Messages

1

Gear Talk / Re: Schwalbe tires

« on: March 29, 2013, 08:25:14 am »

I've been using the Marathon Plus tires on the bike I use to commute to work for the last year as well as run various errands.  I've been happy with their performance and haven't had a flat yet.

For six years I've had Marathon Plus tires on my touring bike without a single flat.  I highly recommend them.

2

General Discussion / Re: Swiss Alpine Bike Tour 2012 - Photo Gallery

« on: September 20, 2012, 09:09:33 pm »

I'd love to see the GPX track!

I live in Switzerland and sometimes forget what's all around me.  Thanks for sharing this beautiful part of this amazing country.  You've given me an idea for my next tour!

3

GPS Discussion / Re: GPS Data Wish List

« on: August 23, 2012, 09:48:33 pm »

I would consider two more things in the future management of your GPS data.  My thoughts are specific to waypoints and not routing information:

First, consider adding an API to query the data.  For example, give me all campsites within 30km of a given location, or give me all the restaurants along the Northern Tier Route.  This would open the doors for the intelligent generation of waypoint lists that are specific to a users needs.  They can download the data that interests them the most and then upload it to their device.  Furthermore, such an API would allow third party developers to write smartphone applications that query and display the data.  This would be a great asset to those without GPS devices.

Second, consider taking a wiki approach to the data and allow users to rate, comment, and flag waypoints.  A collaborative approach would allow the best data to trickle to the top while dated or inaccurate data would be removed.

Good luck with your redesign!
Chris

4

GPS Discussion / Re: G7towin.exe doesn't work on Apple. What would?

« on: July 12, 2012, 11:41:41 am »

I run G7towin in a Windows XP Virtual Box (https://www.virtualbox.org/).Â

5

General Discussion / Re: Web application for tracking journey straight on the map

« on: July 02, 2012, 05:48:06 am »

Hi Paolo. I have the same reservation as Joe for a different reason. I am not about to create a social networking presence, with its enormous violations of privacy and a gateway for spammers, just to try your app. If you ever make it stand alone, I'd be delighted to comment.

I haven't seen the original application, but I assume he's using OpenID (not OAuth) for authentication.  If he is, then it has nothing to do with creating a social networking presence.  From the openid.net website at http://openid.net/get-an-openid/what-is-openid/:

OpenID allows you to use an existing account to sign in to multiple websites, without needing to create new passwords.

Please correct me if I'm missing something.

6

General Discussion / Re: Share how you got $ & time off to tour

« on: June 04, 2012, 10:14:54 pm »

I'd love to hear some stories from members on how you found the time off and the cash to afford a long term bike tour.

It helps to live in Europe, where paid vacation can easily be between 4-6 weeks per year.  I've used this for tours, but becoming self employed has made this much easier.

7

GPS Discussion / Re: Advice for GPS tracking device so family can follow my cross-country ride?

« on: March 02, 2012, 10:54:23 pm »

I will have my iPad with me and plan to keep a log each day. I will download your app and keep you updated.  Thanks

Great!  Your mileage may vary with the iPad depending if you have the model with 3G.  The 3G model has a proper GPS, while the model without 3G depends on local WiFi to determine your location.  Have a great tour!

8

GPS Discussion / Re: Advice for GPS tracking device so family can follow my cross-country ride?

« on: March 02, 2012, 09:33:31 am »

If you have an iPhone or iPad then check out TrackMyTour (I'm the creator of this app).  It's not a real time tracker so battery drain isn't a concern.  It also lets you queue points offline when no network is available to submit later when you're back online.  Here's a sample map from my tour last summer: http://trackmytour.com/g68Px.

9

GPS Discussion / Re: GPS with enough memory for all southern tier waypoints - garmin 800?

« on: February 20, 2012, 11:46:47 pm »

Check out the POI Loader from Garmin at http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/.  POIs are similar to waypoints but are handled differently within the unit (at least with my Garmin eTrex Legend Cx).  I was able to upload thousands of campsites into my device, which would not have been possible if I had added them as standard waypoints.

10

General Discussion / Re: Must have iPhone apps

« on: February 14, 2012, 03:56:10 pm »

It's great to see so many recommendation for the TrackMyTour and Warmshowers apps!  I'm the developer of these apps and am happy to see the popularity grow with the touring community.

Another must-have app is OpenMaps.  It links into the OpenCycleMap and works offline, which is essential when roaming in a foreign country.

11

General Discussion / Re: Great Music For My Tour? Suggestions?

« on: September 01, 2011, 11:17:03 pm »

"Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd is always on my playlist.  It always brings me back to the Czech countryside (http://trackmytour.com/dsV0g#17219) when I hear it.

I agree that headphones are dangerous and have little place in cycling.  That's why I use a Podio MP3 player (http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20090505/podio-mp3-player-for-cyclists/).  I love this thing and highly recommend it as a replacement to headphones.

12

General Discussion / Re: Cycling in Switzerland

« on: August 06, 2011, 11:47:44 am »

Here is a description and profile of the Alpine Panorama Route.  There are some major climbs on that route:

http://www.veloland.ch/en/routen_detail.cfm?id=20808&tour=route&art=national

I live at the opposite end of where you're starting, so I regret I can't offer storage space for your boxes.  Have a great ride!

13

General Discussion / Re: Location-tracking website (route-specific)

« on: August 01, 2011, 04:40:27 am »

I'm the creator and developer of TrackMyTour, and can add a little here.  I would like to support other platforms such as Android and Windows7, but it's just a matter of resources.  TrackMyTour is a side project that I've writen in my spare time, and adding more platforms would require more time and money that I'm able to commit.  Ultimately, I would like to open the APIs for TrackMyTour and allow third party developers to create their own client.  I'm still a long way to figuring out how that would work.

(weirdly the iPhone app seems to offer functionality that you can't get on the actual website, e.g. following people's tours).

TrackMyTour is still a work in progress and I'm currently rewriting the entire following thing.  The main reason it didn't go into the website is that following is essentially a bookmark, which most people can already do with their browser.  There are a few other essential things I need to add the website such as search and perhaps a tighter Facebook integration.

Great concept!   It would be fun to look at a map of the country that had little flags for every cross country cyclist out there.... sort of like an air traffic control map.   Red flags for people going west to east,  blue flags for east to west.        As it stands now,  many cyclists have blogs or use track my tour so you can see the individual's location and progress, but it would be nice to have many cyclists plotted on one map.

TrackMyTour has a feature like this, which you can see here: http://trackmytour.com/tours/.  That's an interesting idea to colour code the pin depending on their direction.

I enjoy seeing TrackMyTour discussed in the forums, and always welcome feedback and ideas to improve the app.  Thanks!

14

GPS Discussion / Re: GPS tracking

« on: May 10, 2011, 10:08:28 pm »

I've written an iPhone app for bike touring called TrackMyTour.  It's a small blogging type service with an emphasis on location.  It's not a real-time tracker, which is good for keeping battery consumption and roaming costs at a minimum.  You can see where some people are touring now with the app at http://trackmytour.com/tours/?type=bicycle.

15

GPS Discussion / Re: The IPad2 solution...What Do You Think?

« on: March 27, 2011, 11:02:18 pm »

I haven't toured with the iPad, but many times with the iPhone which shares many characteristics.  It gets most of its use when I tour alone and after I've setup camp for the night.  What I like is that it does so much in such a small package.  Namely, it's an mp3 player, e-book reader, gps, connection to the world (internet radio, e-mail, www, news, phone, Skype), gives weather forecasts, and has a cheap camera.  I don't necessarily use it for all of these things, but it does give you an idea of what's possible.

There are many people who tour with a netbook to write and post their travelogue.  The iPad or iPhone can also be used for this, although you probably wouldn't want to type at length with the onscreen keyboard.

For micro blogging it's perfect.  I've written a bike touring app called TrackMyTour, which was recently updated to support the iPad.  It was reviewed on the ACA website just over a year ago: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2010/02/tourist-20-trackmytour-iphone-app.html.  It's a micro blogging app, which focuses on your location so friends and family can follow your progress on a map.  As cool as this is, I'm not certain I would still bring the iPad when I already have the iPhone with me.