Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

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LittleGreyCat
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Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

I have a Garmin Explore and I have worked out with online help how to transfer a route from cycle.travel from a Windows PC to the Garmin, via a USB cable.

This is using a home based Windows PC.

I am now wondering how to do this when on a multi-day trip.
Do I have to take a Windows PC with me or is there a straightforward way to transfer a file from, for example, an Android tablet?
I feel the need for a large (8" or more) screen to allow me to do any detailed planning in the same way I would do it on a PC.
MattH
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by MattH »

In the past I've used a phone along with a "usb to go" adapter to do this and it worked fine. I think my tablet (a google nexus 7) did not support using a "usb to go" adapter cable so worth verifying you can actually do so on your tablet if that's what you're planning on doing. That particular adapter cable will allow your phone/tablet to see your garmin as removable storage allowing you to copy files to it.

edit: Apologies I actually mean the On The Go (OTG) cable mentioned by HobbesOnTour later in this thread.
Last edited by MattH on 2 May 2019, 11:28am, edited 1 time in total.
Psamathe
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Psamathe »

Last summer I did much of my route creation using cycle.travel using an iPad tablet and transferring to GPS. The GPS device (not a Garmin) let me down so I had to change my methodology. But iPad tablet and cycle.travel worked well. Can’t comment on Android but functionality is normally comparable (or Android is a bit less locked down).

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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by iandriver »

One of the small 10inch Chromebooks was the ideal companion for me. Not as small as a tablet and about a kilo in weight, but very functional with a full sized keyboard.
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yutkoxpo
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by yutkoxpo »

Leaving aside a discussion on the merits or otherwise of planning a route on a phone or a tablet what you are looking for can be done and relatively easily on an android device, assuming otg (On The Go)compatibility. Don't think it's as easy on Apple devices.

There's a full discussion here with examples https://www.bikeforums.net/electronics- ... ablet.html

You'll need an otg compatible phone/tblet, otg cable and usb/micro usb adapter cable.
bohrsatom
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by bohrsatom »

iPad or an iPhone with an app called MapOut and either Garmin connect (if you have 4g), or a tiny device that lets you write to a SD card via a WiFi network

https://github.com/rcw5/tutorials/tree/ ... e-planning
LittleGreyCat
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

bohrsatom wrote:iPad or an iPhone with an app called MapOut and either Garmin connect (if you have 4g), or a tiny device that lets you write to a SD card via a WiFi network

https://github.com/rcw5/tutorials/tree/ ... e-planning


Sadly my Garmin Explore doesn't have an SD card for storage.
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Mick F
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Mick F »

I took my MacBook. Kept in touch, kept my blog up to date, and I could plan the next day to the Nth degree.
My Garmin would upload the day's ride, I could review where I'd been, and I could pour over the mapping software.

I took an iPad on the next trip, but it's not good or versatile enough. Laptops are the way to go, as they do anything and everything and they don't have to be huge. I have a MacBookAir now, and it's half the weight of the MacBook.
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Psamathe
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Psamathe »

In general terms I don't get on that well with my iPad. Don't know why (maybe my age) but I far prefer a laptop. However, the iPad is great in that it just fits into my bar bag meaning I can take my bar bag with me (into shops, to showers, etc.) and it contains all my valuables. I don't have to leave a computer in a pannier on a bike whilst e.g. traipsing round a supermarket.

I looked at it terms of:

1. to use some interweb route planner you need an internet connection which for me makes it really easy to get the route down and onto my Garmin (but I'm not familiar with different models). But my Garmin has Wi-Fi which means I can normally connect it to the internet if there is some sort of data connection available.

2. with no internet connection then you have to use local offline route planning/creation which for me the easiest way is on the Garmin itself. Things like cycle.travel create nicer and better routes but the local Garmin created ones work and proved mostly cycle friendly and as I'd normally have all day to get from A to B the shortest/fastest/most efficient was not crucial.

If iPhone/iPad/iOS based then MapOut is an excellent app and one I'd join others in throughly recommending.



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Paulatic
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Paulatic »

I manage to, blog, keep up with this forum, make routes all using an IPhone. Something larger might be easier work but a lot larger and heavier.
Lezyne computer connects with iPhone via Bluetooth so I can draw routes on MapOut, cycle.travel, or any other and export to Lezyne but you do need access to data for that aspect.
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teamonster
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by teamonster »

Not sure if your Explore has bluetooth etc, but I use Komoot app on I phone now to plan my routes. That syncs via Bluetooth to my Garmin 820 and loads the files straight in. It works seamlessly and Komoot is a very easy app to use.
bohrsatom
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by bohrsatom »

LittleGreyCat wrote:
Sadly my Garmin Explore doesn't have an SD card for storage.


If it has a USB connection, and mounts to your computer as an external disk (ie no requirement to use special software to copy files) then the same concept will work. You can just connect the Garmin direct to the device (I recommend a TripMate nano) and follow the process in my document
Richard Fairhurst
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Richard Fairhurst »

LittleGreyCat wrote:Do I have to take a Windows PC with me or is there a straightforward way to transfer a file from, for example, an Android tablet?


The Edge Explore has Bluetooth so it should be easy, insofar as anything's ever easy where Garmins are concerned:

  • Download your route as a GPX (or TCX) file from cycle.travel
  • Open the file in the Garmin Connect app on your tablet (or RouteCourse as an alternative)
  • Choose "Send to Device", and this will send it via Bluetooth to your Edge
  • Find it under "Saved Courses" on the Edge
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Psamathe
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Psamathe »

Richard Fairhurst wrote:
LittleGreyCat wrote:Do I have to take a Windows PC with me or is there a straightforward way to transfer a file from, for example, an Android tablet?


The Edge Explore has Bluetooth so it should be easy, insofar as anything's ever easy where Garmins are concerned:

  • Download your route as a GPX (or TCX) file from cycle.travel
  • Open the file in the Garmin Connect app on your tablet (or RouteCourse as an alternative)
  • Choose "Send to Device", and this will send it via Bluetooth to your Edge
  • Find it under "Saved Courses" on the Edge

On my iPhone I can only send gpx via Garmin Connect mobile app as it does not seem to identify itself as accepting tcx (which are much better for routes on the Garmin. To get a tcx to the Garmin I have to upload it to Garmin Connect web site and through that it gets back on the the Garmin itself (though I'm uncertain whether that's through the iPhone app or direct over the Garmin GPS Wi-Fi/internet.

It would be great if I'm failing to do something easy as it would be far quicker and easier to download a tcx send to Garmin connect app (on iPhone) and Bluetooth direct to GPS (without involving Garmin servers, web pages, etc.)

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Tigerbiten
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Re: Planning routes when you are on tour. PC? Tablet?

Post by Tigerbiten »

One thing to think about is how much power do you have/use ??

If you're credit card touring then it's easy as you can recharge everything overnight.
If you're camping then the less power hungry the device the better as any cache battery used to recharge devices will last longer between recharges. That is unless you have a dynamo/solar setup that will let you recharge batteries on the move.
I tend to just use a road atlas to plan the route and then plot the route into my Garmin by hand. But I also tend to be on the road for weeks and to wild camp a fair bit, so the less power I use the easier I find it.

YMMV ........ :D
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