GPS ride file formats-Need to save ride file to share with others

[Tommasini53]

Greetings, I'm a neophyte to the gps world and I'm in need of advice. I need to share a ride file to map an upcoming ride/event and create a cue sheet.

So I rode the route today with my Cateye Stealth. I have the GPS file downloaded. There is an export option that allows saving the file in a .fit or a .gpx format. I've saved the file in both but honestly I know very little about GPS files. So i'm curious whether 1) Is there a standard file format for GPS data? 2) would either of these formats ( .fit or .gpx) allow a transfer to Google Maps? I do have a strava account, is strava useful for creating a cue sheet?
Any experiences or suggestions appreciated.

[zmudshark]

Google search shows dozens of ways to import a gpx file into Google maps (https://www.google.com/search?q=import+a+gpx+file+into+Google+maps&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)

[unterhausen]

get a ridewithgps.com account. Import your route, delete a batch of control points. The cue sheets are very good now, but it warrants checking

I usually use linux to read files off of my garmin. Last time I tried to use Windows, it wanted to format my garmin for me for security purposes. Dunno if that has been solved or not. I just read the files as a regular file system, like a flash drive

[Tommasini53]

get a ridewithgps.com account. Import your route, delete a batch of control points. The cue sheets are very good now, but it warrants checking

I usually use linux to read files off of my garmin. Last time I tried to use Windows, it wanted to format my garmin for me for security purposes. Dunno if that has been solved or not. I just read the files as a regular file system, like a flash drive

that looks like the deal. :beer:

[sitzmark]

You (or your intended recipient) can also use GPSies.com to convert almost every file format to whatever is needed.

[unterhausen]

just to be more clear, there is an upload tab. Once you upload your file, it will be in "rides." If you view the ride, there will be a link to "copy to my routes" over to the right. You can edit a ride, but I never do that, and you want to share a route anyway, not a ride. Editing a route is a little clunky at first, there are options over to the right. The control points are little circles. You want as few of them as you can possibly get away with. There is an option to "add/delete control point." You want to get rid of the ones near intersections.

[fkelly]

On ridewithgps and uploaded ride is just GPS coordinates, time values, and any performance data you recorded, such as heart rate, speed, watts, etc. It does not include cues.

ridewithgps has some help screens for turning a ride into a route.

Personally, I find it quicker and less error prone to use the ride as a "template" for the route. Keep the ride open in one browser tab and create the route from scratch in another. Refer back and forth. The only thing you should have in your route is cue sheet entries, plus as someone else said, a few control points where needed. There are tips and tricks involved in creating routes, including zooming in enough to see the intersections and putting your cue entries just PAST the intersection in the direction you are going. Also, check your cue entries on the left side of the screen AS YOU MAKE THEM, so you can quickly reverse any (undo) that aren't correct.

[Tommasini53]

On ridewithgps and uploaded ride is just GPS coordinates, time values, and any performance data you recorded, such as heart rate, speed, watts, etc. It does not include cues.

ridewithgps has some help screens for turning a ride into a route.

Personally, I find it quicker and less error prone to use the ride as a "template" for the route. Keep the ride open in one browser tab and create the route from scratch in another. Refer back and forth. The only thing you should have in your route is cue sheet entries, plus as someone else said, a few control points where needed. There are tips and tricks involved in creating routes, including zooming in enough to see the intersections and putting your cue entries just PAST the intersection in the direction you are going. Also, check your cue entries on the left side of the screen AS YOU MAKE THEM, so you can quickly reverse any (undo) that aren't correct.

Thank you....I ended up taking your advice and using the gps map as a check in creating a map with fewer waypoints; the outcome is much cleaner and clearer than the gps data files. Quite a learning experience. thanks for the advice. :)