Fitness tracking with Google fit and my bicycle

Today, I have decided to tell you about my fitness testing. I do it as a by the way thing.
I have an android phone with a Google fit application in it. The app is handy for counting my steps. I got it out of curiousity. One day, I was sitting on my couch and wondering what else could I get from the Google Play Store. As I sat there, I thought, why not get some of the official Google apps into my phone. My reasoning at the time was that I was going to get apps having material design, the new beutiful inteface pushed by Google for all android apps.

It appeared an innocent move at the time. All I needed to do was go to Play Store and select download. I searched for Google. I got a bunch of Google applications. They included Messenger, Google+, Fit, Maps, Play Music or something like that. Anyway, straight to fit I went because of its heart shape (on the icon). A little description about it I did not care to read. Once the app was on my phone, I let it go with defaults. Meanwhile, my location services was on. My phone knew to a certain degree of accuracy where I was at any time. In addition to that, I was using Google Cards, that are widgets for one of my home screens on the android desktop. Cards are bits of curated information about activities and interest. For example, after telling my phone that I like Arsenal FC, everytime there is a game, I get a card for that. I also had a card for my movements. I could see how I moved from a place to another, or whether I was away from home, and how many minutes it would take me to get home.

When I got Google Fit, it picked my location as Nairobi. One day, I was cycling and I did that a lot for that day. I remember it could have been about three hours straight. I went to far places, and since I did not have a particular agenda, I just opted to go as far as my body would push me. Going further forced me to become creative with the routes that I was taking. I knew it would be trouble for me if I went to far from home. If that happened, I would bear the burden of having to cycle back. Therefore, after being about four kilometers away from home, I decided to just cycle within one area, around and about. I was in the Garden Estate/Ridgeways area of Nairobi, and you can extend that to Windsor Golf Club. It is a serene area with lots of vegetation and when the sun is out, like it was on this lazy Sunday morning, you can really enjoy cycling around the area.

At the time, my bike was not a beaten up as it is now, and the gears were working. It was a smooth ride up and down the hilly places. I then got a notification on my phone. No sooner had I tapped to open the notification than Google Fit popped up with an appearance of a cummulation of an action. Something like fireworks from the center of the screen outwards. However, it did not last long, and I got the point. It was a celebratory gesture. The app, through words and a signature sound, informed me that I had accomplished my goal. I had cycled for an hour and therefore had met my fitness goal for a day. I was impressed.

At no point of setting up the app did I tell it that I cycle, yet here it was acknowledging the minutes that I was on my bike cycling. Somehow, the app knew when I was walking and when I was cycling. How convenient.

Since then, I have been waiting patiently after every cycle session I have. I just want to see how many minutes I have been at it. In case you are wondering, I have beaten the our hour goal for cycling on many days, but these days, it seems that I just cycle for 20 to 30 minutes at most because I do not go far, and I tend to have other things to do, like sleep or write.

The best thing about Google fit is that it lets me see my progress over a week, a month and so on. I do not have to do it, but when I feel like doing it, it is worth the exhilaration that I get.

Cheers!