Online GPS Content Management Systems - A Head2Head Comparision

I received my Garmin Forerunner 305 as a gift a few years back and used it on most of my rides. I would then post those rides on motionbased to share with my friends, until I reached the dreaded limit of 10 viewable rides that motion based imposes on it’s free subscription customers. I combined some rides and deleted others. I even found a URL hack that motionbased soon fixed.
I had the motion base client on my PC and was familiar and happy with the service so I decided to plunk down the $95 for a year of premium service which included view of unlimited rides and their analyzer tool.
Shortly after that I came across Mapmyride.com and around the same time read about trimbleoutdoors.com (previously All-Sport) in Bicycling magazine.

I decided to compare the three services against one another to see if I was getting my monies worth from motion based.
I measured them against a set of metrics including: Cost, Storage, Reporting, Ease of use, product performance and response time (Screen refresh, upload of files and from device)
and Formats supported (Import/Export).

After review of the services I found the motion based product to be an okay choice with a clear GUI, intuitive menu, and a quick but sometimes fickle upload from device. Motionbased uses a client for communication between the device and your computer that you need to install on your PC or Mac. The other two services use the Garmin communicator plug-in to provide support for upload from the device directly from the web application.
With all of these services performance for upload from device is greatly improved if you purge the history from your device (after backing it up of course) I am currently keeping the past 30 days on the device. If you need to you can upload events back to the device from Garmin's Training Center.
I could not upload from the device to Mapmyride but was able to upload a GPX file. I exported the GPX file from trimbleoutdoors.com export function.

One of the features I liked best about the trimbleoutdoors.com (TO) site was the ability to add pictures, movies, and narratives about the ride. This enables you to bring others right into your ride and provides a great way to share your favorite trails. The performance of TO was also the most consistent and learning curve was extremely short thanks to an intuitive interfaces.

The winner of the GPS Head-to-Head Showdown was trimbleoutdoors.com which was free had good performance, a clean intuitive interface and provided a method of incorporating other media into your GPS map.

Motionbased came in second for providing good analytical data

MapMyRide came in 3rd mainly due to the performance of service which made it frustrating to use MapmyRide provides the ability to print quality maps something that the other sites are lacking.

For Complete Test results goto: GPS Head2Head

Another Ride at Ringwood on the New Trail

Last week we did another ride on the new trail at Ringwood this time after some rain. The rocks were sweaty and slippery but the Dirt was tacky and hooked up great. This trail is challenging but great fun. (You can read a previous review with GPS here) Here are some pictures from the ride and a few pics of the bridges section.
Foutunately we didn't see any Snakes but this sign was a bit alarming. If you are out in the woods you are sharing the space with wildlife Snakes and Bears have been seen in Ringwood.

Doug and Ian at the end of the Bridges Trail before a Rocky Acent

Some Pictures from the Bridges Trail. This a fun section with a lot of twisty singletrack. The dirt was great and my tires hooked up great ,There are some rock drops the 1st and 3rd are the biggest the 2nd is not too bad especially if you stay to the right of the rock.

Of course there are some wooded bridges which is how the trail got its name

Miles of New MTB Trails found in New Jersey

There is a New Place to ride in New Jersey with a mix of Twisty Climbs, Sweet Flowing downhills, lots of singletrack. Where is this Mountain Biking Paradise you might ask. Well it is in a spot familiar to most Mountain Bikers in NJ. Ringwood State Park. Due to the efforts of Art and Ellen White, The RVCC, and Jorba along with Landowners the group was able to add a section of singletrack starting right in the middle of the race course switchbacks. Today was my 1st time riding these newly cut trails but I am stoked. The new trails have much in common with some of the best features from other MTB Locales. For example there are alternate routes that run along the singletrack. These Provide some drops and other technical features similar to Blue Mountain. The Single track is twisty and makes good use of the space this was reminiscent of Jungle Habitat. There are some sections with offshoots to other trails reminding me of Kittatiney, and of course there are rock gardens which is a hallmark of the Skyline, Ringwood, Waywayanda trails. I have heard that the intent is to connect these trails with the Cannonball Trail off of Skyline (Which was reworked last year) This would create a trail network that would provide riders with some epic rides of 3-5 hours. We were out for almost 3 hours connecting the new trail with the "Secret" and Sections of the Red and Blue.
Below is a GPS Listing of the Ride and Some video of Stefan Koncz

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Ramapo Rally 2008

The Ramapo Rally hosted by the Bicycle Touring Club of NJ was held this past Sunday.

I have a mixed review of it In fairness I should point out that a friend and I got there a little past 8:00 AM so we missed the last 100 mile group to roll out. The staff at registration was nice and efficient It took about 5 min to register and get out rolling. The route was really enjoyable with mix of mostly rolling terrain, some hillier sections, and some newly paved downhills. We rode with some other riders along the way everyone seemed to be in pretty good spirits and enjoying themselves. The rest stops were 25 miles apart which worked out fine for yesterday but I would be concerned if the day was hotter or more humid 25 miles might be a stretch. The stops were well stocked and the people running them were accommodating and friendly. The main issue that I had with the ride was the discrepancy between the painted arrows and the cue sheets. For the most part the cue sheets were correct but there were a few times were we had to stop and ask for directions and pull out my friends i-phone to check Google maps. As far as ride support goes I do not have a personal experience (Fortunately no mechanicals) but I did run into another rider who had an issue with his tire and as a result had 3 flats. After running through two of his own tubes he called for support. The response he got was that he was too far out and would need to get to the next rest stop. He was able to get a ride from someone (not with the ride) when he got to the rest stop they did not have a tube so fortunately the guy who picked him up drove him to the bike shop and then back to the rest stop. I took my time about 8 hours for the 105 miles when we got back to the stop most things were coming down. I was able to get a sandwich and a soda but it was pretty slim pickins (Guess if we went out with main group we would have been back in time for a better experience)

I would do the ride again but show up earlier. If I am feeling more fit next year and a little faster 6hr 100 mile. I may even shoot for the 125 option

Hartshorne Woods - Middletown NJ

Hartshorne Woods - Middletown NJ

Pretty big group today about 9 riders we had a few stops for pictures but after Thanksgiving celebrations I needed a few stops.

Hartshorne is a great place to ride with some really fun down hill sections, rollers, banked turns, and lots of things to jump. There are a few steep climbs but none are too long. You can really rip at this place. There were quite a bit of leaves on the ground which made some sections a little sketchy but if you threw out a leg you could get a great 2 wheel drift (YeeHaw)

GPS Link: Hartshorne Woods

Video:

Annual WayWayanda - Thanksgiving Day Ride

Annual WayWayanda - Thanksgiving Day Ride

What a great day for a ride last weekend we had snow today the temps got up to 60.

The warmer temps made for a great turnout I would say about 40+ riders. As Usual the rides split into different skill levels so that everyone has fun. Found a new trail today as I have on previous rides (one of the things I like so much about this ride) It was a rocky ridgeline that was made a little more difficult by the rain that we had overnight.

Our route started out on the race course going backwards (riding past the dam) then going up a climb (on the GPS you will see that we went up a bit then turned around there was a little confusion over which route we were going to take) There was plenty of climbs and rocky sections, some technical crossings made up of rock bridges and logs. Some really fun descents and a few Oh S#@* ones that got my adrenaline up. Overall a great ride.

Cant remember everyone that I rode with today on the last part of the ride but you guys are alright in my book hope we can get together again.

Thats all for now the tryptophan is starting to kick in.

Mike

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=4490007

Mahlon Dickerson

Location: Mahlon Dickerson
Date: 11/18/2007
We got a bit of a Surprise today - The first Snow Ride of the season. A good turnout with 8 riders The ride was made up some really technical sections around Saffon Pond with Rock Gardens, Bridges, and limited lines. There Is a Long singletrack Climb a little way past the pond that has some big rock sections and some small log jumps. There are some decent downhill sections with a few surprises.
Post Ride:Afterwards we grabbed lunch at the Thirsty Moose Thanks to everbody who showed to celebrate my Birthday

Directions: From Interstate 80
Exit for Route 15 -NORTH. Proceed on Route 15 NORTH 5 Miles to Weldon Road Exit - Take Weldon Road and travel approximately 4 miles - EAST - the Reservation is on both sides of the road.
From Interstate 287
Take exit for Interstate 80 WEST, follow until you reach exit for Route 15 NORTH - proceed as instructed above.

Website:http://www.morrisparks.org/aspparks/mahlonmain.asp

GPS Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=4470058

H2H #8 Tymor Woods 9/30/2007

The Course was comprised of sections of singletrack that was twisty and rolling, Steep long Climbs, Steep Decents, and some grassy field crossings.
This gave equal play to riders of all differents strengths.

The race was well organized with riders going off close to their start times Bikeway who hosted the race had an expo area setup and provided prizes 10 deep.
There was a DJ and food available making this a great place for spectators as well

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Pictures and Video from the race

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GPS Link
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=4087460

High Mountain (Wayne NJ) - Blue Trail

High Mountain - Blue Trail

This is a good somewhat unknown Local trail in Passic County right off of Valley Road the trail head is accessable off of Valley Road By Turning Right onto Point View Pkwy off Valley Road North then Make the 1st right on Chicopee Drive Follow to End Blue Trail Blaze is on the right.

The Trail is Comprised of rocky sections with some good climbs and technical rock Gardens there is also some Smooth Flowing Double and Singletrack. The main issue with this trail is that it is not ridden enough so at times you can loose the trail but there are an abundant amount of Blazes to keep you on track. This is a great Local trail and should be checked out.

I will Post another High Mountain trail Later and then join the 2 of together making this a place where you can get a quick Lunch Ride or a few hours out on the trail.

Post Ride: Preakness Mall - Startbucks, Gourmet deli, Trader Joes, Preakness Diner

GPS Link to Blue Trail

Wawayanda Spring Cleaning (H2H #1)

Race One of the H2H Series sponsored by Campmor

The Wawayanda Spring Cleaning was held on the May 6th over 300 participants were involved in the race. Results are available at blackbearcycling.com
The weather was sunny but the day started out pretty cool with a cold breeze coming off the lake. I did not have any warm clothes (only my summer race kit) Foutunately once we got moving and into the woods the amount of clothes that I had was perfect.
The course was a combination of some short fireroad sections, quite of bit of single track, some short climbs, and one steep longer climb a little less than a mile into the race. The race loop was around 7 miles with each class doing one more lap than the previous. 1-4

The Course was primarily Dry and fast. (ideal race conditions) The races went off pretty close thier posted time (Somewhat rare for MTB Races - I have waited up to an hour past posted time at some previous events) at registration I was handed a SWAG Bag with a gel, Water bottle, and some other stuff giving the event a more organized feel.
Thanks to John Russo at the Cosmic Wheel who worked late (1:00 AM) to ensure that I had a race ready Bike I really appreciate it. (I didn't win but took 5th)

GPS Link to Race Course:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=90387&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=2702399

Map Player Link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=2702399

Location: Allaire State Park
Date: 11/26/2006
Riders: 10 (Usual Suspects + a few new riders)
Description: Warm up loop is a microcosim of the trails with some twisty singletrack steep chutes some technical crossings, roots and logs then a nice climb with a few places that you have to hop up. This place is good place to work your skill especially high speed stuff (because it can be fast if you want it to be) Nothing too Technical and usually soft stuff to land on if you do stuff it
GPS Map of the ride - Sorry Some stuff we so much fun we did it over and over

Video Link from Allaire