Groups are a great way to distribute routes amongst a group of riders. Your group members will have a link to the group page on their profile, so they can easily get to the list of routes shared by the group. Groups can have multiple administrators that are able to add routes and manage the details of the group.

Creating a group is a very quick process, and then you can start inviting your group members and adding routes.

1. Go to Search - Groups.
2. In the top right click the button labeled + Create a new group.
3. Enter a name, and select what type of group it is.
4. That's it! Now you can add routes or photos, and get your group members to join.

The easiest way to sync your rides from a Garmin GPS unit is with our Garmin Sync feature, available in the top navigation under Add Content - Garmin Sync. Here is how it works:

1. Go to Add Content - Garmin Sync
2. If you don't have the Garmin Communicator plugin installed, you will see a message with instructions on how to install it. This is required for the feature to work.

3. If it says you do not have any devices connected, connect your Garmin GPS unit, wait a moment, and refresh the page.

   If you have 1 device connected, it will start reading from it immediately.

   If you have multiple GPS devices, you will see a message like this:

   

   Select the GPS device you'd like to sync, and click "Start Reading".

4. After your device is read from, new activities available for syncing will display on the left like this:

   

   Click on the activity you would like to sync, and click Save. A save dialog will pop up that looks like this:

   

   Fill in any details you'd like (everything is optional) and click Save

5. Once saved, you will see your activity appear on the right side under Transferred trips:

   

   You are all done, just head back to your profile to see your trip. It may take a moment to process.

The bulk uploader is available via Add Content - GPX, TCX, FIT and allows you to upload one or more files from your GPS unit. Using the feature is very simple, here are the steps:

1. Navigate to Add Content - GPX, TCX, FIT

2. You will be presented with this screen:

   

   The first checkbox allows you to use the names that are provided in the files you upload. If you are getting these files directly off of a GPS unit, you can probably leave this unchecked since names are most likely not provided in the files.

   The second checkbox lets you automatically mark all uploads as private, so they are only visible to your account.

3. Click Browse and find the files you would like to upload. You can select multiple files at once by holding Control (Windows) or Command (OS X) and clicking on multiple files. Hit OK to begin the upload.

4. You will see a progress bar for files being uploaded. Once all files are uploaded successfully you will see bars with green check marks for each file, like this:

   

   At this point you can head back to your profile, and you will be given links to the uploaded rides once they are processed.

You can upload a single file and enter all the details of that ride by going to Add Content - Log Ride. If you need to upload multiple files, use our Bulk Uploader functionality available by navigating to Add Content - GPX, TCX, FIT.

To support integration with mobile apps that allow emailing GPX files, we created an email address you can send a file to as an attachment and have that ride processed and saved to your account. Just email your ride as an attachment to upload@rwgps.com and we will process it automatically. Make sure you email it from the same account you use to log in to Ride with GPS.

If you didn't bring your GPS unit or phone along to record your ride, no big deal. You can log it in a few easy steps and it will still show up on your calendar and add to your distance totals.

1. Make sure you have the route you rode saved. If you don't already have the route mapped, do so by navigating to Add Content - Map Ride.
2. Navigate to Add Content - Log Ride.
3. When asked if you have GPS data to upload, select No
4. Select the route that you rode, and fill in any other relevant details. Make sure to enter the date.
5. Click Save Activity.

We have extensive help on segments located here: Segments Help

You can remember another user's route, trip, profile or gear items. This lets you easily refer back to something you would like to reference in the future. For example, if I am going to participate in a organized ride, I might remember the route for that ride, so I can easily find it from my profile rather than search for it.

To remember a route or an activity, look for the "Remember This" link in the right sidebar:

For a user or piece of gear, look under the image on the left side of the page:

Once you have remembered an item, you can access it via the "Remembered" tab on your profile page:

Premium users have access to a simple way to send a route to a GPS device. We call this functionality "Garmin Write", and it is available when you view any route, as a link in the "Export" tab in the right sidebar, or near the bottom of the sidebar:

Once you click this link, you will be brought to a new page. You may have to click "OK" to allow our site to communicate with your Garmin device. If you have multiple GPS units, you will be presented with a list in the middle of the page, allowing you to select the particular unit you wish to send your route to:

You also have access to a drop down to select between different file types. Refer to specific help on your GPS unit to understand which filetype is best for you:

• Edge 305
• Edge 705
• Edge 800
• Edge 500

Searching for routes is easy using our route search tool. By default, the search centers on your default location in your profile. If you haven't saved a default location, the search centers on Portland, OR. You can go about saving a default search location here:

http://ridewithgps.com/help/Setting-a-default-map-location

Route search also defaults to ordering by our rating system. The rating system takes into account the number of comments and photos, as well as the presence of a description and other variables. This way, high quality routes filter to the top of the search results. If you want to change your sort options, or play with other more advanced search features, you'll need to click the "More Options" link in the upper right corner of the search box.

Once you click this, advanced search options will be shown. Note: the length and elevation gain sliders are two-sided: the left side can be dragged right to set the minimum distance, and the right side slider can be moved left to set the max distance.

To plan a route, go to Add Content - Map Ride.

The easiest way to learn how to plan routes effectively is to see it in action. We recommend watching these two short videos below, and you shouldn't need to read any of the details that follow! If you don't want to watch a video, no problem, we have a lot written about route planning below.

Basic Route Planning

Advanced Route Planning

Here are some general tips for route planning:

1. Never click inside an intersection. By clicking inside an intersection, Google's direction service can interpret your click as passing your turn by a few feet. As a result, it will think you need to flip around in order to make your turn. This causes a left to change into a right. Instead, always click past the turn along the road you wish to take.
2. Map while zoomed in close enough to see side streets. By mapping while zoomed into the map, you will avoid accidentally clicking inside an intersection with a small cross street. This avoids odd entries in the cuesheet, when Google routes you ten feet along a side road.
3. Keep your clicks relatively close together (a quarter mile or less). Finally, by keeping your clicks relatively close together, when you need to undo you don't lose a big chunk of your route. Additionally, when you drag and drop, the modified section is bounded by your two click points on either side of where you are dragging. If you have large distances between each click, the section modified by drag/drop is large and you get unintended detours.

Points of Interest (POI) can be added along your route, or nearby the route, to get additional details onto your map. You select an icon, give it a name, and optionally a description and photos.

Adding POI

To add a POI, select Add POI on the right sidebar.

Click anywhere along your route, or on the map, to place your POI. Select an icon for the POI, and enter in any details.

Click Save, and your POI will appear on the map, as well as on the left sidebar under the Points of Interest tab.

Removing POI

To remove a POI from the route you are planning, click on it to bring up the form, and you will find a Delete button in the bottom left of the dialog:

There are several places to delete routes from for convenience, but they all operate in the same manner. Here are a few options:

From your profile

Find the route you'd like to delete in the Maps tab on your profile.

Click Detailed view to bring up the route in detail. Once the route is loaded, in the right sidebar make sure the Overview tab is selected, and you will see a list of actions at the bottom:

Click Delete this route.

From your routes page

First navigate to your routes page from the top navigation:

You can delete routes directly from the table, just click the Delete link in the rightmost column:

Cue sheets for a pre-existing route can be edit by selecting the "edit" route.

Once you are in the edit route screen click on the cue sheet instruction you want to edit. When you do a dialog box will display in the map.

Make the changes you want in the dialog box and click save.

When you are finished editing the cue sheet click "save" in the bottom right corner of the page.

Our route planner has three basic modes of transportation, "Walking", "Cycling" and "Driving". Each mode prioritizes your route based on different criteria:

• Driving, prioritize based on shortest distance. No consideration for safety, obeys all traffic laws.
• Cycling, prioritize based on safety, obeys all traffic laws. Will work on multi-use and bike paths. Not available outside US.
• Walking, prioritize based on safety, does not obey traffic laws. Useful for one-ways, bike and multi-use paths.

You can change your mode in the right sidebar, while planning a route by simply clicking one of the three options. Next time you map a route, your previous setting is remembered.

Note: when in cycling mode, you may get unpredictable results in some areas. This is because the routing system will not let you route along a certain stretch of the rode, instead diverting you to a sidestreet. In some cases, this can cause funny loops and uturns. If you notice this, switch to "Driving" mode.