(More than) Fourinarow.net

The last few days have been wonderfully warm here.  Everyone tells me not to expect it to last, as sometimes it snows as late as Mother’s Day.  But, I just pretend I don’t hear them and go on my merry way, lest I want to shoot myself.

I’ve taken advantage of the current weather and have been walking as much as I can.  It seems like all of Chicagoland is out biking, running, walking, skating, etc.  It is awesome.  We have a wonderful neighborhood to walk in and an awesome Rails-to-Trails path.  I love the path because it’s flat and wide and very pretty (although things aren’t blooming here yet.)  Oh, and there’s no traffic to worry about.  The downside to incorporating the trail into my walk, though, is trying to figure my distance.  There aren’t any roads that consistently follow the path, so I can’t just retrace my walk in the car and use the odometer.

I thought about digging up my pedometer and walking the same route over the next couple of days, but I don’t think it was the best route.  Probably not one I want to repeat.  But, darn it, I wanted to know how far I’d gone.

Well, heeeeelloooooo, Google!  Google, I found, has this awesome site called Gmaps Pedometer.  Go here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

All you have to do is zoom in on your town.  When you’re close enough, you can click the “start recording” button and then double click your starting point on the map.  Just continue to double click along your route until you make it back.   It will tell you your mileage!  And will show you the 1-mile points!  And, if you’re not too embarrassed to enter your weight, it will even tell you how many calories you burned!

SO COOL, isn’t it? You know what would be even cooler?  If Google was paying me to write this post.

Seriously, though, check it out if you’re a walker, biker, runner, etc.  I know I’ll be using it all the time.