ok g2d. that was good
22 mph?
Did you start the gps in the car on the way to the launch?
Jeff
Paddle speed
The only time I am truly worried about my paddle speed is when I have a thunder storm bearing down on me. 
oh, of course
44mph is about what the specialized TDF sprinters on the various pro teams do in the couple hundred meters before the finish line.
So that’d be the absolute top speed of any TDF paceline without a tailwind or downhill assist, and they sure couldn’t maintain it for long.
The cycling forum braggart was very obviously full of it, I don’t recall anyone backing him in his ‘claim’.
^not how gps works^
– Last Updated: Aug-18-12 3:10 AM EST –
A gps receiver does not "ping" a satellite. It's just a receiver, clock, and calculator. It receives constantly (unless blocked by structures or foliage) and calculates with time comparisons constantly - and very quickly, once it is fully "initialized" (located all available satellites and made initial calculations). There is no "10-second gap", unless the reception has been blocked (which sometimes happens, but you can see what's blocking).
If you are in a small boat, sideways movements can distort speed readings just as walking with the gps unit in your hands (as they swing) will. Just as in the "shoved boat" example given in the post above, this doesn't mean the gps lies - the boat shove or hand swing may actually be moving 20mph, and will be logged as such. You can minimize the effect (as induced by mere boat wobble) by using a unit that has "averaging" enabled (check your set-up instructions) or is permanently set-up that way (as most I am aware of are these days). You can further minimize it by carrying or mounting the unit where non-linear movement is limited. As Seadart said, the speed calculation will be more accurate over time/distance - but that has more to do with the fact that over time, the percentage of non-linear movement is smaller the faster and farther you go, so it effects the results of the calculation less.
I have used gps on slow-moving rail equipment (guaranteed very little non-linear movement) extensively and proven the more modern hand-held units to be consistently accurate when mounted on an object that moves linearly and is receiving a clear signal - even well under 5mph.
If you begin paddling immediately after zeroing your trip meter, your average speed over time will be pretty accurate, so long as you don't pause - or so long as your boat stays rock-solid (as in beached) when you pause. Current speed readings while moving above a snail's pace will be pretty accurate so long as the pace is maintained or increased.
Furthermore - if you do not allow the gps unit to "find itself" fully before moving, it will suffer accuracy until allowed to do so. This can take several minutes - as many as 15 minutes, if the unit hasn't been on for quite a while or it has been moved quite some distance while off. If the unit does not fully initialize before moving, it won't do it while moving either. Also - the more satellites the unit tracks and the more widely spaced they are, the more accurate all it's readings - including speed calculations - will be. Some days, you just don't have as many birds "talking" to you, and the accuracy suffers a bit. This is part of why gps readings suffer when tripping through narrow canyons (narrow canyon - narrow sky).
1 Like
re: paddling speed
And that may be the one case where the speed boasts almost come true. =D
Guilty of bad syntax - agreed
Ping was bad analogy for time lag between
breadcrumbs when using high detail data points
My bad, sorry 'bout that
uh oh- now I’m thinking of Deliverance
Great post
Thanks, Steve. I learned a few things from that. 8)
we laugh, but…
…there are people like that. =D
re: liars
"I just see no reason to lie but I have certainly met pathological liars. While working at a haunted house attraction in L.A. 20 years ago, there was this kid who lied about everything. He said he was an extra in the movie The Exorcist. He would have been a baby at the time."
That’s the annoying part. Lying is bad enough, but being so lazy/stupid as to not come up with at least a credible lie?
I’m not old, but I get the feeling ppl were better at lying ‘back in the day’.
re liars
I just bought a furnished house. The lawyers insisted part of the purchase price had to be deemed personal property and I had to pay tax on it.
My realtor says he can’t give me advice on that because in 40 years he has never seen a situation like that.
He sold our furnished house 3 years ago and the buyer had to pay sales tax on the personal property. I bet a quarter of his sales are like that.
Yet he felt compelled to lie to me about it. Realtor’s just can’t help them selves, they lie instinctually. (did I offend any paddling realtors?)
can’t argue that
I’ve dealt with many a real estate agent, and I can’t say that your feelings towards them seem atypical in anyway. They’ve certainly lied to my face many a time.
It’s not ALL of them, but unfortunately, many in the profession do seem to have the morals of used-car salesmen. When you do find an honest one, hang on to that person as a contact, they’re as good as gold.
the problem
With furniture in real estate usually stems from the valuation of the property. It can’t be included in the value if the house but is lumped into the purchase price. I would just not include the furniture in the contract and just do a seperate contract for the exchange of the personal property. Its easy and happens all the time.
Ryan L.
I GPS
But I do it by setting my Garmin and my mMgellen set to mph on the deck befor me or between my feet.
ThenI go a normal paddle that I can do all day and when I reach hull-speed, I check the GPS, paddle and check to see the avearge.
Then I sprint! Push myself. Check my speed.
I find that in my OK Scrambler, I average 3mph but can sprint only a little faster.
In my Dirago 120, I average 3.5 with a push to 3.9.
It keeps me honest because I hate it when someone claims “I average 4.3” and then when we are casually going across a lake, I leave them behind and have to wait for them.
Distance/time
When I post speeds, I use distance on map divided by time on water. This lets others know what they can expect if they join me. That way, breaks are included. I take 'em when I need 'em, so they very much factor into my speed. When I did a fast paddle with Cheasapeake Paddle Ass., I found that others GPS’s varied fairly widely (but you better believe that I went with the one that showed I was a speed demon!).
downhill is different
I approached 50 mph on a downhill road bike run according to my GPS. When I saw that, it scared the crap out of me.
One time…
– Last Updated: Aug-23-12 5:40 PM EST –
.....back in the day a buddy and I were paddling an aluminum canoe from Corpus Christi to Campeche to do a little fishing when we ran into hurricane Gilbert. We were about 125 miles offshore when the winds hit 200mph and the waves were 150' high. My friend looked a little worried but I told him it was okay because the wind and waves were moving in the right direction. I knew we were in trouble but I wasn't going to show it. So we kept paddling and I don't know how quickly we were moving but on the crest of one wave we had a short conversation with a guy who'd been puking out the door of a WC-130J hurricane hunter.
We should have hit the shore of Mexico but we were still at sea and I was wondering about my navigation when land came into view and in no time we were nearing the beach. We had gotten pretty good at surfing this old yellow Quachita so we turned it off the lip once or twice and landed.
Damned if we weren't back on Padre Island!
We ridden completely around that Hurricane and landed back where we started!
We have got to get together and
– Last Updated: Aug-23-12 6:30 PM EST –
paddle sometime. I want you to write up all my trip reports and the captions for my photos from now on.
Mark - Corpus Christi native
Hey Mjamja
Are you the Mark that uses a GP and often paddles with Ken?