I use my Garmin Edge 1030 Plus in two ways.
One, I have no specific route. I get on my bike, press the Start/Stop Activity Timer at the bottom right of the device, do my ride, and then press the Start/Stop Activity Timer again to end my ride. The device asks if I want to save my ride, and I press the check-mark on the screen. This always works perfectly; I've never had a problem and the Virtual Partner feature never comes into play.
Two, I load a GPX/FIT file onto my device, I choose that route in my Saved Courses, and click on the "Ride" button on the screen. I DO NOT press the Start/Stop Activity Timer at the bottom right of the device. The device works properly in the sense that it gives me the directions.
This, however, is consistently causing me problems (and I think it is caused by the Virtual Partner feature). Here are some of those problems:
- Sometimes, during the ride the device tells me that my distance is 0m (even though I've covered 50km). I then stop the bike, press the Start/Stop Activity Timer (for the first time), and then the device starts updating the distance. By then its too late; half my ride is gone.
- Sometimes, during the ride, the device suddenly tells me to do a U-turn at x meters, but when I reach x metres, the device ignores the U-turn and ask me to keep on going as if nothing happened. I double-check the GPX/FIT file on my Mac when I get home and there are no U-turns anywhere.
- Most of the time when I reach the end of my ride, the device plays its congratulatory/celebratory tune indicating that I've arrived. But sometimes, it doesn't and I end up having to press the Start/Stop Activity Timer to tell the device that I've arrived (even though I did not press the timer at the beginning of the ride). And here is where things get tricky: after pressing the timer, the device will end my ride and ask if I want to save the ride (good) _OR_ it will reset the ride and tell me that I've done 0m (bad). When I check the history on the device, the device tells me that I did a 0m ride, even though I just came back from a 100km ride (during which the device was working properly and giving me directions). How could the device give me directions over 100km and then at the end tell me I've done 0m, and record that 0m ride in the history instead of the 100km ride?
Overall, it's been a frustrating experience. I have two questions:
- When exactly should the Start/Stop Activity Timer be pressed and when should it not be pressed?
- If my ride starts before the route starting point, the device will ask me if it should navigate to the starting point. Regardless of whether I say yes or no, should I press the Start/Stop Activity Timer, and if so, should I press it before or after reaching that starting point?
Thanks much!
