Why you should take a GPS on your next mountain biking trip
You've probably heard some of the hype surrounding Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers lately or even seen someone out on the trails using one. But what can a GPS do for you as a mountain biker? If you're currently using a cycling computer to keep track of ride data or you're interested in making your rides safer, you may want to consider purchasing a GPS unit.

Using your GPS on the mountain bike trail
In many ways, exchanging data between your GPS unit and computer can be a confusing and frustrating process. Unlike iTunes and the iPod, there isn't a dominant software / hardware combo to meet your needs. To help you navigate this confusing new technology, I'll go over some of the key hardware, software, and data exchange information you'll need to get started.

Transfer mountain bike trail maps to your GPS
Put GPS track data files onto your GPS for your next ride! Use the TrackBack feature on your GPS to follow a saved track, view elevation profiles, and more!

Loading GPS mountain bike routes on your Garmin Edge GPS
Learn how to get the most out of your Garmin Edge GPS by loading saved trail routes before you head out on your next adventure. This tutorial covers the process of managing GPS trail routes in Garmin Training Center for PC.

Loading GPS mountain bike routes on your Garmin Edge GPS (Macintosh)
This is the same tutorial as the one above but focuses on managing GPS trail routes using Garmin Training Center for the Macintosh.

Download all our mountain bike trail waypoints
Paid subscribers can now download all the mountain bike trailhead waypoints to a single file for use with your GPS! The waypoints are all labeled with singletracks trail IDs so you can your GPS with your mobile phone to get trail information while you're on the road. Try it today!

The new Garmin 705 Cycling GPS  September 24, 2008
Bet that headline got you excited - unfortunately this is only an incremental upgrade, and even that's stretching things a bit. The latest model of the Edge 705 comes in the Garmin/Chipotle team colors and includes all the same color mapping features as the regular 705. One new item from Garmin...

500 Mountain bike trail maps (and counting!)  September 15, 2008
Singletracks just passed a big milestone today when we posted our 500th mountain bike trail map to the site - Fleming Meadows in California. We started the trail map project about 3 years ago when we realized lots of people were starting to ride with GPS units. The maps have...

GPS biking software for iPhone  September 12, 2008
Back in July I posted a theoretical comparison between the iPhone and the Edge 705 for mountain bike navigation and made this point: Speedometer / Odometer / Elevation The iPhone doesn’t track these things for you but the Edge 705 does (and it does it very well I must say). Unfortunately Garmin’s...

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