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Definitely a possibility but the ideal solution would allow you to upload your data without have to split, convert, etc. Also AFAIK GPX is somewhat limited in what it reports (doesn’t include things like heart rate data).
That would definitely be sweet but based on my technical research it’s nearly impossible for us right now due to Garmin’s stupid data architecture.
Basicially the Edge (which I love despite its limitations) saves all its data into a single log file. Once you have a dozen or so rides the file starts getting huge, too big to upload to a website. It’s why Garmin had to release the "Motionbased" agent to break the files into more manageable chunks before sending to the web and it’s why we haven’t tackled this feature yet.
Anyway we’d love to make this happen eventually and we’re still trying to find the best way to do it. Technical suggestions appreciated
I think you’re referring to wheel size – 26" versus 29". I ride a 21" [i:qak6spy0]frame[/i:qak6spy0] and that’s one of the largest ones most manufacturers make. A 29" mountain bike frame would be pretty ridiculous…
Mountain bikes with 29" inch wheels are called 29ers and they’re slowly starting to catch on with riders of all sizes and abilities. This YouTube video is entertaining and should help fill you in on the advantages of a 29er: http://youtube.com/watch?v=OyIWPB-X49U
From what I’ve seen 29ers and 26ers generally cost about the same in most cases (though 29ers may be a bit more expensive).
Yes, what I would like is a "What’s new page" that keeps a running list that is big enough for, say, a weeks worth of activity. Also, it would be ideal if the list highlights what has been added since my last visit so that I don’t have to try and remember when I was last scanning the list. You know, like most forum websites.Oh, and for trail updates on the "What’s new" page, could you include the city, state/province?
Sure thing, it’s an easy fix to keep a running tally. Marking new stuff since your last login might take a little longer but should be doable as well. BTW, singletracks will never be like "most forum websites"
We’ll also look into maybe creating RSS feeds for the state pages to show you what’s new on a more local level.
Arnold, premium subscribers can download all the waypoints on the site in a single file from the ‘GPS’ landing page. Not quite as convenient as being able to filter by your state or area but it’s a start.
The original idea behind this was to use this data along with your mobile phone to find mountain bike trails while you’re traveling. So, for example, you’re on a road trip and decide to find a trail in Utah close to the interstate. Use your GPS to find the nearest mountain bike trail then fire up singletracks mobile (singletracks.com/go) and punch in the waypoint ID to get a description.
Anyway, keep the ideas coming, hopefully this fall we’ll have some time to work on all the programming that’s piling up!
arnold, the best way is to organize GPS data according to the trail descriptions on the site. For Elk Meadow/Bergen there are two separate trail descriptions (Elk Meadow | Bergen) so we’d like to keep the tracks separate.
In other cases a track may be incomplete and it may make sense to add a new segment to an existing network. To do this, just email me (jeff @ singletracks.com) the new track data and I’ll add to the existing track file.
Right, I remember you mentioning you didn’t like the way new stuff comes up on the homepage…
Any specific ideas? The homepage is currently set up to show the 5 most recent posts/reviews and there is a "new today" link to show you everything new for the day. Would you like to see more than 5 items on the homepage and/or have the "new stuff" page display a running list of new items, say the last 40-50 (regardless of the date)?
C’mon Bonked, I know you know singletracks better than that
We’ve always had a zip code search feature, it’s just well hidden on the MTB trails page (top right). You can specify a radius up to 100 miles (or more if you’re savvy) to find a trail in your area.
Not as pretty as a map but it does help filter by location (which might be helpful for arnold as well). Here’s a sample query for trails w/in 25 miles of Colorado Springs:
[url:12u0qspw]http://www.singletracks.com/php/zipcode.php?zip=80918&radius=25[/url:12u0qspw]
This is a request we get often but for technical and other reasons it isn’t feasible yet.
First off, most mountain bike trailheads don’t have street addresses that can be mapped. We do collect GPS waypoints for the trailheads but coverage is spotty at best and currently only 10-20% of the trails on singletracks have these.
We are able to give rough approximations of trail locations using on our zip code search page but this actually just uses the location of the nearest town, not the trail itself. So for example, if this were used to create a map, places like Colorado Springs would show one pushpin in the center of the map rather than 15+ individual points all around the area.
I know some sites (like MTBR) have experimented with placing a blank map on the trail page where users are allowed to insert and save a pushpin at the trailhead location. I’m not sure what happens after this – if they wait until they get confirmation of the location before it is "official" – or if the location can be updated later if it’s in the wrong spot. In any case it will take time for the entire catalog to be tagged and in the meantime, some trails may not appear on the map even though they exist on the site.
Finally (and this is a bit of personal bias I suppose) I’m not impressed with existing online mapping interfaces like Google, Yahoo, etc. They are often clunky to navigate and slow to load (especially when you have hundreds of push pins). I think the maps are great for things like single waypoints but as soon as you start showing multiple points at various zoom levels it gets tough to manage. Sites like Trulia (real estate) are able to pull this off but there is a ton of programming involved (way beyond what we’re capable of) and it’s [i:23fh4r2l]still[/i:23fh4r2l] slow as crap.
Anyway, these are the issues that are keeping us from doing this right now. If anyone is able to help us solve the data or mapping issues we’d love to hear from you here…
Thanks to everyone for participating in the Sweetskinz GPS submission contest! The standings have been finalized and it was a close race. In the end JJonas took the first prize and he also takes the prize for longest GPS tracks ever submitted – the 136-mile Kokopelli trail and the 214-mile (round trip) George S. Mickelson trail.
As an added bonus and to say thanks we’re giving the top 4 finishers a pair of singletracks socks in addition to the prizes mentioned below. Thanks again to all who participated!
Top finishers:
#1 JJonas – 26 points
#2 RemfSS – 24 points
#3 marsh – 10 points
#4 steeldtailer – 5 pointsWord, TopoFusion rocks.
Just want to remind everyone that file uploads have been disabled temporarily while we move to a new web server as announced in our email newsletter and on the blog over the past couple weeks. We hope to have the new server up and running early this week after we complete testing.
If you have any photos or GPS data you would like to post to the site in the meantime, please feel free to email your files to us at [email protected]. Thanks for your patience.
In case you missed the email last week, socks are on the way and if you pre-order you can save on multiple pairs:
One thing that most of us need to keep in mind is that there are two main markets for trail map data: map geeks and everyone else. These two markets are fairly distinct and there isn’t alot of overlap. (Disclosure – I am a map geek)
Anyway, map geeks own a GPS and are interested in alot of the details about every trail they (we) ride. We’re in the minority still but *maybe* in 5 years or so more than half of bikers will use a GPS instead of a cycling computer. For now we’re on the cutting edge and we’re willing to put up with alot of the hassle involved in making do with the (limited) GPS receivers on the market today. Map geeks have a least 2-3 mapping programs we use to check out ride data in 2D and 3D (Google Earth, TopoFusion, etc.).
The other, much larger market at the moment, is the recreational map user. This person wants to print a map to stick in his/her jersey pocket when heading out to a new trail just in case he/she gets lost or in trouble. I actually do this myself whenever I get a chance, and it’s saved me more than once. Recreational users also don’t own a single piece of mapping software (not even Google Earth which is free).
So, perhaps the solution is to offer two kinds of maps: one to view online, the other to print and take on the trail? Sort of an advanced map and a simple map if you will. A focus group and/or survey of each group would be helpful here, maybe I’ll put something together in the next month or so…
One more note: There has been some discussion here about adding online mapping tools to singletracks and this is certainly something we’ve considered. There are already several sites that do a great job at this (GPSVisualizer is one of my faves) and dozens more are popping EVERY DAY. Our intention is to keep things simple for now and offer a single "static" map that is the "best" map for a trail (good labels, proper zoom level, etc.). We’ll always offer the underlying geographic data for download in GPX and KML formats for advanced users and I personally recommend using offline software like Google Earth and TopoFusion for more advanced viewing. Online mapping interfaces are generally slow, clunky, and not nearly as satisfying as the programs I’ve mentioned (that’s why Google "Maps" and "Earth" are kept separate – they each have different uses).
So, in other words, Trails.com is a big fake? Glad I never subscribed to them. Do they let you download GPS tracks?Not sure I’d call them a fake – they are just targeting a more recreational audience. Trails.com is good for getting info on hiking trails and the like, I just never found them helpful for MTB info (though I do buy printed guidebooks by Falcon, this way is cheaper since you don’t have to purchase each trail separately).
Trails.com also does not allow you to download GPS tracks since they don’t even have access to the underlying GPS trail data (everything comes from outside publishers, remember?). One thing they offer is "unlimited topos" but this is just a hook into Terraserver that gives you the same (free) maps you can access anywhere else (like terraserver.microsoft.com). No trail overlays, just raw topo images.
Interesting side note: the company that owns Trails.com recently approached us to see if we were interested in selling singletracks. Guess what we said?
Hehe… Funny you should ask about Trails.com maps. They are exactly like the "Simple Maps" that started this whole discussion…
Trails.com simply sells digital FalconGuide excerpts on an ala carte basis. Since the guidebooks are black and white "line art", so are the Trails.com guides.
Wow, both of these maps look amazing. I liked the first one alot and I like the second attempt even more. The shading in ArcGIS is a bit more subtle, though you’re right – the labels are a little small. Is it easy to bump these up?
To answer your question JJonas, there is indeed a lake to the south of the trail and I don’t know why this doesn’t show up. It isn’t on the topo maps I built either, go figure…
Question: where does the GIS data you’re using come from? Do you have to download the areas you need manually or does the software automatically find it online? In my brief experience with ArcGIS I found it frustrating that I had to hunt down multiple data sources just to create a simple map…
Also, how do the overall software package costs compare between Global Mapper and the ArcGIS setup you’re using?
Crabtree is the name of the trail – my method for creating the maps is top secret
Okay, here’s my first entry. It’s a quickie but you get the idea. Topo data is there but it’s faded a bit to make the trail and important stuff (like roads, rivers, etc.) stand out.
Hey, I know this is getting deraily but I happened to notice that after GPS data has been submitted for a particular trail system, the option to add more is removed. Why is that? I hope to be submitting more GPS data for some the trail systems that I have initiated. If that is the not the case and you can then chalk it up to just oversight. Maybe I wan’t logged in.That’s no mistake – the idea is to have only 1 track (map) that covers each trail listing. If you have multiple track files you’ll need to use a program like TopoFusion to combine your rides into a single file. Otherwise you can submit multiple files and we’ll *try* to stitch them all together.
