Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: [RC] [AERCMembersForum] GPS - "As you know..." - rides2far

I did notice that you failed to 
tell how you knew that the GPS mileage was wrong. 

I've been one of the GPS whiners, so I finally talked a friend into
running a trail that I was sure was long while pushing a surveyer's
wheel. The trail was supposed to be 12.5 miles and it was really 14. (I
forget the exact tenths) What I remember is at first being disappointed,
because that sounded pretty accurate, then I realized that over the
course of a 50 miler it added about 5 miles...and that matters. Over the
course of a 100 it adds close to 10 and that *really* matters! I think
the major difference in this trail and a road is that the manager was
trying to get the maximum trail onto a small piece of land. It twists and
doubles back on itself CONSTANTLY.  A meter to the right, shift back to
the left, go 10 and shift back to the right just loses a meter now and
then I guess. If I ride the same horse, at two different rides, both
measured by GPS but the same working trot figures up to "X mph" on this
ride and "X-2" on that one, I question it.


In contrast, yesterday we rode the trail at the Chickamauga Battlefield.
I have always figured that trail was closer to 8 miles than the 11
everyone claimed it was. My riding buddy had his GPS and at the end said,
"8.2".  That trail is *relatively* flat, or at least the hills are long
ups or downs but not little ravines you go straight down on switchbacks
and back up the other side. It's a fairly clear "directional" trail, it's
actually going somewhere, so it's pretty linear. I believe the 8.2
measurement. It makes sense. 

There's a rides I just quit going to because I didn't care to trot 3.5
hrs. on their "16 mile" section. If you believe the distance (measured by
GPS by the forest service so it's official) you just feel like you're
trying to climb the escalator going the wrong direction. Very
frustrating. It also happens to have lots of ravines. 

I had an old GPS and took it to a clinic on how to use them and they
really rolled their eyes at that one and said it wasn't accurate and I
needed a new one. I'm just wondering about all these trails that the
Forest Service measured. When did they do it and with what model? 

I got a GPS for Christmas and if I find time I'll learn to use it, but if
one day my horse covers what it calls 15 miles in 2 hours, and the next
day we feel we travel the close to the same pace but it takes 3 hours,
I'll definitely go with my gut feel as to how far we've been.


P.S. My husband used to work for a surveyor (graduated up to running the
instrument, not just holding the idiot end of the stick). I think
surveyors are cute! >G<

Angie

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=