Hi all

I have a Garmin 705 which up until now I have just been using as a fancy computer recording rides (and of course uploading to Strava :)) But I want to use it to it’s fullest.

In a couple of weeks I’ll be doing the coast to coast with a few friends. We have the route on cards which I will use to create a GPX file.

Looking at the videos here: http://www8.garmin.com/learningcenter/training/edge705/index.html
I can see how t upload and follow the route, but I have a few questions for those knowledgeable folk on here.

1, When creating the GPX file, should I just do one big route, or split it into the separate day’s rides?

2, When following a GPX route, can I also record the ride so that I have all the speed, elevation, HR etc? if so how?

3, On the route cards we have there are a few alternate routes to take at certain points along the way. If we decide to deviate and take one of the alternatives, what do I do with the route I’m supposed to be following?

If there are any other pointers long tern Garmin users can think of, please add them here.

Ta.

I like to create separate rides for each day.

The 705 will record all your data as long as you press start/stop as normal.

You could store the alternate routes too?

What are you doing for power/recharge?

1. if you know the points you are going to stop, then plot your gpx routes between them.. that way you can get it to display how much distance and time you have to go each day.

2. yes, it just does it. you set it to follow the route, but you also start the timer and it records as normal.

3. dunno about this. you could always just plot the ‘normal’ route, and if you decide to deviate, just ignore the ‘off course’ alarms and rejoin the main route when you are ready – it will spot that you are back on track.

Dave

create the gpx file as a track not a route. In a gpx route there is a maximum number of points that can be included, a track has many many more (don’t know why they are just handled differently by the software and hardware).

Instead on navigating the route, just display it on map.

add the alternatives also as tracks and do the same, then both will be displayed.

I would do each day individually.

Two things I do when planning a route on the GPS –

always use something like BikeHike or WheresThePath to check that the path on the ground matches the OS map (& the route you’ve put in.)

check any tricky spots where BWs come off roads using Google Streetview – finger posts aren’t always that obvious so it can be useful to have an idea what to expect.

Interested in this post too, particularly druidh’s question “What are you doing for power/recharge?”

I’ve had a garmin die after a long day ride, making it a little impractical for multi day trips.

But for your original q’s:
1. I’d go for separate days like alfabus’ reasoning.

2. yes. but remember to press start. and if you stop for a break and switch it off to save power, remember to start again. I’ve got some ride records where there is a long perfectly straight line in the middle where i forgot to restart after lunch and the record just jumps to the place where you remember.

3. I’d leave the route running “in the background” as just display on map. The off course alarm buzz stops once you’ve moved away from the route as long as you don’t have a navigation setting set to “recalculate route” to a destination. That way you can explore a little, or the course may be different “on the ground”, but still check you’re going in the right general direction by having the map zoomed out a bit.

Thanks for the replies.

charging: I will have my charger with me and charge overnight at the B&B’s we’re using.

Route v track: Do you mean store the GPX file in the track folder rather than the route folder on the device?

Good tip about using street view, good idea.

I’ve been looking on bike toaster (or whatever it’s called) and the route we’re using looks to be well marked when in the cycle setting.

Not sure if this is right but it kinda works.
Save the GPX file to your desktop then drap to the GPX folder in the Garmin.

Menu > saved rides > pick you ride/GPX > Navigate.

Getting an 800 soon so hopefully will be similar because that took 2 years to sue out.

There’s quite a bit on the Garmin forums about power supplies for the 705, as far as I recall you need the correct USB lead to prevent the 705 from going into “mass storage” mode when you plug it in.

FWIW, I use a Powermonkey with solar panel for re charging. It easily captures enough to fully recharge the Edge and there’s a little left over to top up the mobile phone.

On the charging front, I’d recommend having a look on Amazon where there are some specific battery packs for the 705 which run on (I think) 4 AA batteries. It will either enable you to run straight from the battery pack (keeping the 705 fresh) or you can run from the 705 and the pack will keep it topped up (it all depends on which order you turn one or the other on if I recall).

Good luck with the trip, sounds like fun.

Route v track: Do you mean store the GPX file in the track folder rather than the route folder on the device?

No most software has an option to store it as a track or a route, you can use something like gpsbabel to convert between the two.

I suggest you try some of the options given over your next few rides to see what works for you, and to make sure you know how to select the desired options. Most people don’t even seem to know the display on map option exists.

Small solar panel charger?

I’d recommend having a look on Amazon where there are some specific battery packs for the 705 which run on (I think) 4 AA batteries

I would get one of those Pebble type lion chargers instead – I had one of those AA type things for the phone and it wasn’t particularly good.

I should be fine for charging. We’re using B&B’s and I’ll use the mains charger each night to top it up.

Right, so I’ve started to plot the GPX tracks. What I’ve decided to do is split up the tracks by day and part.

So Day 1 part 1 is the first bit up to where there is a potential deviation. Then there is part 2a and 2b depending on which direction we choose on the day.

That should work out nicely I think.

1, When creating the GPX file, should I just do one big route, or split it into the separate day’s rides?

Create your route in Garmin Mapsource and convert the saved .GPX file to .TCX using GPSies or similar. This file should then be saved in the /Garmin/Courses directory on the 705. When riding it, select via ->Training->Courses this will give you a magenta (or other colour of your choice) line to follow on your GPS map screen and avoids any of the shortcomings of trackpoints/coursepoints etc. It doesn’t give turn by turn directions. You don’t need this, just follow the line and zoom in/zoom out when you need more/less detail at junctions/tricky bits.

2, When following a GPX route, can I also record the ride so that I have all the speed, elevation, HR etc? if so how?
Yes as above. Remember to press the timer start/stop button at the start of each day. At the end of each day, you ride will be recorded into history and the timer reset when you recharge it.

3, On the route cards we have there are a few alternate routes to take at certain points along the way. If we decide to deviate and take one of the alternatives, what do I do with the route I’m supposed to be following?

If you want to, you can record these alternatives as optional .tcx files and then select them en route if you decide to follow them. I.e. ALT1.tcx could be your first optional alternate. This way, you’d maintain GPS nav whilst taking options AND maintain the integrity of the original planned route.

If there are any other pointers long tern Garmin users can think of, please add them here.

On no account allow the 705 to auto route or use it to auto calculate routes between points. It does wierd things it being possessed by demons. Plan your routes and download them to the device (unless you are happy for it to do wierd things that is).

Justgoride.co.uk has a good route maker.
Just drop Dots to make a bread crumb trail on the OS map save as a GPX file then navigate it.

1, When creating the GPX file, should I just do one big route, or split it into the separate day’s rides?

Create your route in Garmin Mapsource and convert the saved .GPX file to .TCX using GPSies or similar. This file should then be saved in the /Garmin/Courses directory on the 705. When riding it, select via ->Training->Courses this will give you a magenta (or other colour of your choice) line to follow on your GPS map screen and avoids any of the shortcomings of trackpoints/coursepoints etc. It doesn’t give turn by turn directions. You don’t need this, just follow the line and zoom in/zoom out when you need more/less detail at junctions/tricky bits.

No you don’t need to save it as a course to view on map 🙄

I’ve started plotting each section of the route as GPX tracks (as suggested earlier on) so that at each option point we can decide which direction to go.

Another question for now. Once I’ve plotted all the sections, can I overlay the tracks onto google maps or similar to have a pictorial of the route with all options which I can show to the rest of the group before we go?

Ta

@MSP. Indeed you don’t. However, you need to make a choice; course or route (TCX or GPX). If you choose the latter, you get turn by turn nav but there are limitations and on bigger routes, I’ve found this method unreliable. The TCX method is much simpler (apart from the initial file conversion using GPSies).

I’ve just come back from naving ~4200 miles using the 705 so have some direct, recent experience of this problem.

As for Google Maps? No idea, I don’t use it. The online tool I use is Bikeroutetoaster and I use Garmin’s MapSource offline. With MapSource, you can show multiple routes simultaeneously which is what the OP is asking to do.

No that’s the difference between routes and tracks, courses are intended for a different function, to compare performance on routes already ridden.

Tracks are courses, courses are tracks (from a file type perspective).

The initial intent may well have been to use courses for comparative training (in Garmin’s corporate mind) but AFAIK, there’s no ruling to stop people from adapting what’s provided to overcome the shortcomings elsewhere in the 705.

For those that use 705’s a lot, the dreaded random ‘make a u turn’ mid ride for no perceivable reason has led people to work out how to get around the 705’s foibles. This is why people often don’t bother with the 705’s autorouting function (AKA random route generator), it just isn’t reliable.

Once you’ve seen routes generated with ‘as the crow flies’ straight lines instead of following roads (a known bug), you’ll be less inclined to faithfully trust your 705 and some of its features.

I am talking about displaying the track on map, not navigating it. That way you can display all the days tracks on map at the same time, so when you reach a decision point both will be there on screen for you to choose.

On the garmin you go into saved rides, select one, select options and tick show on map, you can do this for all the days possible tracks, perhaps even giving the alternatives a different colour.

Boblo, You clearly know what your talking about here, but I’m getting a bit confused (not hard for me :roll:)

I’ve started plotting out the days “sections” as GPX tracks and have them saved on my PC ready to upload them to my 705 later.

Are you saying I should save them in the history folder rather than the GPX folder on the 705 to then use them as courses?

Another question: I just plotted a quick little loop to test I am doing everything right. When showing the route on the screen I just have a yellow background with a blue line, not street/path info. This doesn’t seem right, what have I done wrong in the settings?

I have read through other threads on here about talkytoaster maps, so went on there to look at using the MicroSD slot to get a better map, but just seem to be getting more and more confused about it all 😳

Boblo, You clearly know what your talking about here, but I’m getting a bit confused (not hard for me :roll:)

Not really. I just know what I need to do to avoid the pitfalls I and others have encountered with the 705. Y(and others)MMV.

I’ve started plotting out the days “sections” as GPX tracks and have them saved on my PC ready to upload them to my 705 later.

OK good. You’ve saved each day and each alternative as separate files? What are you plotting them with/in?

Are you saying I should save them in the history folder rather than the GPX folder on the 705 to then use them as courses?

No:

– If you save your files as GPX’s save in /Garmin/GPX. You’ll then select them via ->where to->saved rides
– If you choose to convert your GPX files to TCX then save in /Garmin/Courses you’ll select them via ->training->courses
– Normally Garmin autopopulates /Garmin/History with completed ride data. To repeat past rides, select via ->where to->follow history. This is not relevant for your planning in this case

My personal preference is to convert GPX files to TCX and use these as explained above to follow a line on the GPS screen. This method does not support turn by turn nav but avoids spurious ‘off route and ‘make a u turn’ messages which the 705 does…frequently. You need to decide if turn by turn is important to you. I prefer following a continuous reference line on screen. Try both and see. All will become clear 🙂

Another question: I just plotted a quick little loop to test I am doing everything right. When showing the route on the screen I just have a yellow background with a blue line, not street/path info. This doesn’t seem right, what have I done wrong in the settings?

Plotted on the PC and shown on the 705 screen? If this is the case, sounds like the detailed map is either not installed or not enabled in the 705. Have you installed additional mapping in the 705 or selected it in ->settings->map? The base map in the 705 is next to useless BTW.

I have read through other threads on here about talkytoaster maps, so went on there to look at using the MicroSD slot to get a better map, but just seem to be getting more and more confused about it all

Using the 705 initially seems simple but to get the best out of it, the learning curve is quite steep. I’ve arrived at a way of working that I know avoids the problems I and others have faced. I’m happy to explain the why’s and wherefore’s (this is a forum after all) BUT the extra info just complicates things for the newcomer. Google Frank Kanlan (sp?) as he has a wealth of info on the 705 and its little foibles.

For my purposes:

– Plan as GPX in Bikeroutoaster or MapSource (or your own preferred mapping site/prog)
– Convert to TCX in GPSies
– Save in /Garmin/Courses
– Select via ->training->courses
– Follow the line
– Press start/stop each morning to record each days stats
– That’s it!

<edit> make sure ->settings->routing->recalculate is set to ‘off’ or ‘prompted’. This will stop the 705 arbitrarily recalculating your carefully crafted route 🙂

Did the OP get this sorted?

I though I’d ask this question here rather than start a new thread.

Yesterday I went out on a 50 mile route I’d plotted as a GPX track. As we got through the ride we were running late to get home so decided to cut off the last section and go straight home when getting to village x rather than follow the plotted route all the way over the top.

Anyway, when we got to the village, I did nothing to the device, but it was already showing the “new” route home as if it had set itself to “get back to start by the shortest method” or similar.

Have I got a setting wrong somewhere?

Just a point on power sources. I use a Satmap, for recording and occasionally navigating on foot and on the bike. I have been caught out without power due to charging foibles (my own fault). So far nothing more than a minor irritation, but if I were you I would have a back up source just in case.

Good luck with the ride

This could be useful for such a journey.

I’ve nothing to else to add as the OP’s questions have been answered.
I prefer to import my tracks/courses to my 800 using GTC or memory map rather than copying them into the devices directory but it’s no big deal really.

arcoolc – Member

Have I got a setting wrong somewhere?
You need to turn automatic routing off. It’s not very reliable either, it’s a good job you knew where you were going.

For those that use 705’s a lot, the dreaded random ‘make a u turn’ mid ride for no perceivable reason has led people to work out how to get around the 705’s foibles. This is why people often don’t bother with the 705’s autorouting function (AKA random route generator), it just isn’t reliable.

I found this out the hard way with my eTrex Vista. First time I tried navigating a long route with it using the auto routing I got really lost- it just didn’t work, had me going round in circles. As above, much better to use a track and just follow it as if it were a map with a route inked onto it.

arcoolc – Member
<snip>

Anyway, when we got to the village, I did nothing to the device, but it was already showing the “new” route home as if it had set itself to “get back to start by the shortest method” or similar.

Have I got a setting wrong somewhere?

From my post above:

<edit> make sure ->settings->routing->recalculate is set to ‘off’ or ‘prompted’. This will stop the 705 arbitrarily recalculating your carefully crafted route

Tsssk, sometimes dunno why I bother 🙂

Sorry boblo, that had got lost in the myriad of other very useful info.

Ta muchly.