Trans Am Bike Race - June 7th, 2014

[Nathan Jones]

@TJ

Do you currently have a GPS unit?

[DocTrike]

No I was going to get the one Scott suggested (Garmin eTrex) for TDR but have not purchase it yet. I had a loaner Garmin last year.

[Nathan Jones]

Yeah I've used the previous gen etrex since 2010 and have liked it pretty well.  The new one seems alright, haven't used it though.  My old etrex only stored 2000 track points, the new one stores 10,000 which is still only one third of the 40,000 track points for the entire trans am.  That said you can either down-sample the route or chop it up into chunks to upload at different spots on the route.

[Longtrailahead]

Just a short little vid for anyone that needs to up their Trans Am stoke a bit -


http://youtu.be/Yi_vpq12_j8

[Nathan Jones]

Just a short little vid for anyone that needs to up their Trans Am stoke a bit -
http://youtu.be/Yi_vpq12_j8

Note: there will be pie.  

[JRA]

Just a short little vid for anyone that needs to up their Trans Am stoke a bit -


http://youtu.be/Yi_vpq12_j8

Cool!
Thanks for that.

[Andy M]

Nathan would the Montana 650 be a better GPS to use ? I am busy looking at the options here at the moment, any suggestions as I will have to replace my current 704 anyway ?

[Nathan Jones]

I have used the same Etrex for the past 3 years and really suck at recommending a GPS as I have zero experience with any other units on the market.  I "like" my etrex and will probably buy a new one for 2014 since this one has gotten kind of beat.  I took a quick look at all the different garmin models and they basically offer the exact same thing in terms of maximum trackpoints.  10,000 is the most you can get on any of them it seems.  So yeah, I would only recommend the Montana if you really like the functionality.  I noticed the battery life is significantly longer with the etrex, something else to consider.  That said, the Montana looks to be a pretty nice unit and will certainly get the job done.  I just kind of balk at the pricetag on the thing.  If it was a GPS/smartphone I'd be all over it but with GPS technology as cheap as it is, I just can't be motivated to pay more for something which drains batteries faster.

[pickupel]

Hey Andy,

Why not go with a Garmin 800 / 805? I've used an 800 for the last 3 years and it's still going strong after more than 25,000 miles. The only downside is that they don't take batteries and you have to recharge them — but that's not a huge problem if you use a dynamo hub (more info on that here: http://bit.ly/184eVwP), or even if you're crafty about using power outlets when you stop. The last two winners of the Tour Divide have respectively used an 800 (Olly Whalley) and a 705 (Mike Hall). Mike also used his 705 on the round the world race — so that series has a good record in terms of reliability and durability.

The 800 seemed to be the GPS of choice during the Transcontinental Race last year and they're pretty cheap at the moment (if you can find one) as the 805 has replaced it in Garmin's line-up.

Hope that helps — just thought I'd suggest another option!

Ed

[mlhatfield]

I am working on a cue-sheet using the ACA maps but I only have the first section (of the 12) done.  Any interest in this?  I can share it via Google docs and the riders who are interested can add comments or make corrections.

[pickupel]

Some musings on supported vs. unsupported racing, the key difference between the Trans Am Bike Race and RAAM, as well as a look at two guys who have tried to race across the US unsupported before. Check it out: http://bit.ly/1f7HZJD

If anyone has any other thoughts on this topic let me know. Also, if anyone knows about someone other than Wayne Phillips or JayP who has attempted an unsupported crossing of the US at 'race pace' I'd be interested!

[andrea19801]

Hello to all!

I'm Paolo from Italy(already registered in Roster  ) and in the next summer i hope to be in Astoria for the start of 1st Tans Am Bike Race!

x Nathan: i download your last *.kml file for the route and with google earth i've a total of 5945 km(3694 miles) ,  is it right?
about the total elevation,,,  i think that there are some errors because in google earth give only 19805 mt of total elevation.....
Do you kow the right one?

[Nathan Jones]

Paolo,

Google Earth has good days and bad days.  Often it's elevation calculations are incredibly wrong.  

I recommend using http://www.topofusion.com/for estimating mileage and elevation.  I don't believe that it's perfect but it seems to be more accurate.

[andrea19801]

....in fact it seems very strange, google earth figures....

Now with topofusion is more clear 

[Pizzaz]

I used an edge 810 for Tour divide this year and had the entire GPX route loaded as a single file... 20000+ points... it worked fine - I'm not aware that there is a points limitation on the edge like there is on the e-Trex.  Downside of course is the reliance on recharging every 15 hours or so or a dynamo hub with some sort of USB charger (I ran supernova with the plug II - it failed due to long descents blowing the capacitor but allegedly the plug III is much better).

However, it took a good 3+ minutes for the edge to load the track at the start of the day   Think for this one I'll be splitting it just to save the load times!

Nice thing about the edge was having 20+ days worth of data files to upload when i got back - did wonders for my Strava stats

[percy kittens]

Which Garmin eTrex is recommended, the 10:

http://www.rei.com/product/825490/garmin-etrex-10-gps?preferredSku=8254900001&cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-product-_-8254900001&mr:trackingCode=F8597EF8-7505-E111-804A-A8C6AF702B72&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=36518433160&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=39033326200&msid=FT72b9o5_dc|pcrid|36518433160|&{copy:s_kwcid}


or the 20:
http://www.rei.com/product/825491/garmin-etrex-20-gps?preferredSku=8254910001&cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-product-_-8254910001&mr:trackingCode=8C4BEA37-75FA-E011-9A77-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=36518433160&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=39033326200&msid=FT72b9o5_dc|pcrid|36518433160|&{copy:s_kwcid}

Thanks!

[Nathan Jones]

Non GPS expert here, but I would go with the 20 just because it holds more waypoints.  Higher resolution routes means easier navigation.  Then 10 only holds 1000 points, where as the 20 holds 2000.

[mikepro]

Which Garmin eTrex is recommended,
Thanks!

What about the eTrex-30?

[Nathan Jones]

Okay now that I look again they all hold 10,000 trackpoints which is plenty high enough resolution to get the full route on there.  I would say the 10 should fit basic racer needs, the 20 seems like you're just paying for color, the 30 is for a little more bling with the wireless, none of which really seems essential.

[percy kittens]

Thanks Nathan! I look forward to learning how to use it this winter. I may start by seeing how to get one street beyond my driveway. Google maps always helpfully includes that information in their turn by turn directions