I used 'mytracks' on my generic android based phone for the first time this evening.

Seemed to work really well. My short loop was actually a touch longer than I thought.

What I dont get is why the 'pace' is measured in mins/mile. Very strange unit, especially when the others are regular.

Is there a way to change it?

Also any other tips for using it are welcome.

cheers

Can't help with changing the units, but minutes per mile (or mins per km) is how runners measure their pace, never in mph. Makes sense if you know your pace is 8 mins per mile and you're off for a 5 mile run.

Ah yes never thought of it like that. I like mytracks infact I like a lot of googles apps.

I tended to find it only recorded my start and finish point but I think that's more to do with the quality of the gps on my phone than the application

I use My Tracks loads – and the gps seems to work really well, even in dense tree cover.

I tried Cardio Trainer once, but even on a loop of Rutland water which is largely open there were several locations where there was no route recorded due to the gps dropping out. So, I went back to My Tracks.

If you aren't bothered about seeing the map while you are riding, but use it more for recording distance/speed etc and then reviewing where you've been then it's worth sticking the phone in airplane mode before starting My Tracks….it does wonders for battery life!

thanks guys.

I figured out the speed thing. Untick 'display pace' in settings.

@stumpy – do you not need the connection to get the map up or does it insert the map when you hook back up?

Would be good to save battery as a 45 min ride used nearly 20% 🙁

You can save battery life significantly by reducing the frequency of GPS readings: Settings -> Recording -> Min time between points. I set mine to 5 seconds and in combination with turning off WiFi etc it will carry on indefinitely (assuming nothing else is chewing up the power at the same time). The track is a bit less accurate but I find it perfectly adequate for what I want.

I had forgotten how much difference it makes until yesterday. I was using a different app, with a much higher update frequency, to track my progress round the red at Dalby and the phone died completely about a mile from the end. Similarly long rides have not been a problem with MyTracks on a slower update.

Yes, deffo stick it in Airplane mode. My Tracks eats the battery on my Hero for fun.

If you stick the phone in airplane mode, you won't get the maps but as soon as you reconnect to the network it will download the map and update – so you don't end up with just a permanent red line.

I used it last week on a 27 mile route (about 2hrs 40 mins) in ariplane mode & from fully charged it only lost 1mm of green from the battery.

I haven't changed my settings related to how often it takes a reading; it's set to highest. I might try changing this adn seeing what happens.