We’ve been using Ride With GPS for many years to plan our routes, and have maintained a Premium Membership, which is how we’ve been able to offer our event participants files with advanced turn warnings to use on their GPS devices.
As promised in our Navigation Survey Results Blog Post, we have explored several options that allow event participants free access to GPS navigation during our events.
We are pleased to announce that we’ve upgraded our Ride With GPS membership to an Organization Account, which allows event participants free access to premium services, including turn-by-turn navigation with visual and voice cues on the Ride With GPS App, during our events.
To take advantage of this:
Sign up for a Free Ride With GPS Starter Membership Account. They have other low cost plans with advanced features.
Download the Ride With GPS App to your Smart Phone (iPhone or Android) from: https://ridewithgps.com/app It is also available directly from the App Store & Google Play
Ride With GPS offers great tips and instructions on how to use their features on their website. Here are some links to help you get started quickly.
- Recording your first ride: https://ridewithgps.com/help/record-your-first-ride
- Battery saving tips: https://ridewithgps.com/help/battery-saving-tips
- Voice navigation: https://ridewithgps.com/help/voice-navigation
- Exporting route files to a Garmin: https://ridewithgps.com/help/export-routes-to-garmin-device
- Event participants: https://ridewithgps.com/help/event-participants/
Prior to each of our events (typically the Wednesday or Thursday just prior to the event), all pre-registered participants will receive an email message from us through BikeReg with an authorization code, that gives you access to download and save the event course map file.
If you prefer to use a Garmin or other GPS enabled Cycling Computer, we will still publish the TCX files with turn warnings enabled to our event websites. The Course Page of the event website and the Final Instructions Document will have links to the course maps where you can download GPX files, if you prefer these.
If you’d like to use the App, you will need to decide how best to transport your phone. Most riders already carry their phones in a jersey pocket or saddle bag. However, to best use the navigation functions, you may prefer to have your phone visible. There are many products that enable you to mount your phone on your handlebar or stem.
The brand that seems to consistently get the highest ratings is Quad Lock. They have a variety of products to mount your phone to your bicycle, vehicle, body, and even your desk/home. Quad Lock is offering our participants a 10% discount on orders placed directly with them, if you use the code: QL-FRIEND-3154 or you can shop using this link: http://quadlock.refr.cc/K39CRDK
We understand some people will hesitate to mount an expensive device with a lot of personal data to their bike, and expose it to the elements. However, if you carry your phone with you anyway, we encourage you to give the app a try. Worst case, should you find yourself off course or confused, you’ll be able to locate where you are and find your way back.