Aimed at touring cyclists. Looks at how to how to prepare a route and navigate during the ride, log your route and the hardware and software you will need. The examples use a iPhone, but most of the software is available for Android.

1. Navigating by Smart Phone
Hugh Davis and Su White
@HughDavis and @suukii
Download Presentation at http://goo.gl/N36lHT

2. What we will Cover
Using iPhone examples ….
•GPS and GPX, and Mapping Software
•Preparing your route
•Navigating while riding
•Logging your ride
•Hardware

3. GPS and GPX, and Mapping
Software
OS Maps
(I use 1:50K)
Open Cycle
Map –
shows we
are on cycle
path NB24

4. Choosing Mapping Software
You need your maps “offline” (or cached)
OS Maps (scale?) – or Open Cycle Maps?
Buy or rent maps?
See clearly where you are (centre?)
Zoom in to see detail
Zoom out to see big picture
Import GPX routes
Best allow you to create, edit & export GPX routes
I use Outdoors GPS in UK (iPhone and Android)
I buy the maps.
Or iPhiGenie in France and elsewhere (iPhone and Android)

5. Preparing your route
You can prepare a GPX route by:
•Downloading someone else’s route
•Asking an App like Bike Hub to plan the best route
•Drawing the route yourself onto the eMap

6. Finding Other Peoples’ Routes
http://outdoorsgps.com
Store in MyRoutes then in App look
in “My Routes on Website”

7. Route Planning Apps
In Bike Hub App
(iPhone or Android)
choose “From” and
“To” Export the route.. ..to email

8. Select the email and
the route attachment
And the Send Icon

9. Either Send to an
App or Save
In Outdoors GPS you need to
go into browser to upload saved
file in order to access it from
“My Routes on Website”

10. Drawing the Map Yourself with
Outdoors GPS
Choose “Routes” from bottom Menu
and then Create, Create new, from…
Add an end point somewhere by long
press.
You can now add points
anywhere on the line, and drag
them to where you want

11. Navigating While Riding
Most GPS Map Apps have the ability to:
•Allow you to choose the level of zoom
•Centre the map and keep your current position at the
centre
•Rotate the map so that ”up” is the direction of travel
•Choose the colour of the route line
Maybe also
•Log your actual Route
•Tell you how fast you are going
•How far remains to go / ETA

12. Logging your Route
Cyclemeter is generally considered to
be the best logging App
(not available for Android)

13. Hardware
Keeping your phone
•on your handlebars
•charged
•dry

14. Keeping your phone on your
handlebars
Strap-it Bag-it Lock-it
Or lose it!
E.g. Arkon make examples
sold on Amazon for ~£15
The Quad Lock
System. ~£32

15. Keeping your phone Charged
If left with screen and GPS always on an iPhone uses
around 3000 – 4000 mAhr in a day’s ride.
There are many power banks that provide 10000 mAhr to
USB sockets
Size?
Weight?
Capacity?
Recharging?
Number of USB ports?
Continuous Charge Through?
We prefer Teknet -
~£15 from Amazon

16. Keeping the Battery Charged on
camping trips
Dynamo Plus Tigra Power Converter
USB output > Phone or Power Pack
3.5 Watt solar panel
Both the above will charge the battery pack around 400mAhrs each hour
Roughly what a working iPhone uses

17. Keeping your phone Dry
Quad-lock “poncho”
(phone specific)
Arkon Bag Box with Waterproof
Membrane
BUT
Can’t charge while its raining – you’d be surprised how quick the battery goes
Reduced sensitivity for finger gestures – keep in centered mode.

18. Conclusions
• There is no right answer – its what suits you
• Complex software on small devices is complex
– Trial and error / Experiment
– If one way does not work, try another
– Get very familiar with it (Going fast downhill with full panniers in
the pouring rain is not a good time to learn how to use your
App!)
• Make sure your batteries are charged and your maps
locally cached before you leave!

19. Thanks!
Any Questions?
Hugh Davis (@HughDavis)
Su White (@suukii)
hughsuukkii@gmail.com
This presentation is downloadable from
http://www.slideshare.net/hcd99/navigating-on-bikes-using-a-smartphone
or http://goo.gl/N36lHT