Tracking your ride or hike with Garmin Nuvi 500

A quick note! This is a rough guide, and we don't have any Nuvi's to actually test with. This info has been provided by a user and we haven't personally verified it. Additionally, it may work for other Nuvi models.

1. At the start of your ride, clear your trip log: Tool.numbereds, My Data, Clear Trip Log, Yes.
2. "Hack" to start logging: Tools, Where Am I, then in the My Location box at the left, press the four corners clockwise starting at the lower left:
   1. lower left
   2. upper left
   3. upper right
   4. lower right
   Then click Start Recording.
3. At the end of your ride click the Stop button on your navigation screen, then power off the unit.
4. Connect to your PC, open your browser to GPS Visualizer
   1. Select Output Format GPX
   2. Next to Upload your files, Browse
   3. On your Nuvi, in the directory \Garmin\Logs, open the one named with today's date/time + Looks like yyyymmdd_hhmmss in 24-hour time format
   4. Select GPS.BIN
   5. click Convert
   6. Click to download the file. Rename it to something sensible.
5. Open the ridewithgps.com route planner
   1. Click Add Content
   2. Under GPX/TCX/KML click Upload a file
   3. Click Browse, and find the file you saved and renamed.
   4. Wait a minute, then click the link for your profile page.
   5. On your profile page, click the link for the trip that you just uploaded a few minutes ago.

Obviously, it's possible to get derailed in running through these steps. As well, there might be an easier way for Garmin Nuvi owners to track their rides, so comments are welcome.