POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Riding with Your Own Individual GPS Unit

Incorporating the GPS Route Dataset Files into Your Personal GPS Unit • GPS Route Dataset Files
Supported Personal GPS Units • Smartphones
Personal GPS Unit Usage if We Provide GPS Units to Other Participants

If you are looking to purchase your own GPS unit we highly recommend using one of our events as the excuse/opportunity to do so

• Click Here for more information about Purchasing Your Own GPS Unit.

Incorporating the GPS Route Dataset Files into Your Personal GPS Unit
If (and only if) you indicated that you will be riding with your own personal GPS unit when you registered, we will send you a separate e-mail shortly thereafter that contains a specific link to download the GPS route dataset files.

It is absolutely critical that you are able to upload all routes for the entire event into your GPS unit and ensure it works properly before the start of the event, particularly for multi-day events. We will not be able to upload them into your individual GPS unit for you during the event itself and we do not recommend bringing your laptop on any event because we can't guarantee it won't get damaged as we move baggage around. We also can't let anyone except staff members use our laptops for any reason during the event to prevent them from getting broken.

Before we finalize the route for the current year's event we will post an initial set of GPS route dataset files (either last year's routes or new, tentative routes) for you to download so you can practice uploading them into your GPS unit and make sure they are going to work. As you do so, please feel free to ask us any questions and let us know any about problems you might have.

After we perform our pre-event route scout and finalize the route we will post the final GPS route dataset files (updated with any changes) and let you know they are available. You will need to remove any old routes from your GPS unit and update it with the most current one.

We also want to learn from your experience in order to add specific GPS units to the list of units we can support below, especially the ones more popular with cyclists, and we would greatly appreciate letting let us know how well (successfully or unsuccessfully) you were able to make our GPS route dataset files work with your GPS unit. After the event, we may also follow up with individual participants in order to get a better understanding of how well the GPS route dataset files worked with their specific unit.

GPS Route Dataset Files
Our route and all GPS route dataset files are the proprietary, copyrighted intellectual property of Bicycle Illinois and are provided only for the private, personal use of officially registered participants of the related event. Considering the countless hours and miles and money we've invested into the route in order to perfect them if we give away our routes, we give away our events. If you download any GPS route dataset file please do not share it with anyone else or post it publicly such as on Garmin Route Connect, mapmyride.com, or any other similar route sharing site.

GPS route dataset files will be available to download for every event in the following formats:

• .gdb (versions 2 and 3)
• .gpx
• .mps
• .txt
• .dxf
• .tcx
• .fit

If the file format you need is not listed, please let us know and we will try to create it for you.

For shorter events, routes will be by individual ride segment from rest stop to rest stop for all file formats in order to best incorporate different route options.

For longer multi-day events, routes will be by individual ride segment from rest stop to rest stop for all .fit format files in order to best incorporate different route options. For other file formats, the routes will generally be available by day, although some days will have several routes depending on the length of the route and also the number of different options each day.

Supported Personal GPS Units
We guarantee that the .gdb version 3 and .gpx file formats will be able to upload into and be followed by the following GPS units:

• Garmin GPSMap 60Csx
• Garmin eTrex Vista HCx
• Garmin eTrex Legend HCx
• Garmin eTrex Venture Cx
• Garmin eTrex Legend Cx

The route dataset files must be uploaded into these units through Garmin MapSource software and a USB cable connection. Click Here to download the free Garmin MapSource software for PC's.

We guarantee that the .fit format files will be able to upload into and be followed by the following GPS units:

• Garmin Edge 800

The route dataset files can be uploaded directly into the Edge 800 unit through just a USB cable connection (additional software is unnecessary). We do not recommend copying any files to a MicroSD memory card installed in the Garmin Edge 800 because the Locations.fit file cannot be read from any location on the memory card. All downloaded files will fit within the unit's base memory.

Unfortunately we do not have nearly as much hands on experience with or intimate knowledge about any other GPS unit and with the myriad of different GPS units and manufacturers and we cannot guarantee that these route dataset files will be compatible with any other one.

Smartphones
If you own a smartphone with GPS mapping capability (e.g. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.) we recommend using it on a supplementary basis only since there are several significant limitations to using it as your exclusive GPS unit at this time.

Right now, the biggest limitation to using smartphones is that we have been unable to find a specific reliable application to install on your smartphone that will allow you to upload our GPS route dataset files and then navigate by them on the road. If you are familiar with such an application please let us know - we would be VERY interested to hear about it and try it out!

Another significant limitation with smartphones is that most smartphone GPS mapping applications rely on continuously downloading base map data into order to keep the map current with where you are at as you travel. Accordingly, they must rely on cell phone coverage which can be unreliable in some places. In addition, downloaded data can count against your monthly data quota based on your specific cell phone plan and if you exceed your monthly data quota you might not be able to download data and update maps at all.

Relatively short battery lives are also a major issue with smartphones, particularly if you cannot easily replace the battery (such as the iPhone). If you can easily replace the battery however (such as the Samsung Galaxy), this problem can be overcome by purchasing an extra battery (or two) and carrying it with you on the road to make sure you have enough power to last throughout the entire ride.

• Click Here for more information on GPS Unit Power.

We do see the progression and increasing prevalence of smartphone GPS technology as the next technological wave of the future for GPS based cycling navigation and will continue to work on incorporating this exciting new capability into our events as the technology improves.

Personal GPS Unit Usage if We Provide GPS Units to Other Participants
When we decide to provide individual GPS units to every participant who does not already have their own instead of painting the route, we strongly prefer that you still use your own personal GPS unit.

• Click Here for more information about Us Providing GPS Units to Participants.

This is because your own GPS unit will probably already be installed on your bike and you will already be very familiar and comfortable using it, or you will want to use the event as an opportunity to learn how to use it better. Also, you won't have to install our handlebar mount or rearrange anything on your handlebars or learn the operation of an entirely new GPS unit. In fact, we have our own GPS units so well set up on our bikes and we're so familiar with using them that even if we got another GPS unit to use for free during an event we would probably turn it down because we wouldn't want to install it or be able to use it nearly as well as the units we already own. If you continue to use your own GPS unit you will also be more likely to take better care of it and remember to remove it from your bicycle after you are done riding for security purposes, and using your own unit instead of one of ours will allow us to provide more GPS units to more participants who don't have one and also have more units available as backups on the road in case of any type of GPS malfunction.

If you indicated you will have your own GPS unit when you registered we will assume that you will use your own GPS unit, batteries, and handlebar mount for the entire event (even if we are supplying them to other participants). Accordingly, we not provide one for you unless you specifically request to use one of our GPS units before the end of regular registration.