Las Vegas Bicycling Community Website

You asked for it.  Now it’s here.  BikingLasVegas.com has GPS file upload and download capabilities right from the website!  Now you can share your Routes with the entire BikingLasVegas.com Member Community quickly and easily!

A little more about the New GPS feature:
Any member of BikingLasVegas.com who has a GPS that can export their data into GPX files, can upload a route to share with the rest of the BikingLasVegas.com community.  Conversely, If you own a GPS unit that is able to import a GPX file, you can now easily download a member’s GPX route right into your GPS.  This is really an incredible feature that allows members to share their GPS route data with each other, much more easily than downloading a PDF or text route map and programming it into your GPS.

How do I upload a GPX File to Share with the BLV Community?
It’s very simple to share your GPX Route files with the rest of us.  Here’s how you do it:

1.  Export your GPX file from your Garmin or other GPS Device Software and save that file onto your computer.
2.  Login to your My Account Section and click on the ‘Manage My Garmin GPX Cycling Routes‘ link.
3.  Click on the ‘Submit a New Garmin/GPS Route in GPX Format’ link
4.  Now fill out the form on the Add a New GPX Route Screen (screenshot below) and click the Browse button to choose the GPX file to upload.
5.  Click submit and it’s done!

How do I see the uploaded GPS Routes to Download them?
To view GPS Route Maps for Download, all you need to do is click on the GPS Routes link on the BikingLasVegas.com website.

If I don’t have a GPS should I still look at the Uploaded Routes?
Absolutely!! Here you will be able to view all the GPS route maps members have uploaded.  You’ll see the starting address & level of difficulty (if provided by the member), the route map, total distance and a special elevation chart detailing your elevation gain. This is very helpful data to view when planning a ride, with just you or your friends.

Download a GPS Route to your Computer
When you see a route you want to download, all you do is click on that route’s name to bring up it’s details page.  This will display the route map + elevation data and total mileage.  Above the map, there is a link that says “Download the GPX File”, click on that link and it will open up a Save As dialog box for you to download it to your computer.  It’s that simple!

Share Your Favorite BikingLasVegas.com Routes on Facebook or Twitter
Another cool feature built into the GPS Route Maps is the ability to share these routes with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  All you have to do is click the ‘Recommend’ Button for Facebook, or the ‘Tweet’ Button for Twitter to share them with your friends.

Have any questions about the GPS Routes that I didn’t address?  Feel free to comment below with all of your feedback or questions.

Because we have so many different riders of all skill levels on BikingLasVegas.com, I’ve decided to put together classifications for our rides schedule.  From now on, whenever a BikingLasVegas.com ride takes place, you will see one of the following ride classifications in the description of the ride:

• Recreation:
  10-13mph avg
  Easy terrain, easy pace
  Examples of this type of ride:  Beginner Rides, 20 mile Cake Ride, etc…

• Fitness:
  14-17mph avg
  Moderate terrain, moderate pace
  Examples of this type of ride:  RMT (Clockwise), Red Rock to 160, etc…

• Challenge:
  15-18mph avg
  Hard terrain, brisk pace
  Examples of this type of ride:  Red Rock Scenic Loop, Villa Ridge Challenge Rides, etc…

• Advanced:
  16-20+mph avg
  Difficult terrain, fast pace
  Examples of this type of ride:  Sufferfests, 7-Peaks, etc…

I put these classifications together to try to alleviate anyone coming to a ride that may be too easy or too hard for them.  I’ve been asked by other members to do this, and I feel it is warranted.  I purposely went away from the A, B, C, D levels because I feel a more descriptive approach is better.  After all, we ride for recreation, to be fit, to challenge ourselves and to just be downright crazy, advanced riders.  So, why not use those adjectives to describe our rides on BikingLasVegas.com.

QUESTION: Can you have a ride that is classified as a recreation, but is moderate terrain?  Yes.  How would I describe that?  I would call it a Recreation+Fitness Ride.  Slower pace, but moderate terrain.  So it is possible to have two classifications overlap.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them by commenting on this blog post.

For anyone who still hasn’t updated their profiles since the time change, please login to your account and click on the Manage My Profile Link. Then, click the Board Preferences tab. Choose NO next to Summer Time/ DST in effect?

Or, try clicking on this link when logged in as it should take you right to the place in your profile to change the setting:   http://www.bikinglasvegas.com/cycling-forum/ucp.php?i=165

Sorry…the board does not automate the time changes…it only allows you to change it manually. This should bring you back to the current time since the DST / Time Change this weekend.