AZT 750/300 2015 Planning

[ScottM]

Sounds like folks have figured out the GPX uploading.

JayP: from -40 to 90, perfect!

Anyone out there looking at the forecast and starting to sweat?  Time to start studying hard on water sources...

[JayP]

Sounds like folks have figured out the GPX uploading.

JayP: from -40 to 90, perfect!

Anyone out there looking at the forecast and starting to sweat?  Time to start studying hard on water sources...

sweating is the last thing you want to do...at least that is how it is when it's -40...guess its time to change my practices.

[Ron Thomson]

I've had a problem with dry nose for the first few days the last couple of years. So far I have tried a saline spray and petroleum  jelly, neither have worked. This year I am going to try coconut oil.
Coming from a very moist climate to a very dry causes my nasal passages to dry out and crack leading to nosebleeds that at best are uncomfortable.
Anyone have any suggestions for something that might work? TIA

[mikepro]

I've had a problem with dry nose for the first few days the last couple of years. So far I have tried a saline spray and petroleum  jelly, neither have worked. This year I am going to try coconut oil.
Coming from a very moist climate to a very dry causes my nasal passages to dry out and crack leading to nosebleeds that at best are uncomfortable.
Anyone have any suggestions for something that might work? TIA

My wife tried coconut oil recently after experiencing same symptoms on biz trip to C Springs, CO.  Q-tip administered.  Mixed results.  She says sesame oil is purported to work.

[Rorr]

JayP, you are the real deal! See you at the boarder.

[Yogi the Barry]

Every time I come back to NM from windsurfing/kiting on the Gulf Coast, my nose goes thru a week of acclimatization to the dry climate. I fight this more than most, due to having had most of my turbinates removed during two sinus surgeries thru the years. I'll stop the story before it gets into TMI, but I'll add that it helps to not just use saline spray, but to irrigate with saline. You can buy a trendy neti pot or just make your own saline solution [salt and pinch of baking soda] and irrigate with a cheap, small plastic irrigation bulb or syringe. Irrigating sounds gross, but it's a quick-learned skill and it helps. A Q-tip will not get deep enough into your head. The turbinates go waaay back into your head. Putting something [lotion, Vaseline, Vick's] in the front nasal passages is better than nothing, I sometimes use Tiger Balm for a good nasal buzz, but you have to irrigate to reach the entire nasal passage. Whatever you do, don't use a nasal decongestant, unless you are desperate, totally blocked/congested and can't breath thru your nose.

I've had a problem with dry nose for the first few days the last couple of years. So far I have tried a saline spray and petroleum  jelly, neither have worked. This year I am going to try coconut oil.
Coming from a very moist climate to a very dry causes my nasal passages to dry out and crack leading to nosebleeds that at best are uncomfortable.
Anyone have any suggestions for something that might work? TIA

[REV]

After about three love-hate years of using an eTrex 30...
Just make sure you turn on track logging in Setup > Tracks > Track Log > Record [with an option to show or not].
Somewhere there's also an option to write the recorded track to an internal memory card.
I second Scott's recommendation about 'Auto' for the recording rate.
Lots of eTrex setup info at this site.
http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lw3_0.htm
Slightly OT suggestions... To minimize GPS issues [due to corrupt GPX files or other mysterious causes], I almost always take any GPX file and resave in TopoFusion. For the big tracks that cap at 10K points, I usually resample down to 9K. Even for long events like CTR and AZT, 9K has enough resolution. For my maps, which I download from www.gpsfiledepot.com, I turn off any other state maps I am not using and only have the base map and state map I'm using turned on. These are probably knee-jerk reactions, but they seem to help with GPS freeze/hang-ups. Nothing like the stress of having GPS issues out in the middle of nowhere...
And if you ever find a way to retain the color of a saved GPX track, I'd love to hear back from you. My eTrex 30 always reverts to showing the track in lavender after a reboot, no matter if I change the color on the unit itself or in the file using TopoFusion.
-B

Geez gps idiot here ... I am having trouble loading the aztopo map I downloaded from gpsfiledepot.  I can see it on my mac and look at it in base camp but when I think I complete the load onto my gps... well it's not here.  I go to configure maps and city navigator is there but no aztopo.  Any advice?

[bncrshr77]

This might be what you've already tried but if you transferred it to your gps already go Setup, Map, Map information and make sure it's enabled...

[Sam Aspacher]

New to the site. Tucson local, first attempt at the 300. Super excited and a bit nervous. This was Friday's forecast as of this morning. I can deal with the heat but 20+ winds?? Hope they're wrong.

[joeydurango]

Shoot, as long as those winds are coming from the south, I don't think I'd mind...

[Yogi the Barry]

You won the lottery! Clouds to cut down the burn. Wind will help evaporate your sweat to keep you cool [assuming your sweat tank stays filled] and give you a nice big tailwind push to Sonoita!

New to the site. Tucson local, first attempt at the 300. Super excited and a bit nervous. This was Friday's forecast as of this morning. I can deal with the heat but 20+ winds?? Hope they're wrong.

[REV]

This might be what you've already tried but if you transferred it to your gps already go Setup, Map, Map information and make sure it's enabled...

thanks and yes I did that but the map is not showing up... grr

[Sam Aspacher]

Hope you're right Yogi. Sounds good on paper.

One question, I didn't look into a spot at all. That's not a requirement or something is it?
Assumed I'd be timing myself and just reporting that info afterwards.

[mikepro]

Geez gps idiot here ... I am having trouble loading the aztopo map I downloaded from gpsfiledepot.  I can see it on my mac and look at it in base camp but when I think I complete the load onto my gps... well it's not here.  I go to configure maps and city navigator is there but no aztopo.  Any advice?

Did you try/use the Garmin MapInstall software (free download)?  The gpsfiledepot.com website has the step-by-step.  Go the 'How to Load Maps on my Garmin GPS Unit' page in that site and click the forward link to 'Mac: Use MapInstall to Load Maps' section of the tutorial.

[Yogi the Barry]

Spot is nice for fam, friends, fans and perhaps peace of mind knowing you could hit that SOS button if [hopefully never] needed.
SW wind is a good direction for Patagonia to Sonoita asphalt. It will make you feel as fast as a roadie.

Hope you're right Yogi. Sounds good on paper.

One question, I didn't look into a spot at all. That's not a requirement or something is it?
Assumed I'd be timing myself and just reporting that info afterwards.

[ScottM]

One question, I didn't look into a spot at all. That's not a requirement or something is it?
Assumed I'd be timing myself and just reporting that info afterwards.

SPOTs are 100% optional.  Most people end up carrying one, but they aren't required.

I agree that swift (but not strong) SW winds are a good thing (and also quite common this time of year in the Patagonia area).  We're still a ways out from a reliable forecast, of course.

[ScottM]

Did you try/use the Garmin MapInstall software (free download)?  The gpsfiledepot.com website has the step-by-step.  Go the 'How to Load Maps on my Garmin GPS Unit' page in that site and click the forward link to 'Mac: Use MapInstall to Load Maps' section of the tutorial.

Good advice, mikepro -- they have a pretty good tutorial.

Perhaps I should offer statewide .IMG file for the AZT to make it easier to load some basemaps (I already have one for the divide).  You just have to copy the IMG file onto your GPS.

[ScottM]

See 'Spot Tracking' section here: http://topofusion.com/azt/race.php

Thanks, mikepro.

I'll add that I'd like to ask everyone that's going to show up, 300 or 750, SPOT or no: PLEASE read the entire race site.  Rules, route, SPOTs, results.  There's not that much info there, and it's all important.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Pretty great set of rules. Gotta text today about joining an armada of riders down to the start. Uuuuuugh, I'd do it too, even if this race is brutal, I'm ill prepared - just  don't have a bike I'd wanna do it with! Considering something foolhardy like "borrowing" a Krampus and having no set goal of finishing.

Good luck, all out there!

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: IMG files
Scott,
That would be awesome. I almost always have individual maps of the Four Corners states loaded on my eTrex 30, but I've had trouble with maps getting corrupted and had to reload a few times in the last 2-3 years. Perhaps a knee-jerk reaction, but I now toggle off any of the state maps I don't need [not the base map]. I also don't include map panels from portions of the state I'll never need, like the NE/OK border region of CO. My reasoning is that the less demand on the GPS to load/process/store map graphics the better. BTW, I'm cheap and all the maps I've downloaded were off of GPSDepot site as freebies. I also use a full version of your baby to downsample and resave almost every GPX file I use, which also seems to cut down on GPS issues. Comments?

...Perhaps I should offer statewide .IMG file for the AZT to make it easier to load some basemaps (I already have one for the divide).  You just have to copy the IMG file onto your GPS.