TOIL and Trouble, the Elmden way

Last friday I had a TOIL day (Time Off In Lieu) so I decided a bike ride was in order. I am rubbish at hills so I thought I'd have a wander round the border country of Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex, those notoriously mountainous regions.

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 For anyone doubting my credentials, here's the profile. Alpine, I think you'll find

and if you don't believe me that's the gradient. A whacking 7.5% or 8%. Impressed?


 

Less Pain, more Route

I have a new love. OK maybe not exactly, but I've been having a lot of fun and quite a lot of success with bikehike which has a great combination of google maps and OS Maps.

If you get the settings right (in the options, google, follow roads, avoid highways, Coursepoint mode: auto etc) and you click in the right place, you can save a tcx file with advanced warning (which you set at save time) which you can upload to your Garmin Edge 500 and it'll warn you when to turn and which way to turn too.

If doesn't fit in perfectly with the previous flow, but, if you do have a gpx route you can TRY to create a tcx with warnings, this is how
:

• Create a gpx file using the various previously discussed methods
• Upload the gpx file
• Select the correct options as above
• Select Drag Edit mode
• Hold down control and click on the route

This gives some black dots. If you drag the route a little between the black dots it should add coursepoints. Beware though that the route may go a bit wonky depending on how google thinks your routing should be.

Now save the file. Set your CoursePoint warning distance and average speed.

Note: you can also add static coursepoints by selecting "Add POI/Coursepoint" and selecting "general" and then making a note. Found this really quite useful for the Great Windmill Caper

Routes continue to be a pain.

At one point I wrote this which I stand by, up to the point at which you convert it.

Having been playing and reading Ridewithgps it suggests

"

• GPX Track (.gpx) Useful for any GPS unit. Contains no cuesheet entries, only track information (breadcrum trail). Will provide turn by turn directions (true navigation) on the Edge 605 and 705, but will not have any custom cues. Edge 605/705 users follow these instructions.
  
• Garmin Training Center (.tcx) Best format for turn by turn directions on Edge 500. Great for training when we release those features. Note: not currently optimal for Virtual Partner. Better support is being developed.
  "
  
  
  So I'll give this a punt
  

The Wiggle No Excuses Sportive

I survived. Next time I intend to thrive..

All done on my Genesis Skyline fixer

The London To Cambridge Bike Route

The Breakthrough Breast Cancer London to Cambridge bike ride runs annually. This year it's the 24 July.




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and the profile is

Routes are a pain

I went out on Saturday with a preprogrammed course and GOT HORRIBLY LOST! In a good way, but not.

The problem, it seems, is that gmaptogpx draws too straight a line between points. This can be seen by

1. Draw a route on Google Maps
2. Create a GPX using GMapToGPX
3. Upload the GPX to maptogps

It can be seen here that the route is "off"....

 To fix this

1. Draw a route in Google Maps
2. Create a GPX using gpsvisualizer (copying the URL of the google maps from the "link" window into the box
3. Remember to select "Add DEM Elevation Data"

The equvalent map now looks like this: 

This is a much better fit.

Now use gpsies to convert to a .crs and import to the Garmin.

Wiggle No Excuses sportive 2011

thisI'm going to attempt this on 20 March


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If and when I make it, I'll post the Garmin Connect data.