[MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION], treadmills and other things proved to be less useful than expected, but fitness bands are fantastic. Maybe most people don't use them after a while, but I know one woman who was tremendously overweight through high school and college and after. She got a fitness band, and it made her conscious of when she was moving and when she wasn't. I saw her after a huge weight loss and almost didn't recognize her. Other people use them and compare notes, and without being excessively competitive or obsessive, use the gadget and the chat to improve their fitness and happiness. I wouldn't have predicted that fitness bands could be so great, but I'm impressed.

My own solution to (parts of) your problem -- which won't work for everyone -- is a Quad Lock mount for my iphone, on my handlebar. I use ridewithgps to record my ride, and if I need directions, I use google maps at the same time. The two apps don't seem to use more battery than just the one. Having the screen on does consume battery, so if I want it on for a long time, I connect an external battery, which is easy enough. With that, I can keep my screen on and keep the battery topped up to 100%.

I can't hear turn by turn directions with the phone's speaker or even my headphones, and headphones present a problem anyway. If I do hear a direction with the headphone, I might miss it, and google maps doesn't have a "what did you just say?" button. But following the directions on the screen works for me.