He's either having a lie-in or he's forgotten to turn his spot back on, probably not setting of too early as that close to the finish he'd arrive before the cafes open, and after riding all that way over the last 4 days he's deserves a big breakfast.

I see he tweeted about the boggy going under wheel at one point, hopefully the next few weeks will dry it out.

Well he's only got to get back to Kirkby Lonsdale.

whitestone wrote:Well he's only got to get back to Kirkby Lonsdale.

Did he start from home? His track starts at Arnside but that might be just the way trackleaders works as it might not be able to cope with a route you can start from anywhere on it?

Dunno. I was meaning that if he got to Arnside (OAP capital of South Cumbria) very early then he didn't have far to get home rather than hang around waiting for a cafe to open.

I had a text from Stu. His SPOT batteries ran out at 2am. He finished safely at 3am, at Arnside. He has the Garmin GPX as proof. That makes about 3days 12.5hrs. WELL DONE STU! You are the first to complete.

I've just seen his post on Instagram, well done Stu

ChrisE wrote:He has the Garmin GPX.

Do we need to supply a gpx/strava link post ride as proof? like on the HT550. My spot can fail to send my location for some distance at times, no idea why as it has a clear view of the sky and the firmware is up to date.

sean_iow wrote:I've just seen his post on Instagram, well done Stu

ChrisE wrote:He has the Garmin GPX.

Do we need to supply a gpx/strava link post ride as proof? like on the HT550. My spot can fail to send my location for some distance at times, no idea why as it has a clear view of the sky and the firmware is up to date.

And also a well done to ChrisE for making the route and getting it out there. Closer to home for many which makes life that bit easier. .

I had always said that the Trackleaders track is the defining 'proof'. As Stu is the first, and his SPOT batteries failed, it makes sensible-sense that his GPX track is counted. That said, there isn't a £1million prize, so I don’t expect the sports Court of Arbitration to get involved! It's a good thing that Stu completed this, I know the conditions were not great, 1 week earlier we had biblical floods and while out riding, Stu had some strong headwinds but I know his knowledge will only help those that go after him.

My intention of the route was always that it is open to all, as many as possible. For those that try to knock Stu's time off the leaderboard, they will probably do so and maybe partly by having drier faster trails. For those that ‘stretch’ themselves to get around the route, even if it takes more time, just doing it is a good thing and the only important thing is to be true to the route. Hopefully for them it will encourage them to do more, to enjoy the freedom of riding and one day they too will be knocking time off the leaderboard!
For today though, hats off to Stu.
Chris

I received the latest/ last GPX file for the Dales Divide route this evening it is now 2034KB and cannot fit it onto my Etrex 20, the previous Dales Divide GPX route file was only 563 KB, no trouble fitting that one on, Has anyone managed to get the new larger file on to an Etrex ?
If I cant get it on I shall have to follow the previous version.
I should mention that I have deleted all stored GPX tracks from my device to free up as much space as possible.
Thanks

Jurassic pusher wrote:I received the latest/ last GPX file for the Dales Divide route this evening it is now 2034KB and cannot fit it onto my Etrex 20, the previous Dales Divide GPX route file was only 563 KB, no trouble fitting that one on, Has anyone managed to get the new larger file on to an Etrex ?
If I cant get it on I shall have to follow the previous version.
I should mention that I have deleted all stored GPX tracks from my device to free up as much space as possible.
Thanks

My first tactic would be to Load the supplied gpx into bikehike.co.uk and re-saving it.
And email Chris with the problem.

Thanks Techno.

Jurassic pusher wrote:I received the latest/ last GPX file for the Dales Divide route this evening it is now 2034KB and cannot fit it onto my Etrex 20, the previous Dales Divide GPX route file was only 563 KB, no trouble fitting that one on, Has anyone managed to get the new larger file on to an Etrex ?
If I cant get it on I shall have to follow the previous version.
I should mention that I have deleted all stored GPX tracks from my device to free up as much space as possible.
Thanks

If you have Garmin Basecamp then this has the ability to reduce the number of track points.

Jurassic pusher wrote:Thanks Techno.

I have just found this online tool that lets you see the point reduction: https://labs.easyblog.it/maps/gpx-simplify-optimizer/

Does thw rpute have plenty cafes/youth hostels closeby (anyone know??)

Jurassic pusher wrote:Has anyone managed to get the new larger file on to an Etrex ?

It loaded up on my eTrex30 but it trimmed it off at about 220 miles. I think the new track exceeds the point limit. I have overlaid the two tracks and there are only a few minor revisions. I've emailed Chris to let him know. I think this is only an issue with an eTrex and other garmins probably load it up ok.

I'm getting excited about this now. If the sun stays out from now until the event the going will be much better than Stu had it.

I've a big ride planned for this Saturday using my full Dales setup (gear ratio and kit) so I'll know by Saturday evening where I am in terms of fitness etc. Hopefully I'll then be spending the next two weeks relaxing.... or frantically weighing kit to try and reduce weigh to make up for a lack of legs

redefined_cycles wrote:Does thw rpute have plenty cafes/youth hostels closeby (anyone know??)

this is from chris's latest email:
"The one thing to pick up from Stu’s ride is perhaps that resupply can be few and far between. There is not a great deal on the track, but if you go off track a few hundred metres (and return to where you left of course, you know the rules!) then there is more resupply. It probably would be worthwhile studying the map, or the easy-to follow-mymaps link and note, remember, where stuff is just off route. Especially on the sparse sections of Burton-in-lonsdale to Summerbridge, of Driffield to Scarborough, of Scarborough to Northallerton then of Catterick Garrison to the finish. In the major towns you might have to ride about to find the best place to feed or to shop"

Thanks TM... Thats good info that.

For anyone wondering about the route options and the gpx file being too large. Previously when I had my garmin 520 (dont think I had the same problem on my garmin1000 but possibly cos I never loaded a route bigger than 220 miles which was mainly road anyway.

3 points...

1. Sometimes in garmin (or is it mapmyRide) it advises to upload the route as a tcx file instead of gpx (cant remember which way round it goes) or visa versa as one has simpler and less route points than the other.

2. On the 520 with limited memory but (AFAIR) the ability to stick a memory card (I think thats how I got round it) in, I would save the route in sections on the multi/300 milers and just upload a section (plug memory card in as appropriate) at a time.

3. I got rid of 3 of my garmins and just got a Wahoo (not after having tried and loved the Wahoo first mind) and life has been so much simpler. Lasts a 150 miler road ride with some careful planning and not too much button pressing... if it wasnt gonna handle the full route (if you send it over me I will see if it handles it all) then its just as easy to upload as 3 or 4 seperate files (as you can just send the route from phone to device as required...

3.a Life is oh so much happier with the Wahoo and the only thing I miss from the coloured garmin screen is the ability to see reservoirs and runnig water sections to find a source... Even the offroad is so unbelievably lovely and accurate (on my last 300ish charity ride to Slough I, thwre was some miscalcs in my route and it tried to take me offroad... just with the texture (you know what I mean) of the B/W lines I was able to manoeuvre away from the offroads and join the route back up on the fly...

3.b... Wahoo is so mug lovelier (or did I already say that!

redefined_cycles wrote:Thanks TM... Thats good info that.

No problem!
I've had a look at the location of the YHAs near the route and jotted down the useful ones. Will type that up at some point and share it.

One last thing bout the Wahoo... Just to put its batt into perspective. Started the MTL (Mary Townley Loop) with a full batt at around 730... got back to car around 1730. Just checked how much batt left and there is 37%

That was whilst trying not to use the buttons too much (but did where needed) and no backlight... I reckon it had another 5 hours or more left in it...

techno mail wrote:

redefined_cycles wrote:Thanks TM... Thats good info that.

No problem!
I've had a look at the location of the YHAs near the route and jotted down the useful ones. Will type that up at some point and share it.

They would be super useful thanks TM

Anyone knows if Stu ended up (or will be dping) a write up on his Dales Divide ride....

Also. Going back to what Chris said about the rules (of the DD) being that only/mainly Trackleaders timins will be accepted. What happens if the Spot batt gives way to others aswell. Is there generally a backup that you can possibly show the ride via strava or sumat

SPOTs take standard AAA batteries but you do need to use lithium batteries so you can just take a spare set. It's possible that Stu had a partly used set of batteries in his device as normally they will last a week or so of constant usage.

A note on the GPX being too big. If Chris doesn't get back with a file with fewer points you can always split the route in to two or three sections using bikehike or other tools.

redefined_cycles wrote:

techno mail wrote:

redefined_cycles wrote:Thanks TM... Thats good info that.

No problem!
I've had a look at the location of the YHAs near the route and jotted down the useful ones. Will type that up at some point and share it.

They would be super useful thanks TM

Anyone knows if Stu ended up (or will be dping) a write up on his Dales Divide ride....

Also. Going back to what Chris said about the rules (of the DD) being that only/mainly Trackleaders timins will be accepted. What happens if the Spot batt gives way to others aswell. Is there generally a backup that you can possibly show the ride via strava or sumat

There's some notes from stu in the last email Chris sent and: https://m.facebook.com/allmtnbiker/

I've had a reply from Chris and he should be sending out a new gpx tomorrow with the reduced number of points

Have emailed Chris to see if I can grab a copy of the gpx and any other stuff hw sends out for the day so know what to be training towards....



This (highlighted) is the bit that always puts the fear of God in me. I dont mind elevation when its ahead or behind but when it comes sideways, my fear of heights (probably from my dad having me working at heights without mw realising that I didn't even like such things) just makes me feel so, insecure. Not that I've not done my fare share of ridge rides (although I can often become the irritating guy trying to scramble out of everyone elses way after it becomes a bit too much) on natural terrain!!

Looking forwards to any writeups coming out of the big day and pics!

Also, if anyone knows Stu (thw lad thats already done the DD) maybe you could mention that theres a way of correcting the elevation in strava (top right section on desktop site) and it most probably will give him that Everest he talked of on the FB page (not a member of FB so unable to comment in there)...

Shafiq