I’m too cheap (and don’t do enough cool outdoorsy stuff) to buy a GPS unit to track how far I’ve gone when biking and running and stuff like that. So I was excited when Brad pointed to a tool called Gmap pedometer, which combines a nifty interface with the GPS information contained in Google Maps to let people track how far certain routes are.

For instance, I can now say that my typical jogging route is closer to six miles than the five I thought it was. Which is good to hear, because it takes me around 45-50 minutes to run it, which I thought meant I was running 9-10 minute miles, but means I’m closer to 8 minute miles. (Since I broke a seven minute mile when I was 9 years old and about 4’2″, and could comfortably maintain a 7 minute mile pace for 12 miles when I was 12 years old and 4’10”, the thought that I was 50% slower despite having legs 50% longer was a bit distressing).

Other nifty things I discovered while playing with the tool:

1. My bike route from the BART station at Millbrae to work is about 5 miles. Since I do it in 20-25 minutes, depending on how I hit the traffic lights, I’m making relatively decent time, considering it’s a mountain bike and all.
2. My typical bike route up to Skyline Boulevard is also about 5 miles. Except that it’s all uphill, so it takes more like 50 minutes.
3. The one time I biked from work in San Mateo all the way back up to the Mission district in San Francisco turns out to be a little over 20 miles. I think I did it in about an hour and 40 minutes, so a steady pace of 12 mph or so, which isn’t awful, considering it was mostly upwind and there were a few hills at the end to contend with.

Anyway. Way fun tool. Hours of entertainment. At least for a geek like me.