EVALUATING CUMULATIVE ASCENT: MOUNTAIN BIKING MEETS MANDELBROT
Dennis C. Rapaport · 2016
The problem of determining total distance ascended during a mountain bike trip is addressed. Altitude measurements are obtained from GPS receivers utilizing both GPS-based and barometric altitude data, with data averaging used to reduce fluctuations. The estimation process is sensitive to the degree of averaging, and is related to the well-known question of determining coastline length. Barometric-based measurements prove more reliable, due to their insensitivity to GPS altitude fluctuations.