Richpips wrote:Get a second GPS. I took one last year as backup.

Make small gpx files. I have 9 for the route. <500 trackpoints each. Set the record frequency to least often.

Happy GPS.

Hi rich. You have said on the forum before that you break a gpx down into small tracks. As not to overload the unit. But how do you do this. I have tried before using a few different programs. But never getting it to work.

Thanks.

Chris

Hi rich. You have said on the forum before that you break a gpx down into small tracks. As not to overload the unit. But how do you do this. I have tried before using a few different programs. But never getting it to work.

Thanks.

Chris

I have "Tracklogs" software which trims a route to a given number of trackpoints.

If anyone wants them let me know and I'll put them on Dropbox.

Thanks rich.

chris

Second GPS for me too. I run an Edge 500 for track logging and an eTrex for mapping, and if I'm properly stuffed I have the PDF of the map on my Google Drive offline so I can access it outside network coverage (in theory!!)

In 2013 my Edge died and this was before I had an eTrex.

Hopefully this link works?

Consume in 1 - 9 order.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0p5yiiapbwgf ... dM2aa?dl=0

I got the whole route on 29 a4 sheets last year at 1:65k. As it printed it all double sided it came out as 15 sheets of paper. Most of the navigation is easy, just a few bits where care is needed, but as ever, you can get carried away just riding and forget to take the turn etc if you are not using a gps. I used to find detailed navigation fine to do at speed, but the continued concentration is mentally tiring, which is something you really don't need. Following the line takes 90% of the concentration away, so you can think about other things like how knackered you are.

On my garmin 800 I have an sd card with maps and the route saved - that way any master reset type issues mean I still have the route available.

The only problem wi th using a gps is that you can lose perspective of where you actually are, but I am not sure if this a real problem (I use a route card with key mile ages and villages/food places marked on it so I know how far it is to the next place without having to get the maps out.)

The only problem wi th using a gps is that you can lose perspective of where you actually are

Unless you know up there, this very true.

AlasdairMc plotted the route on road atlas scale maps, which I used for daily orientation.

Trackleaders trail tracker is ready to roll: http://trackleaders.com/highland15

How does this work?

"On my garmin 800 I have an sd card with maps and the route saved - that way any master reset type issues mean I still have the route available."

Sounds like a great solution, but I'm not sure how to implement...

Very useful video from Alistair Humphries showing a few of the HT550 bothies and the infamous Fisherfield River Traverse/Swim

http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/video/mountain-b ... thy-nights

Zdb, when you connect the 800 to a laptop it has 2 folders ; the internal drive is one with all the application software etc in, and the SD card folder. There is a "new files" folder in both. You can drop the gpx into either or both, and the gps can deal with it. The route is then called "route1" or "SD route1" on the 800 when you open up the courses folder.

If your 800 crashes you lose all the routes and logs on the main memory, but the SD card remains intact as a backup.

Not sure if this approach works on other Garmins though.

Quick question on tracking on trackleaders, what tracking interval does everyone set there spot tracker to and does it noticeably effect battery life?

Cheers

Karl

KBRPro wrote:Quick question on tracking on trackleaders, what tracking interval does everyone set there spot tracker to and does it noticeably effect battery life?

Cheers

Karl

not that I'm riding this year but my Gen 2 is fixed to 10 minutes it has done 72hours on one set of aaa's as a test. presumably a short interval will affect battery life but not sure to what extent...

Theres a tread on Bikepacking.net:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/ultra- ... 15-td/540/

Gen1 SPOT - 1 set of lithium batteries will get you 7 days.

Remember, your SPOTcast will only run for 24hours, then you need to reset it.

GregMay wrote:Gen1 SPOT - 1 set of lithium batteries will get you 7 days.

Remember, your SPOTcast will only run for 24hours, then you need to reset it.

I thought the new SPOT trackers had done away with that requirement?

Perhaps... I don't know...if so. HURRAH!

Additionally, the new Unlimited and Extreme tracking plans will send messages until you turn off your SPOT so there is no need to reset after 24 hours.

http://www.globaltelesat.co.uk/satphone ... enger.html

So - it's Plan dependent.

KBRPro wrote:Quick question on tracking on trackleaders, what tracking interval does everyone set there spot tracker to and does it noticeably effect battery life?

Cheers

Karl

from the link in the post above:

SPOT Gen3 has the following battery life based on the tracking frequencies show:
2.5 min tracking interval: 20 days
5 min tracking interval: 25 days
10 min tracking interval: 45 days
30 min tracking interval: 50 days

that's significantly longer battery life then the G2

where are bike shops long the route?

Ilan, there are bike shops in Fort William and a small one in Ullapool (ullapool bicycles.com).
Don't know of any others. Best to assume you won't use any.

Hi Ilan

There are not many bike shops on the route!

Fort Augustus (you should reach this at the end of day 1/early day 2 for most folks): Girvan's Hardware claims to do some bike servicing, but I wouldn't expect it to be very comprehensive.

Near Contin (day 2 sometime). Square Wheels in Strathpeffer which is 3km off the route is a good bike shop.

Ullapool (day 3-6). There is supposedly some kind of bike repair place which isn't open often and only offers very basic services.

Fort William (final day). There is a good bike shop.

That's about it as far as I know.

There is also a bike shop at Ardgay (about 15km off route) which you could get to by leaving the route at Croick.

If you have a mechanical it's worth thinking of alternatives in order to be able to continue your ride. Last year Matt Slater had come from the USA for the event. He had a mechanical near Loch Treig on day one which he couldn't fix. He backtracked many hours to get to Kinlochleven, scratched and then hitch-hiked to Fort William where he eventually got his bike fixed. By this time he had lost so much time he decided to abandon the ride altogether.
He'd have been better off pushing to Corrour train station (maybe only half an hour) and then getting a train to Fort William (might have been quick depending on how long the wait for a train was). He could have then got his bike fixed and got the train back to Corrour before continuing (although still a scratch for using the train).

There may also be some stuff at the Wolftrax trails in Laggan.
There is a round of the scottish XC series there on the sunday but I expect there will be practice on the Saturday and might be burger vans + some trade tents. I'm sure there will also be a load of racers around equipped with plenty of tools.
Could be quite late by the time we pass though.

edit: doh, trails at laggan are called Wolftrax, not Wildcat. If you find yourself at the wildcat trails, a bike shop will be the least of your worries :p

Square Wheels in Strathpeffer is closed Sundays/Mondays but it's worth having a note of their number as Steve is one of the good guys and is often willing to help out by opening specially if there's an "emergency".

The repair place in Ullapool is basic but the owner is pretty smart. He managed to file down a set of Shimano brake pads to fit in some Formula brakes for one of last years participants

There was a trailer at Kyelstrome that offered bike hire, it seemed to have a few spare bits and tools in it.