Garmin,
You have created a great set of well connected(bluetooth/wifi to Internet) devices and your Garmin Connect site has really, really matured.
BUT FOR THE LOVE OF MERCKX WHY CAN'T I UPLOAD A GPX/TCX/KML TO MY COURSES!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!
I mean really? Did you all paint yourselves into some technological corner that isn't obvious to us consumers?
Here is what I mean:
Currently how it works:
Decide to ride Joe's Century Ride and Crawfish Boil.
Go to Joe's website and find their maps.
Usually get redirected to something like MapMyRide or other such site.
Download .gpx file for the 100 mile route(this is usually at work because it's where it occurs to me to do this).
Try to remember sometime between then and the evening before the ride that I downloaded it and to put it on my Garmin 810.
Morning of the ride at the location realize that I forgot to put it on my Garmin 810.
Proceed to curse and scream inside my head because this system has a brain dead whole in it.
How it should work:
Decide to ride Joe's Century Ride and Crawfish Boil.
Go to Joe's website and find their maps.
Usually get redirected to something like MapMy Ride or other such site.
Download the gpx then immediately upload the file to my Garmin Connect Courses.
Relax and have a beer knowing that I can transfer the course to my 810 anytime between now and literally seconds before the start of the ride because it is in my courses and my phone(android or iphone) can push a Garmin Connect Course to my 810 anytime I like.
Do you see the difference in these two approaches?
One is a ridiculously contrived and mistake prone process that leaves a customer incredibly frustrated.
The other is easy, logical in this internet connected world, customer satisfying process.
Currently if I want to come anything close to this I have to:
Download gpx.
Upload it to gpsies.
Save a virtual rider to it(basically set a pace speed so that it looks like an actual ride so that Garmin Connect will even take it as an import).
Download modified said gpx.
Upload to Garmin Connect as if I had actually ridden the ride.
Then export in Garmin Connect Activities to Garmin Connect Courses.
Finally, FINALLY, I can now push the course to my 810.
This is a gaping hole in your ecosystem. A really, really fundamental hole.
Please fix this. It would be much appreciated my a massive segment of your users.
Sincerely,
JTH
