Page created Tuesday, Aug 31
Page updated Thursday, Sept 9 – added master spreadsheet
GPS files last updated Aug 31 

It’s that time again.  BikeMS 2010 New Bern is rapidly approaching!   Here are the GPS files for the event!  Download and test these files TODAY and make sure there are no problems using them in your GPS!  Don’t wait until a few days before the event!  For more information on the event, including maps and cue sheets, go to this website: 

http://staging.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/NCT/fundraising-events/bike-ms/event-details/routes/index.aspx 

GPS FILES

Check back for updates, especially the last few days before the event! The route could still get changed!

 Added: Master cue sheet spreadsheet:  This file contains one spreadsheet for each day.  Each spreadsheet contains all four courses for that day, but they are arranged so that each row  goes across all four courses and shows the cues in each course that correspond to each other.  Vertical gaps in each column indicate where courses split off and go different directions.  An empty cell in a row indicates that there is no cue in that course that corresponds to the other courses with entries in that row.

I suggest you print these two spreadsheets in duplex mode.  Each day’s sheet takes two pages, so print them front and back on one sheet of paper.

Ver. 1 – Aug 31 
Change history below. 

ADDED:  Master cue sheet spreadsheet: MS2010 master routes w4ft.xls 
NOTE:  There may be some differences between this spreadsheet and the cue sheets distributed at the event.  This file was generated from spreadsheets from Aug 30. There may be minor updates since then,  but no major changes were expected.  Compare this spreadsheet to official cue sheets to discover any discrepancies.

When you download, remember the following: 

1. Right-click and use the “Save Target As…” feature,
2. verify the file extension of the file you are saving.  Windows especially likes to rename *.gpx files to *.xml.

The *.gdb files are for Garmin GPS units and the *.gpx format can be imported by most other brands. For more explanation, see my About GPS Files… web page. 

If you have a TomTom try playing with GPSBABEL.  (See my page on File Contents 

The Saturday file contains 11 routes and 16 waypoints. 
The Sunday file contains 12 routes and 15 waypoints. 

Routes

Each  file contains more than 10 routes, so pick the ones you need to import.  Most Garmin GPS units will only load a maximum of 10 routes.

Generally speaking, the routes are as follows:  

1. One route for each of the routes, 30 mile, 50 mile, 75 mile and 100 mile. 
2. Partial routes for various loops on the course. These routes are circular – they start at a split point and follow the century (or other) loop until it merges back with the other course. At this point, it doubles back on another part of the course to return to the split.  You can use these to circulate on a “loop” part of a course.  Names should explain where they are on the course.
3. REVERSE versions of most of the above courses. These make it possible to traverse the course backwards.

Loops:  I have added routes for various loops:

• Sat AM Century,
• Sat Midday Century,
• Sat PM All,  
• Sun AM Century,
• Sun PM Century.

The names describe the routes, but I’ll add a little explanation.  Each day, there are two loops that are exclusive to the Century routes. On Saturday, there’s an additional part of the course that forms a smaller loop.  All the routes traverse this loop. 

Waypoints:

There are about 15 or 16 named waypoints in these files.  The waypoints correspond to the Start/Finish, rest stops, split and merge points and Saturday’s RailRoad crossings. There are a couple of extra waypoints that were necessary to create the routes.  Waypoint Names are standardized. Rest stops start with “Sat” or “SUN”, then the rest stop name. Split and merge points follow a similar naming standard as rest stops. Railroad crossings are “Railroad Crossing #x”  and are for Saturday only.  

The routes were created using unnamed waypoints.  The software will create these as I am building the routes.  They d0n’t show up as Favorites (for most brands), but still load into the GPS to support the route.  Your GPS may not be able to handle the number or unnamed waypoints that this file generates.  

This Year’s Routes

Like last year, we have some big changes.  The biggest change is that the bridge going south out of the park is now open.  Except for the Sat 30 mile, every route starts by heading south across the bridge.  We no longer have to ride through town to get to the freeway. 

The next big change is that the Sunday routes go all the way into Oriental, to the east. 

HEADS UP!!!  At the end of the day on Sunday, all three longer routes cross back over the Hwy 17 bridge and merge back with the 30 mile route.  Finally all four routes finish by crossing the newly opened bridge back to the park.  In past years, the return on the Hwy 17 bridge has seen a lot of flat tires and tired riders, and traffic can be a hazard at freeway speeds.  Because this is the end of the routes, riders are going to be spread out here all day.

Review the routes, cue sheets, etc. to understand how they all differ. 

Railroads

While not all crossings are marked, several railroad crossings are noted in the cue sheets and have uniquely named and numbered waypoints in the GPS files.  These are marked because they appear to be hazardous crossings for riders. With unique names on the cue sheets, we should be able to go directly to them with little or no confusion.  

Please Leave a Comment!

If you download any of these files, please leave a comment below.  I’d like to see how much use these files are getting.  Also, if you are having problems with them, or find you can’t use these files, please leave a comment with a description of the problem.  Maybe we can work out a solution that others will find useful. 

Change History

Ver.1 –  Initial Release, Aug. 31 

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W4FT