On Tue, 12 Mar 2019 19:05:40 -0400, Radey Shouman
wrote:

Frank Krygowski writes:

On 3/12/2019 2:27 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:
Zen Cycle writes:

Remember, this whole conversation started because because a guy
claimed his speed increased on flat ground without a tailwind or
pedaling - the idea that he had the display set to average speed is
much more plausible.

Oddly enough, whatever his display showed had to be some approximation
of "average speed", preferably over some short interval. The Platonic
ideal of the magnitude of the derivative of position is just not
directly available to any of us mortals. And that ideal is what the
laws of physics deal with.

Yes, but the perfect Platonic ideal is not necessary for anything
practical in cycling, not even for high budget racing. Current
cyclometers tell speed to within 0.1 mph with a lag of no more than
one second or so. They tell distance traveled with better
accuracy. Nothing more is needed, even for detecting fantasies.

Wait, where are those specifications documented? Are they, perhaps, a fantasy?

This discussion has become rather bizarre with hordes explaining how
it might be done and no one explaining how it is actually done. How
about explaining how the cow jumped over the moon as this has been a
"known fact" far longer then bicycles have had a speedometer :-)

Note: the poem seems to have been alluded to in Thomas Preston's 1569
play, A lamentable tragedy mixed ful of pleasant mirth, conteyning the
life of Cambises King of Percia.

--
Cheers,
John B.