I posted a while back looking for GPS advice (http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=8186) - thanks to all who provided input. Anway, it was my birthday a couple of weeks back, and after dropping some strong hints (model name, cheap online sources, refusal to talk about other ideas, etc.) my family came through and bought me the Garmin Foretrex 201.

http://www.buster.co.uk/Attersee-Pano.jpg

This is a non-mapping device, but the main plus is the wrist-watch format. I played with it on my commute to work, but used it for the first time in anger last weekend whilst at a wedding in Austria. My GF and I rode around the Attersea, which, according to the GPS and Petra's bike computer was about 60 kms. It worked flawlessly, told us where we were, how far we had gone, what height we were at and what speed we were moving (or not moving) at, etc. Not strictly necessary information, of course, as it's hard to get lost riding in a circle around a lake, but fun nonetheless. It wasn't a very challenging route for the Garmin (no foliage to obscure the view), but I was impressed. I'll post again once I've tried it in tougher conditions.

Once back at home, I got to play with the data. I now have documented evidence, for example, that I had waited for Petra half-way up the final hill... I can also show the route on a map for future reference. Here, for example, is a 3D representation of our ride on a NASA MrSID satellite image:

http://www.buster.co.uk/Attersee3D.jpg

How cool is that, eh? With a good imagination you can link this to the photo above - the photo is taken from where the line down to the lake joins the lake, looking diagonally to the right across the water.

By the way, I also got some great one-on-one advice via email from Joel McNamara who wrote the new Dummies for GPS book. I also read it and would advise anyone who's a newbie to do the same.

The weekend finished without a real MTB ride, but at least we got to see a live band. Anyone see 'European Vacation'?

Can I ask you how much you paid for that thing, and how big it is? look cool...

Can I ask you how much you paid for that thing, and how big it is? look cool...
It was a gift, so I don't know exactly, but the equivalent of about $200. They are cheaper in the US.

As for size, look at Garmin's website. It's about twice the size of a normal wristwatch.

looks cool. too late for a tour de pds. lindarets is now closed. :(

will it also keep us off the unbikeable hiker's trails? ;)

willkommen zuruck

looks cool. too late for a tour de pds
...but too early. It will be used skiing, too!!

Where did you find that NASA SID image? Are those widely available for free anywhere?

that is REALLY cool. How did you a) get the satellite image and b) overlay the GPS info? I have a Garmin also and I usually carry it in my camelback with the antenna velcroed (is that a word?) on the outside. Seeing the route through the blank forest area of MapQuest is losing novelty but overlayed on a topographic satellite image would be great. Thanks for any info.
P.S. I think I saw the same "band" at a Heurigen outside of Vienna last week.

Tschuss

Where did you find that NASA SID image? Are those widely available for free anywhere?
that is REALLY cool. How did you a) get the satellite image and b) overlay the GPS info? Tschuss
I wrote some notes to myself so I could remember how I did this, and I posted them here. (http://www.buster.co.uk/gps.htm#Maps) In short, the MrSid images are available for free here (https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/mrsid.pl). Overlaying the GPS info is easy as long as your GPS has downloading capabilities. You need a program like OziExplorer or Fugawi for this, as well as 3D DEM datasets. Check my primer (http://www.buster.co.uk/gps.htm#Maps) for more details.

Thanks man! is there any US software that anyone knows of that will allow me just to upload the gps results, and then will automatically do this? i saw some software at REI, but I dont know the details, help please!

>Ankur

I'll post again once I've tried it in tougher conditions.

I've used the GPS for 6 months now, for biking, running and once whilst playing soccer. No skiing report yet which is the real test I'm looking forward to.

Anyhow, the learnings so far:

the Foretrex charger, which doubles as the download cable, malfunctioned in the first week. It was replaced without question. Obviously, Garmin had teething problems with it as the new version was a different design. The PC connector now clips into a plug which is about 4 inches off the adapter that clips to the GPS, rather than right on the adapter.
I sometimes lost reception in dense foliage. This was the really dense tree cover that looks dark even on a bright summer day, so it isn't a concern unless you live in a rainforest. When the link is lost, the GPS will calculate the distance from the last known point once the reception is picked up again, so it keeps the total distance covered. It just assumes you moved in a straight line between the last two points. Generally the reception is pretty amazing: I pick up signals without issue in the car, for example.
The watch strap broke whilst playing soccer. I guess it isn't designed for rough play. It was an easy fix with a new pin.
The accuracy is astounding. When I download onto a 1:50.000 map, the travelled line almost always hits the road I was on exactly, even hitting the corners perfectly. On my route to work I can even see a circle as I ride around a roundabout.
The alimeter is accurate, too. I haven't tested this in anger (ie skiing), but it seems to be close to points of known altitude - usually within 10 meters anyway. I don't see the need for an additional barometric altimeter.
Here's another funky 3D shot, this time of my commute to work in the Geneva basin, to reward your reading:

http://www.buster.co.uk/Route-to-Worktb.jpg

Top left is the Jura, bottom right the Alps. The big black area is Lake Geneva. The thin red line is my commute.

Swissbuster, if you need Swiss topos for free go here http://www.swissgeo.ch/index.php?SESSID=8f599d9c31cc28dc4dfc943d15f06dfe You can zoom in on the map then you just have to screen capture and paste the map in photoshop. I managed to get a huge section of 1:50 000 of the area around Sion, it just took a bit of time to collage it all together.

The Garmin Unit is $169 US here at <a href="http://www.thegpsstore.com/Detail-Garmin-Foretrex-201.asp"> the GPS Store</a>

BTW how did you get the satelite maps?? I'm interested in trying that ..

Swissbuster, if you need Swiss topos for free go here http://www.swissgeo.ch/index.php?SESSID=8f599d9c31cc28dc4dfc943d15f06dfe. Cool site, thanks. In the meantime, I, er, "found" a copy of the 1:50.000 maps of Switzerland, so I now have maps for the whole country calibrated for Oziexplorer. Mail me if you want details of how to "find" them.

BTW how did you get the satelite maps?? My primer (http://www.buster.co.uk/gps.htm#Maps)has most of the details. Go here (https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/mrsid.pl)for the MrSID satelite images (each download is approx 200MB!). For 3D rendering, you need Oziexplorer (http://www.oziexplorer.com/)3D and DEM datasets (ftp://edcsgs9.cr.usgs.gov/pub/data/srtm/).

Cool site, thanks. In the meantime, I, er, "found" a copy of the 1:50.000 maps of Switzerland, so I now have maps for the whole country calibrated for Oziexplorer. Mail me if you want details of how to "find" them.

My primer (http://www.buster.co.uk/gps.htm#Maps)has most of the details. Go here (https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/mrsid.pl)for the MrSID satelite images (each download is approx 200MB!). For 3D rendering, you need Oziexplorer (http://www.oziexplorer.com/)3D and DEM datasets (ftp://edcsgs9.cr.usgs.gov/pub/data/srtm/).

Hey man, did you go over your bandwidth or something? Your whole site seems to be down.

DT

Hey man, did you go over your bandwidth or something? Your whole site seems to be down.
DT
...In case anyone has been trying to access the GPS (http://www.buster.co.uk/gps.htm)primer.