Riding the BMW TCD 2009
Camping Demo Ride Using Your GPS

So you're a GPS user and would like to navigate the Camping Demo ride using your nifty, oh-so-handy, satellite navigation receiver - a.k.a, GPS. Ok, you can do that. But be advised - setting up your GPS to correctly and exactly follow a pre-configured route created by someone else takes a little more effort than is normally required for using your GPS. This is not just a simple download to your GPS and go process. Actually, you could do that - but it's quite possible that the route that your GPS ultimately follows would not match the configured ride route. This is not the end of the world, and you would quite probably wind up at Jim and Ruth's at the end of the ride - you may simply ride a somewhat different route than the others. Ah, but so what - it could be an adventure!

On the other hand, if you want to follow the ride route as planned and configured in the downloadable map files, you'll need to read on and follow the instructions.

So, bottom line is this - you probably need to be a bit of a computer and GPS geek to make this work correctly. It ain't rocket science, but it will require a bit of patience and attention to detail. If you find this all just a little bit confusing and intimidating, then bag it. Print off the maps and follow them. And/or print off the route instructions and use them, with or without the maps. Or just follow one of the ride leaders. Just don't whine to me about how complicated this GPS stuff is. It is what it is. Like Red Skelton used to say, "I just do 'em, I don't explain 'em!"

Given the foregoing, why would one bother to do this at all? One, if you're a geek, because it's GPS geek fun. Second, if you do this correctly you'll be able to let your GPS do the route navigation for you, so you can focus on the ride, roads and traffic instead of staring down at some piece of paper - be that a map, route instruction sheet, whatever.

Here's the overview of what you will need to do:

  1. Download the GPS route file from the link on this page for the ride route you want to use (the pavement or dual sport route). The route file contains both a route and a fixed track of the planned route.

  2. Launch your mapping program (instructions will be provided for using the Garmin Mapsource program) and open up/import the downloaded ride route file.

  3. In your mapping program recalculate the route to use whatever map data is installed for your GPS.

  4. Compare the recalculated route to the track that was included with the downloaded route file. If the recaculated route and the track match completely, you're good to go.

    If the recalculated route doesn't match the track completely, then click and drag the route at points where the route and track don't match up to force the route to follow the same path as the track.

  5. Once the recalculated route and track match exactly, download the route to your GPS and you should be good to go.

The detailed instructions for accomplishing the above steps are at the bottom of this page. It is assumed that you know how to use your mapping software, that you know how to connect your GPS to your PC for downloading, and that you know how to download a route from your PC mapping software to your GPS device.

The GPS route files were created using Garmin's MapSource version 6.13.7 map program and Garmin's North American City Select version 4.01 maps product (the maps product shipped with Garmin GPS V units). The routes will work fine, guaranteed, as is, when used with the Garmin GPS V unit. They will probably work on other Garmin models as well, but I don't have any experience using this work with other Garmin devices. It is almost certain that you will need to recalculate the route to correctly use your GPS' map data if you are not using the GPS V and NA City Select 4.01 maps data. Instructions are provided below for using the routes with the Garmin MapSource PC software and other Garmin GPS devices.

The route files are provided in .GDB, .MPS 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), and the .MPS format is the original route file format supported from the first versions of MapSource. 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 software, the mapping software you are using may still be able to read up the route from the .GPX format file. You can learn which version of the MapSource program you're using by choosing Help->About MapSource... from the MapSource program main menu bar - the version will be displayed there. Here's the quick guide to which file version to download:

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 (48 MB). And the update, while a full install, will only work if the MapSource program has already been installed on your system from the software CD shipped with your Gamin GPS device.

The GPS route files:

NOTE! - Some web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, may, if you just left-click the links below, simply download the map file data and display it in your browser window as gibberish instead of prompting you to save the file to your PC. Bah! That's not what you want. Furthermore, the browser will rename the files with a different filename extension, either .htm (for .gdp and .mps files) or .xml (for .gpx files). To work around this annoying behavior follow these instructions:

  1. Right-click the link for the GPS map file you want do download to your computer, then choose 'Save Target As...' from the pop-up menu to download the file to your PC.

  2. After the file completes downloading to your PC, go to the location where you saved the downloaded file. If you downloaded a .gdb or .mps format file, you'll need to change the filename from <mapfilename>.htm to <mapfilename>.gdb or <mapfilename>.mps.

    If you downloaded a .gpx format file, you'll need to change the filename from <mapfilename>.xml to <mapfilename>.gpx.

The pavement route GPS route files:

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

Click here to download the pavement route file in Garmin .MPS format.

Click here to download the pavement route file in the GPX Exchnage .GPX format.

The dual sport route GPS route files:

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

Click here to download the dual sport route file in Garmin .MPS format.

Click here to download the dual sport route file in the GPX Exchnage .GPX format.

Instructions for using the GPS route files:

GPS users, take note! Using your GPS to follow a specially crafted route is not as simple as just doing a 'goto' to some desired destination. If you want to follow the ride route as laid out in the map file, then you'd best take the time to read the material below. I've spent significant time preparing these GPS route files for you. The least you can do is take a few minutes to read this material before blindly downloading the route to your GPS, then complaining that the route wasn't correct. You have been warned!

The provided GPS route files will work with Garmin GPS V/City Select Maps map data as is, guaranteed. These route files will almost surely work with other GPSes and map data sets, but the following procedure is strongly recommended to ensure that the route you load into your GPS matches the route that was planned.

You are strongly urged to load the route file into the Garmin MapSource program on your PC and then perform route recalculation in that program. After verifying that the route is correct, download it to your GPS device. Recalculation results will almost certainly be more accurate if done in the MapSource program instead of in your GPS device, even if your GPS device supports route recalculation. Note! If you are using a combination other than a Garmin GPS V device and the Garmin North American City Select maps data, there is NO guarantee that the downloaded route will match the intended route unless you follow the steps below!

  1. Download your choice of GPS route file (.MPS, .GBD or .GPX). If you're using a Garmin GPS and the Garmin MapSource PC software, .MPS or .GDB are the best choices. .GPX is best candidate for non-Garmin products.

  2. Launch your mapping program (e.g., MapSource for Garmin) and open the downloaded GPS route file.

  3. Following steps apply for Garmin MapSource program; other mapping programs may offer similar capabilities, but it will be up to you to figure out how to access them.

    1. Display at least some portion of the route within the program map view window.

    2. Using the Selection Tool (the arrow pointer), position the mouse pointer tip over the route somewhere and click to select the route - the route will change color to yellow.

    3. Again, with the mouse pointer tip positioned over the the route somewhere, right-click with your mouse. Choose 'Recalculate Route' from the pop-up menu. The MapSource program will recalculate the loaded route.

    4. Compare the recalculated route with fixed track of the route included in the downloaded route file. If the route and track match exactly (the route completely overlays and obscures the track), you're set.

      If the route displayed in MapSource doesn't match the fixed track at some point or points (you'll see portions of the fixed track that diverge from the recalculated route), then you can either a) ride your very own personalized ride route variation, or b) use the Selection Tool to click on the route and drag to force the addition of an additional intermediate waypoint to force the route to match the fixed track of the intended route.

    5. Proceed to download the route to your GPS.

By the way, for purposes of following these routes it is also strongly recommended that you disable the route auto recalculation feature in your GPS device if you can. Once your GPS device recalculates a route while enroute, the original route will be altered. You will then have to stop navigating the route, then reactivate the route again to resume with the accurate route loaded. With the auto recalculation feature disabled if you go off route you can look at your GPS map display and see where the route is and figure out how to return to and resume it, without your route being changed by the automatic route recalculation feature.

Last updated Thursday, May 14 2009 12:20 PM