South-East OHIO Ride (30May – 1June) - Route and Maps

Who: Just yourself or we can ride in small groups leaving from Plymouth, MI

What: Weekend ride from Detroit to the Hocking Hills area in SE OHIO, return by Sunday

When: Depart: FRIDAY, 30 May at 3:30pm arrive back in Detroit SUNDAY, 1 June by 2pm

Where: PARK-&-RIDE behind Denny’s Restaurant 39550 Ann Arbor Road, PLYMOUTH, MI (near my house). (it will be in the .gdb and .gpx files)

Why: to experience twisty and hilly SE Ohio

This ride is based on an article in the Feb 2008 American Motorcyclist “Ride Guide OHIO” (page 26-40). It is a loop from Columbus (in the North-West) and swings South and then East through the Hocking Hills area, and returns North and then West back into the Columbus area. The Original AMA route is also included (Green Track) that is too long to ride in 1 day, but you can do it on your own if you want. I had to trim the ride down somewhat to get us back in Detroit by Sunday.

For everyone who wants to ride in SMALL Groups, we will meet at the PARK-&-RIDE parking lot behind DENNY’s RESTURANT. I am looking for GPS Ride leaders. Email me at gregcrago@gmail.com It should be a twisty, hilly ride once we get to the Hocking Hills Area. The ride is broken into 3 parts. Part 1: 4:15hr Ride down from the Detroit Area to LOGAN, OH (starting point), Part 2: 5:15hr Ride the twisty-hilly loop around the Hocking Hills area, Part 3: 4:15hr Ride back to the Detroit area.

A Word of caution: This is a Twisty-Hilly ride and there may be Amish people, horses and wagons on the road. The riding hazards are that oncoming traffic might swerve into YOUR LANE trying to avoid these people. This is especially dangerous when cresting a hill and you meet a bumper head-on. I tend to crest hills on the right side of the lane, just in case a vehicle has drifted over the centerline. Sunset at LOGAN, OH on MAY 30th will be at 8:49pm. Since it will take about 4:15hr to get to Logan, OH, I suggest an early start to avoid arriving at night. We will be camping at a local campground, there are hotels nearby.

I hope this ride is a way members can enjoy using their GPS devices as navigation tools and not just a moving map device. I have 2 GPS files listed below so you can download the Route and some Waypoints to your GPS device to either; Navigate yourself on this ride, Be a ride leader to those members that do not have GPS devices yet, or to follow along within a group ride and have the confidence knowing the route and when the ride leader will be turning.

If you are new to GPS navigation, this IS NOT THE TIME TO BE LEARNING HOW TO USE YOUR GPS. I find it much safer to read your GPS manual first, play with your GPS while sitting in a chair, then when you think you are more familiar with your GPS, pick a local destination, and have a friend drive while YOU NAVIGATE ONLY. Once you get familiar actually using the GPS to navigate, pick 5 more destinations and tell the driver when to turn. This experience is critical so you understand what information the GPS provides and doesn’t provide. You will discover its usefulness and its shortcomings. After you get use to Navigating with the GPS, then you can start to DRIVE and use the GPS as a navigation device. After a MONTH of using the GPS for NAVIGATION constantly, would I consider you ready to use it while riding. It is very important that your concentration is on Riding and not on the GPS. That said, I hope to see more GPS navigation Rides so club members can ride at their own pace.

Below are 2 GPS files, one in the standard GARMIN .gdb format, the other in a more GENERIC .gpx format for OTHER GPS MANUFACTURERS (Garmin’s MapSource will also import this file.). I also have 2 .pdf files with pictures of the route from Detroit to Logan,OH and ‘the loop’.

 I generated the maps and route using Garmin's MapSource version 6.13.7 mapping software and Garmin's North American City Select version 7 maps product. Route will work fine, guaranteed, on Garmin GPS 276C unit. Should work on other Garmin models using MapSource. I saved off the route in .GDB, and .GPX (GPS Exchange) formats. The .GDB format is a more recent route file format supported in more recent versions of MapSource (version 6.1 and forward), The .GPX format is a XML-based GPS data interchange format that is recognized by most GPS mapping programs, so even if you're not using the Garmin MapSource program, the mapping software you are using may still be able to read up the route from the .GPX formatted file.

Incidentally, if you don't already know, you can download and update to the newest version of the MapSource software for free. Visit the Garmin MapSource download page to download the update. Dial-up Internet users beware - it's a big file (47 MB). And the update will only work if the MapSource program has already been installed on your system from the software CD shipped with your Gamin GPS device.

Instructions for loading the .gdb or .gpx files and MAPS into your GPS unit.

·        BACKUP ALL information on your GPS first!!! Downloading MAPS on GARMIN GPS devices REPLACE the existing MAPS. If you want to preserve the MAPS that are in your GPS, Upload the Maps, Route, Tracks, and Waypoints FIRST and save them in a file to preserve and download later. Waypoints, Routes and Tracks are appended in my GARMIN 276c when downloaded. After many downloads, you will start to get many waypoints, and routes and it will be hard to search through all of the waypoints. I tend to upload everything off of my GPS, save it in a file from MapSource, then download a ride (like this), afterwards, I erase everything on my GPS and re-download my original file that I had backed up. If this sounds too complicated, STOP and just use your GPS as a moving map.

·        Open your Mapping Software (I use MapSource 6.13.7)

·        Open the Hocking Hills.gdb (or Hocking Hills.gpx) file

·        Now you need to modify the “HOME to Logan” route to have YOUR House as the STARTING WAYPOINT (ie, you need to change the location of the HOME Waypoint to your house.

o       Select the Waypoint Tab

o       Find the HOME waypoint (looks like a house)

o       Right-click on the waypoint, select “Show Selected Waypoint on Map” (this should center the HOME waypoint in the Map Window.

o       Change to the Selection tool (white arrow)

o       Left-Click once on the HOME waypoint (the cursor should change to a black flag with an arc arrow)

o       Now move in the Map Window to YOUR HOUSE (use the arrow keys and + or – to zoom in/out)

o       Once you click again, the 2 routes that use the HOME waypoint should be re-routed from your house.

·        If you have a GPS that has the entire country maps preloaded, SKIP THIS AREA

o       Goto the Route tab and select all three routes. Then Right-click and select “Select Maps Around Routes” (this will only load maps that the routes pass through. (should be pink squares around each route)

·        Plug in your GPS to the computer serial cable

·        Turn your GPS on

·        Hit the Download to GPS symbol (Looks like a GPS with a black arrow pointing down at it)

·        The computer should pop-up a window and ask if you want to send Maps, Waypoints, Tracks, Routes, Select all 4.

·        Hit SEND (could be awhile depending on your GPS).

·        After the download has completed, disconnect the GPS, and activate the HOME to Logan route.

Ride routes GPS files:

·         Click here to download the route file in Garmin .GDB format.

·         Click here to download the route file in the GPX Exchange .GPX format.

NOTE! The HockingHills.gpx file is in XML data format. If you left-click the link for it in the Microsoft Internet Exploder web browser, it will display the XML directly in the browser window. Whoops - not what you want. Instead, right-click the link and choose 'Save Target As...'. But wait! Even this is obnoxious. If you're using Internet Exploder version 7, it 'sees' this file as an XML file, and it then wants to save the file off as named 'HockingHills.xml' instead of 'HockingHills.gpx'. Bah! So change the filename extension from '.xml to '.gpx before clicking the 'Save' button and all will be well.

Ride routes maps:

·         Click here to download the .PDF file of the map showing the route to Logan, and click here to download the .PDF file of the detail map of ‘the loop’.

NOTE! In Internet Exploder if the Acrobat Reader plug-in is installed left-clicking the link for a .PDF file will bring up the document in an IE browser window. You can save the file from there by clicking the diskette icon on the toolbar. Or, alternatively, right-click the link and then choose 'Save Target As...' to download the file directly instead.

Post Questions to the Club Forum, catch Greg Crago at West side Club Breakfasts, or email me at gregcrago@gmail.com