• RunKeeper
• MapMyRide
• Cyclemeter

The basic functionality of these apps is broadly the same, and without extra sensors they use the iPhone GPS to track location, speed and elevation. The distinction between running and biking apps seems mainly a marketing one and all can do both sports.

RunKeeper and MapMyRide are quite closely integrated with social media style websites and upload and store your workouts under your account at that website.  Cyclemeter stores your workouts on the iPhone, but you can export them using standard GPS route formats.  All three allow you to post workouts (and even progress info) to Twitter or Facebook and email you with summaries of the workout and links to the workout on the site.  All three allow you to map out routes on Google maps as well as import routes from other sources.

All of these apps will integrate with “Ant+” standard heart rate, speed, cadence and pace sensors, and even crank power meters if you have a dongle or case for the iPhone. I got a heart rate monitor, combined speed and cadence sensor from Wahoo! Fitness that seems to be a very solid product.

RunKeeper. Has the most pleasant integration with the website, which is not too in your face. However it wont handle cadence.

MapMyRide. The website integration feels too in your face and commercial.  The rides are only stored in summary, whereas the other store all the waypoints so you can analyse how quick you went up that hill this time etc. It also seems to keep on forgetting your sensors which is irritating.

Cyclemeter. Although it doesnt have the website integration, it is extremely configurable and it is very easy to upload the workout file to the Runkeeper site.  It also allows you to race against a selected route file.

So I think for now the preference is Cyclemeter App+Runkeeper Site combo.  If I were just running RunKeeper would be my choice.

I’m still trying to find an equally good looking and functional stopwatch timer.

• the ordnance survey view with contour lines and all the usual symbols
• fact that you can plot “click to path” routes right down to single tracks
• the instant elevation mapping
• save and export routes in the usual GPS formats.

Haul so far 200chf for a 1000chf set of MTB forks, 200chf more for a 1000chf set of wheels for aforementioned MTB.  One Specialized Roubaix carbon road bike in good condition 800chf vs list price 4400chf. Jane says enough!

After graduation, I joined Price Waterhouse in London, in an audit group that specialized in industrial and service sector clients. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1992.  In addition to classical audit work, I did a lot of “special project” work, and spent 6 months in “Corporate Recovery” as well as a 9 month audit season in the Milan office, thus adding Italian to my languages.

In 1994 became a founder member of the newly formed “Transaction Services” unit, which specialized in financial due diligence, primarily for private equity buyers, but also reporting accountant work for initial public offering and support for public to private takeovers.  With my languages I worked on projects mostly in continental Europe including the MBO and IPO of TAG Heuer, the MBO of Geberit in Switzerland, as well as projects in France and Germany.

TAG Heuer invited me to join them as UK Finance Director in 1997, and I supported the integration of this distribution subsidiary into the group for two years before moving to Neuchatel, Switzerland as Group CFO in 1999.  By the end of 1999 TAG Heuer had been taken private by LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and I supported the creation of the watch and jewellery division and the acquisitions of Zenith and Ebel.

In 2001 I had the opportunity to join an early stage MBO at EurotaxGlass’s, a leading provider of automotive business intelligence and moved to the Zurich area.  This business was faced with the challenge of integrating diverse operations in almost 30 European locations and managing a dramtic shift from print to digital media. In the 2006 EurotaxGlass’s business was sold to Candover and I stayed until 2008 before leaving to travel the globe for 6 months.

My most recent challenge between 2009 and 2012 was as CFO of Metalor, one of the world’s largest gold refiners, travelling extensively between the groups operations in Europe, Asia and the Americas.  After supporting the sale of the business to a French private equity fund Astorg Partners, I was key in delivering two major acquisitions in the Americas and Asia which transformed Metalor from a refining/Europe centric business to a diversified and global group.

I’m currently looking for my next professional challenge.

By chance Jeff at www.hillseekerfitness.com has just opened up a new Crossfit “box”.  Crossfit is a rapidly growing functional fitness philosophy based around continuously varied, high intensity functional exercises.  For me this works because varied means never doing the same workout twice (other than the occasional bench marking days), high intensity means you can get a very decent workout in 30 minutes if you are in a hurry, and functional because the exercises actually seem to develop “useful all-round fitness” for day to day modern existence (and my beloved golf!): core strength, power, mobility, balance and decent aerobic fitness.

It’s also great for business travel, because you can adapt your workout to whatever facilities and equipment you have to hand (if any), and you dont feel you are “missing” workouts, but on the contrary sticking to the plan by always varying your workouts.