Finding service points for the trans am trail.

[Soulboy#1]

Hi All

So just under a month and I'll be heading to DC from London and I'm 80% organised. So I've managed to download osm basemap to my Garmin 800 and purchase the transam digital route from ACA (had a chat with the guys from ACA who were very helpful). So as I didn't want to be loaded down with maps as im going alone, I've plumed for the Digi route. I can see it has service points on each section of the route by an icon (restaurant etc) but that's all it gives......an icon. Does anyone know a cheap and easy way of being able to access information for points of interest, bike shops, food, gas stations? ACA recommended the East Trails app on the iPhone but I guess I'd then need a phone plan for my iPhone when I'm in the US. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[JHamelman]

If you have purchased the our digital data, when you click on the icon you will find exactly the same information we have for that location as is found on the printed maps. Lodging, bike shops, libraries, campgrounds have name, address, phone and other tidbits of information as we know them. Food services such as convenience stores and restaurants show their location when off route or outside of a town. If these are located within a town, they are associated with the town rather than their actual location because we do not have that.

I hope this helps.

Jennifer

[roderick.young]

I have found the ACA maps alone to be quite adequate for finding services on the Trans Am.  But I come from the days when a paper map is all one might have for the trip.  If you are uncomfortable not having instant information on everything, I'd suggest you get something like this http://www.tracfone-orders.com/bpdirect/tracfone/PhoneDetails.do?action=view&_ga=null&productVariantExtensionId=52251614

The phone above is free, with purchase of an airtime card.  The $25 airtime card I bought gives me 60 days, 500 minutes, and 500 MB of data.  I know, 500 MB doesn't seem like a lot to a Millenial, but my intention is not to run a lot of apps on it, and especially not stream video.  Also, if I was from the UK, this kind of phone would give me a cheap way to make local calls, perhaps ahead to the next town for information.  I don't honestly know whether someone outside the USA can buy this kind of disposable phone, but if not, one possibility is to have it shipped to a friend along the trail, somewhere - perhaps a warm showers or airbnb offering.  Or you might be able to find one on eBay (not free, but possibly still worth it).

Now here's the really good part.  I got my disposable phone, and it already works as an Android device, even without activation.  If I can find wi-fi (not generally a problem at TransAm stops), I can surf the web, do email, even download Google maps in preparation for being on the road with no data access.  The GPS works on the phone, so I can use it for turn-by-turn directions on the road if I wish.  I'm seriously considering not bothering to activate the phone until I need it.

[Soulboy#1]

I have found the ACA maps alone to be quite adequate for finding services on the Trans Am.  But I come from the days when a paper map is all one might have for the trip.  If you are uncomfortable not having instant information on everything, I'd suggest you get something like this http://www.tracfone-orders.com/bpdirect/tracfone/PhoneDetails.do?action=view&_ga=null&productVariantExtensionId=52251614

The phone above is free, with purchase of an airtime card.  The $25 airtime card I bought gives me 60 days, 500 minutes, and 500 MB of data.  I know, 500 MB doesn't seem like a lot to a Millenial, but my intention is not to run a lot of apps on it, and especially not stream video.  Also, if I was from the UK, this kind of phone would give me a cheap way to make local calls, perhaps ahead to the next town for information.  I don't honestly know whether someone outside the USA can buy this kind of disposable phone, but if not, one possibility is to have it shipped to a friend along the trail, somewhere - perhaps a warm showers or airbnb offering.  Or you might be able to find one on eBay (not free, but possibly still worth it).

Now here's the really good part.  I got my disposable phone, and it already works as an Android device, even without activation.  If I can find wi-fi (not generally a problem at TransAm stops), I can surf the web, do email, even download Google maps in preparation for being on the road with no data access.  The GPS works on the phone, so I can use it for turn-by-turn directions on the road if I wish.  I'm seriously considering not bothering to activate the phone until I need it.

Hi Roderick

Thanks for taking the time to reply. So in a nutshell your saying buy a phone plan (I have an iphone) and use that along the way and pick up wifi where i can for free?

[Nyimbo]

I have cricket wireless on my iPhone which uses AT&T,s towers and  I had the $35 a month regular plan that gives me 3gb data per month.  I went into the Cricket shop last week because I saw an ad for $55 per month for unlimited data.

  I decided to treat myself to that for the duration of the trip. That's an extra $20 fee per month and I can stream baseball game audio and the basketball playoff video in the evenings and anything else I may want along the way.  I have been trying it this week at home and it is working out well.  I won't have to worry about finding wifi anywhere along the way.  I don't see a need for it normally at home but I am thinking that on the ride it is going to be a nice luxury.

[roderick.young]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. So in a nutshell your saying buy a phone plan (I have an iphone) and use that along the way and pick up wifi where i can for free?

That's the basic idea.

The minimum-trouble solution would be to use your iPhone as-is, but that would be expensive without a foreign data plan.  Our friend was surprised to find that her iPhone worked in France, so used it normally for a week, racking up a $4000 bill in the process.

A reasonable solution would be to buy a plan from your provider that will work in the USA for the amount of time that you plan to be on the trail, and still keep mobile data turned off, relying on wi-fi for updates normally.

The lowest-cost way to go would be to get one of the pay-as-you-go phones like the one I mentioned above, activate it, and then you'll have phone service (even international calling, at a premium), and a smart phone that you can use almost exclusively on wi-fi, conserving your data allocation.  This is the route I'm taking.  Also, if I lose the phone, the financial impact is just $25, and I can pick up another at a Wal-Mart (a common American retail store) along the way.  Were I to accidentally turn on data on an iPhone in a foreign country, that could exceed $25 in a matter of minutes.  The downside is that if your iPhone is your camera, you'll want to bring it, anyway, as cheap phones have horrible cameras.  I have a standalone camera, so this will not be an issue.

[Motomarcus]

Hi Jennifer -

I purchased the paper maps prior to the availability of the digital.  Does the digital do turn by turn navigation/prompting? Or is it more of static map (like the paper copies). Trying to determine if I want to invest again in this or just stick with what I have. Headed out this June.

Thanks for any insight.

Mark

If you have purchased the our digital data, when you click on the icon you will find exactly the same information we have for that location as is found on the printed maps. Lodging, bike shops, libraries, campgrounds have name, address, phone and other tidbits of information as we know them. Food services such as convenience stores and restaurants show their location when off route or outside of a town. If these are located within a town, they are associated with the town rather than their actual location because we do not have that.

I hope this helps.

Jennifer

[Soulboy#1]

Hi Jennifer -

I purchased the paper maps prior to the availability of the digital.  Does the digital do turn by turn navigation/prompting? Or is it more of static map (like the paper copies). Trying to determine if I want to invest again in this or just stick with what I have. Headed out this June.

Thanks for any insight.

Mark

If you have purchased the our digital data, when you click on the icon you will find exactly the same information we have for that location as is found on the printed maps. Lodging, bike shops, libraries, campgrounds have name, address, phone and other tidbits of information as we know them. Food services such as convenience stores and restaurants show their location when off route or outside of a town. If these are located within a town, they are associated with the town rather than their actual location because we do not have that.

I hope this helps.

Jennifer

Problem i have just discovered is that after buying the routes from ACA and loading them onto the Garmin with the service points, the service points dont show on the Garmin?

Any suggestions?

[JHamelman]

Problem i have just discovered is that after buying the routes from ACA and loading them onto the Garmin with the service points, the service points dont show on the Garmin?

Any suggestions?

Check out the quick guide we have on our website for the Garmin 800 (I believe that is the unit you are using) under the heading Service Points.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/digital-data-for-devices/tracks/gps-devices/garmin-edge-800/

Jennifer