

Let me begin with the end, and show you my most recent mountain bike ride, courtesy of Google Maps:

View Usnwc 6/19 in a larger map

From looking at the above map, it would appear that I stopped and checked my stats pretty frequently. I can't imagine a bike ride where that would be considered fun. Fortunately, thanks to my Android phone and Google's My Tracks application, this isn't the case.

For starters, you will obviously need an Android device that is GPS capable, and also the My Tracks application itself. If you are on your Android phone right now and have access to the market, click here to go directly to the download.

You can also scan the code below with your phone if you have Barcode Scanner installed:

Once you have my tracks installed and you are ready to ride/walk/track, open the My Tracks application. Depending on the activity, you may want to change a few settings. To do so, press Menu and then tap Settings.

In my case, I found that the default tracking settings didn't work well for tight trails with lots of switchbacks, so here are the settings I am currently using:

Assuming you have no changes to make, you can now start recording your track by pressing Menu and tapping Record Track. Now for the hard part. ride, walk or run!

It's important to note that GPS can take a lot of life from your battery quickly. Make sure you start your rides with 100% battery life so that you don't run out of juice. you definitely want to be able to call for help if you need it! I personally wouldn't do this at all for remote or extended rides. I only use it for local trails to help keep track of my trail times and average moving speed.

My favorite part of using My Tracks is the announcements. When this is enabled, you will get audio reports every so often telling you your total distance and average speed. this is a huge motivator for me, it's like being able to race yourself every time you ride.

The next best part of My Tracks are the splits. If you click on any of the yellow pins in the map above, you will notice that statistics are inserted at each interval. In addition to distance and average speed, you can also view elevation, grade, and maximum speed for each split.

Once you have completed a ride, you end the track by pressing Menu and then tapping Stop Recording. You will be prompted to enter details about the track:

At this point you can just keep the saved the track on your phone, or you can send the track to My Maps on Google.

You can also review all of the information about the current track on your phone. Tap either of the onscreen arrows (left or right) to switch between map, statistics, and elevation views:

Map View	Statistics View	Elevation and Speed View (speed is blue, elevation is green)

There is also a My Maps Editor application for Android, where you can edit the map. Editing features include the ability to add new markers and/or change the map's title and description.

Once you choose to upload your map, you can also share it via several options, including Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and also in GPX or KML formats.

This is an excellent application for any outdoor activity and has a wide variety of uses, from trail marking to personal fitness tracking. Be sure to check it out if you spend any time outdoors!