Frequently Asked Questions
The place you go when you don't know where to go
Q: How do I get started?
A: Sign up for a
FREE account. Not convinced? Get a sneak peak of our powerful website tools in our
Tour or
Video.
Q: How do I plan a new ride?
A: Simple. Our site uses the latest online map technology. We have street maps, aerial photography, and topo maps (mountain bikers: we didn't forget you). To plot a new route, login to our site, then select Create New. Hit "GO" under Route. Add a name, and brief notes. Then, select Edit or Draw Track in the Map View box. Pinpoint your start point by entering an address, city, or zip code.
Start drawing. In the dropdown under Select Draw/Edit Mode", select Draw Track. Click on your start point and plot your course. Tip: Hold down the mouse button to pan on the map. Use other options to edit, delete, add, or select points.
Q: How do I find rides close to home or on the road?
A: Search our interactive map by address, city, or zipcode.
Q: How can I send workouts from my Garmin or Magellan to your website?
A: You're already GPS savvy? Sweet.
Click here for details.Garmin users, follows steps in Option 1.
Magellan users, jump to Option 2.
Q: What is AllSportGPS?
A: It's software that turns your boring cell phone into a cool fitness gadget. We could ramble on and on. Instead: Watch our
video.
Q: What is the Bicycling Map Project?
A: In Spring 2007, Bicycling partnered with AllSportGPS and Trimble Navigation to provide readers a way to track and share rides in an online community. To kick off the unique program, Bicycling and Trimble outfitted 100 map contributors with GPS cell phones. These contributors act as regional experts and work with our map editors to add new rides to our site every week. Anyone can contributor their own rides, but if you want to be part of the Bicycling contributor club then
contact us.
Q: Can I use my phone for GPS workouts?
A: First, see our list of
supported phones. Don't see your phone or phone provider? Complain! Seriously, the more emails we get, the more power we have to add more phones and providers. Unlike your Congressman, we listen.
Email us now, but tell us your phone model and what phone network you use.
Q: How do I map my ride with GPS phone loaded with AllSportGPS?
A: You're ready to go. Launch AllSportGPS. Pick your sport. Give the phone a few moments to acquire GPS. Hit OK. Then pedal, run, walk, slide, or whatever you do. Tip: Extend the antenna and place the phone in a reception-friendly position, like your jersey pocket or mesh pocket of your backpack.
Once you're done, hit Stop and exit AllSportGPS. If you have cell phone reception, the workout is automatically sent to our website. The next time your log on it'll be there. If your in the boonies with no cell phone signal then the workout will save on your phone. When you get back to cell coverage, launch AllSportGPS, go to More Options, select Adv. Settings and hit Unsent Sessions. It's now online.
Q: How do I send a route to my GPS phone?
A: Log in. Open up your pre-planned route or a workout done by someone else on our site. Then hit "Add track to Downloads" under the Actions menu. Then pick up your phone, launch AllSportGPS, select More Options, then Adv. Features, then Downloads. The phone is now downloading the route.
To access this new route, go back to the main menu, pick your sport, can click Options the Saved Routes. Select the route. Want maps for this route? Select Options, then Map Screen, and click the Maps button to download a map onto the phone.
You're ready to go.
Q: How do I load maps onto my phone?
A: To monitor the progress of your ride on a street, aerial or topo map, first pause your ride (Options, Pause), and then select Options and then Map Screen. The map screen will load blank at first. Select Maps and then choose between downloading a new map (based on your GPS location) or selecting a map from those you've already downloaded. You can select the size and scope of the map before downloading. Remember to unpause your ride before continuing, or better yet, download your map before you start riding (but after you've acquired a GPS signal).
Q: How do I view my ride online?
A: Log in at
bicycling.com/ridemaps. Go to My Rides. Select from your list of rides.
Important: You have two types of rides in your account: a session and a route. Think of a session as a specific workout, like a ride you did today with calories burned, average pace, ect. Think of a route as a place your might do several workouts (like my lunchtime loop). A route can be pre-planned or be created from a session. You can relate unlimited sessions to a route, so in theory you relate all your lunchtime workouts to your lunchtime route. Bottomline: These features keep you organized.
Q: How do I relate a session to route?
A: Remember: A session is a specific workout. A route is a place where many workouts or sessions can occur (think: my lunchtime loop).
To make a session a route, select Set/Create Route. Hit Create and enter a title, notes, or points of interest. Example:
Lunchtime Loop
This 10-mile loop follows the Boulder Creek path and returns on Sunlight Road.
To relate a session to a pre-existing route (either your own or someone else's on our site), log on to the site and select a ride from your own training log, and then click "Set/Create Route" in the Actions Menu. When the next screen loads, select "My Routes" or "Public Routes" to toggle between private and public routes, and then select the route you wish to file your ride under (from the bottom menu) and click "Set." Your ride will be filed as a session of your chosen route.
Q: What is the difference between an activity and a route?
A: Think of an activity as a one-time ride, a workout recorded on a specific day and time from your GPS unit, complete with speed, elevation, and calorie data. A route is a directional track that you might ride once or several times and as such does not reflect speed or calorie data (but can house your photos, notes, and POI’s). For instance, you might have a route called “My Lunch Ride.” Every time you record that ride, you have the ability to file is as a workout “session” of that route. You can create a route by mapping it out online using out ride planner, or by copying the track from an actual ride to a new route track by clicking "Set/Create Route" in the Actions Menu.
Q: How can I view all my monthly workouts on a calendar?
A: Log in. Select My Rides. On the upper right side, switch the toggle from View to Calendar.
Q: How do I add photos, video, or sound files?
A: You must do this. It makes rides look wicked cool. Open your ride. Click on the Gallery tab above the map. Follow directions on the webpage.
Q: How do I edit a ride?
A: Log in. Go to My Rides. Pick from your Activities or Routes.
Once the ride loads, select Edit Activity. Then follow these steps:
1) Enter a title, short summary, and any notes.
2) Add points of interest like a good place to grab a cup of coffee or a bicycle shop to fix a mechanical. You can assign photos, video, or sound clips to a POI on the interactive map, but your media files must first be added to the Gallery tab (see below) before they can be added to the map.
3) Hit Save. Tip: Save early, save often.
Q: How do I add media (photos, videos, sound clips) to my ride?
A: Log on to the site and select the ride you wish to add media to. Select the Gallery tab (above the map) and then follow directions to add individual media files to your ride. Once you've done this, you can attach media to POI's (points of interest) on your interactive map on the "Edit Activity" screen. To do this, switch the map view to Edit or Add POI, select a point where you'd like to add a POI (or a pre-existing POI), and then click Insert Media Objects from Gallery. Follow the instructions to attach one, or multiple media files to a given POI. Note: POI's may contain multiple media files, but media files cannot be attached to multiple POI's.
Q: How do I create turn-by-turn directions for my next ride?
A: See example of turn-by-turn directions.
Go to Edit Activity. Switch the Track View toggle to Sections (otherwise, it might take eons for the page to load). Then select Edit or Draw Track. Zoom into the map, then switch the Draw/Edit mode to Edit Point Properties. Pick the point where you want to turn. Check the box Set as Navigation Point and click the Action field to pick the direction. In the Label field, add the name of the street. For example, if the ride bears right onto Downing Street, the Action field is "Bear Right" and the Label is "Downing Street." Proceed through your route using the plus (+) or minus (-) toggle above the upper right corner of the map to scroll through segments of your ride. Save.
Q: How do I share my ride?
A: Go to Edit Activity area, select Shared instead of Hidden. Only you can see Hidden files. Shared files appear online.
After your ride is shared, send an email to your friends.
Q: I lost GPS reception. How do I edit the track?
A: Open file. Go to Edit Activities. To avoid long page load times, switch Track View to Sections. Under Map View, select Edit or Draw Track. The solid line on your map will switch to a series of connected points. From here you can do many things by picking different menu items under the Map View menu. Such as:
Recenter/Drag map only - Here you can double click on the map to recenter, or you can drag the map. No edit actions are taken in this mode
Draw Track - In this mode, when you click the map, a point is added to the end of the track.
Add Points to Start - In this mode, when you click the map, a point is added to the start of the track.
Insert Points - In this mode, you insert points in the middle of a track. This comes in handy in two circumstances: if you want to re-route one of your routes or **if you lost satellite reception (represented as a red or yellow line) during your ride and you want to clean up the track.** This can be a bit tricky. Example: Say you lost reception from your house to the bike shop, and you need to re-draw the line. First, click the point at the end of the red or yellow line (near the bike shop). The dropout section between your house and the bike shop will turn pink. Then, begin inserting intermediate points starting at the beginning of the pink line (your house), basically re-drawing the route. As you do this, the red line will turn blue. Once you've closed the gap, there will still be a red line between the last two points. Switch the Map Edit mode to "Edit Point Properties," click on the end-point of the drop-out section (the bike shop) and switch the point property from "GPS Dropout" to "Active." Click save and you will have a completed blue line from point to point.
Move Points - In this mode, you click on a point to highlight it. When a point is highlighted, you click on the map and the point is moved to that new location.
Edit Point properties - This lets you change some properties of a point. When you insert points to a section of track that is red or yellow, switch to this feature and change the point property of the last point to active to clear out the yellow or red section of your track.
Delete Points - When you click on a point, it is deleted. An alert box will come up asking if you are sure you want to delete this point. However, if you check the "Suppress Confirm" option in the upper-right corner of the map, you can delete points without confirmation.
Important: Hit Save at the top of the screen to keep your changes
Q: What’s the difference between the elevation profiles?
A: Survey elevation is pre-recorded data from the USGS (US Geological Survey). GPS elevation is data recorded directly from your GPS. It is not uncommon for there to be a slight difference. If you’re GPS unit records errant elevation data, you can toggle to the USGS to see a more accurate elevation profile of your ride.
Q: How do I virtually race against myself, friends, or other web users?
A: To compete against your friends or other users, download a ride recorded by another user to your
GPS phone, being sure to select "Route with Time and Speed" when you click "Add Track to Downloads." Once you've downloaded the track from your
GPS phone, select your activity (Road Biking), hit Options, then Adv. Features, and then select Open Race. Choose the track you'd like to race against from the list. When you're ready to ride, start recording. Click Options and then Race Screen to monitor your progress.
Q: How do I keep track of my rest time?
A: If you stop during a workout (to grab a bite or use a restroom), pause your workout. To do this, open the phone, select “Options” and then “Pause.” When you’re ready to resume, hit “Options” again and then “Unpause.”
Q: How do I submit my ride to Bicycling magazine?
A: To submit one of your rides to Bicycling.com for posting consideration use the Send to a Friend function to send a link to
SubmitARide@adventureanywhere.com. Rides that are posted to the Bicycling.com are full of details and notes that provide insight to character and difficulty of the ride.. Photos are a great addition to online maps and can really make the ride come alive online. Also important are the notes and POI’s you post to your ride. These details highlight important landmarks, and why the ride is great.
