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Circular course navigation, multiple laps?

Long story short. I have a course loaded to my Edge 530.  It's only 26miles and forms a loop.

What's best practice to use navigation, but complete multiple laps of the route?  Last time I followed the route when I reached the finish I just received the completion song and navigation ended.

Any advice?

Many thanks

  • All the units can have issues with overlapping sections. There's no way to avoid this. 

    They can can correct it once you are out of such a section.

    In your example, you have the overlapping section continuously with no opportunity to correct it.

    Best practice would be to have one loop and restart it on every lap.

    Or, not do laps like this.

  • Best practice would be to have software that copes with the way people want to use the hardware ;p 

    I've got a similar situation with a 50 mile route I want to do twice. The workaround I'm going to use is to make the course into 100 mile course by going round it twice on the Connect course builder. It's clunky, but I think/hope it should work because I won't hit the finish point half-way round (it's slightly offset).

    Still. This is a real-world use-case so it would be good if the software could cope with it.

  • I was able to edit the TCX which is XML.in a text editor 

    There is a section called <Track>  it contains all of the <Trackpoint> objects

    <Track>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 1

    </Trackpoint>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 2

    </Trackpoint>

    </Track>

    Copy all of the <Trackpoint> objects and then past at the end.

    <Track>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 1

    </Trackpoint>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 2

    </Trackpoint>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 1

    </Trackpoint>

    <Trackpoint>

    -- point 2

    </Trackpoint>

    </Track>

    this will let you create as many loops as you want

  • That worked for me - Thanks!

  • Thanks this was very helpful. I ended up editing the gpx file which has many many more points in it! Where is this tcx file that you edited? On the device I can only see fit files (edge 830), and in connect I can only export gpx and fit. What am I missing?

  • The units convert any GPX, TCX, or FIT file you place in \Garmin\NewFiles to FIT.

    Unless you need course points, you don't need the TCX file. GPX has the same info.

  • Ok thanks. The reason I ask is this:

    Let’s say I create a route in connect, or Komoot. I can easily identify which points I’d like to copy and paste multiple times in the app, but in the GPX file I have to go and look for the exact co-ordinates twice (start and end point of the loop) (first check with google earth). On a 17km loop that’s 2400 lines to copy! A bit tedious but it does work. 

    from what @8888633 said, it sounds like TCX would have the actual identifiable points in it as well, in a section called <Track>. Is this true? That would seem to make life easier as I could then just copy and paste those points multiple times. That is why I’d like to find the TCX, before it’s exported to the device. 

    thanks in advance for any help

  • What do you mean by "identifiable point"?

    TCX files are the same as GPX (both contain a list of track points) but TCX files can have a separate list of "course points".

    Course points are things like turns and stops. Each course point has a corresponding track point but not every track point has corresponding course point. That is, there are many more track points than there are course points.

    The Edges base the navigation on the track points. Course points "pop up" when you pass over them (with a brief message) but that's all they are used for.

    I don't think course points help you.

    ===================

    8888633 is just showing how to do it using a TCX file as an example. You'd do the same sort of thing with a GPS file.

    TCX files have the same point information as GPX files but use more lines. That is, using a GPX file would be easier.

    ===================

    Using a good text editor, like notepad++, you want to copy the track points (all 2400 of them) in the GPX file to the clipboard.

    Then you want to paste those lines as many times as your number of loops at the end of the track.

    Then, you want to run the file through something that will update the timestamps (and distance) from the first track point to the last track point you copied (the one at the end of all the loops).

    You should be able to do that with:

    https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/

    Or with GPSBabel.

    I've written programs that do related/similar manipulation of TCX and GPX files. There really isn't a significant difference between using one or the other format.

  • Thanks so much for all the time you’ve spent on my post. I’m pretty sure that by “identifiable points” I mean the course points you so clearly explained that are found in the TCX file and not in the GPX file.

    From what 888633 said, I assumed you could go to that section in the TCX file (the course points), select the ones on your loop and copy and paste them, which seemed like far fewer points to copy and paste than with the GPX file (where you have to select all the track points and replicate them). But if you’re doing the same thing in each file then I shall continue using GPX.

    However, I’d still like to know - where do I get the TCX file before it’s exported to the device?

  • No, 888633 showed how to copy the track points.

    The course points are in another list in the file. They won't help you.

    It would be easier to copy the course points but they aren't used for navigation (they are just displayed). So doing that won't help you. 

    You have to copy the track points and you have to update the timestamps and distance (using software).

    Anyway....

    If your route only has one loop, you don't have to look for coordinates.

    Just copy all the points from the first point to the last point.

    Note that you don't want to close the loop (have the end point be the same as the start point). You just need to end it close to the start point.

    You'd do the same with TCX as you do with GPX but there would be many more lines.

    ======================

    There is no TCX file (it appears).

    Komoot exports the GPX and the Garmin converts it to FIT. Since Komoot doesn't do anything with course points, there's no reason to produce TCX. GPX does the same thing and it's much more universal. TCX is a Garmin thing and not all Garmin devices use it.

    The software (website) would have to add the course points. You'd have to use different software. Ridewithgps adds them.