Creating a route with Garmin Connect software
Tutorial created by Olivier Letoublon (CC 7331)
I've been a member of the Club des Cent cols for around 4 years. I have a Garmin Edge 1000 that I use on my routes to climb new passes. I've tried using the ccWay software with the Base Camp software but I find it very complicated.
Until the autumn of 2017, I used Garmin Connect to prepare my rides. I prepared my route with Openrunner and then took the route on Garmin Connect in order to transfer it to my Garmin Edge 1000 GPS. Unfortunately, I couldn't indicate the exact location of the passes on the route. On several occasions, I went over passes without realising it (so I didn't take a photo of the pass) or, on a few occasions, I didn't go over the pass because I had to take a little diversions that I'd forgotten about.
For the last six months or so, Garmin Connect software has made it possible to insert route points and thus indicate the exact position of passes. When you transfer the route to the GPS, it lists the passes and indicates how far away they are.
Here's how to do it:
In a web browser, go to https://connect.garmin.com/. Of course, you can also create a favourite or, if you don't have the exact address to hand, do a search on "Garmin Connect".
The Garmin Connect application launches.
Use the mouse pointer to move over the vertical bar on the left of the screen.
The menu bar has expanded. Click on the little arrow opposite the word training.
At this point, under the word "training", 4 additional terms are added, including "course". Click on the word Course.
The window changes. Click on Create a route.
A new window appears in which you select the type of cycling route you want (road bike, mountain bike, gravel bike, etc.).
Once you have selected the type of route, click on Continue.
A new window appears. Select Follow routes.
From there, you can start to chart your course.
To zoom in or out on the map, simply use your mouse wheel. If you don't have one, you can use the zoom control at the bottom right of the map (+ and -).
To move around the map, hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer (the pointer turns into a hand).
When you're at the right place to start your route, click where you want to go.
For example, I'll be riding the final leg of the 2018 Étape du Tour from Scionzier to Le Grand-Bornand via Romme sur Cluses, Le Reposoir and the Col de la Colombière.
So I click on the roundabout just before the road to Romme. The Start sign appears with a green arrow.
Then click along the route.
Quite often, even when you have selected the Follow Roads mode, the programme will take roads that are totally impassable for a road bike. In this case, click Cancel.
Clicking Cancel deletes the last point of the route saved.
When you want to add a characteristic point to the route, here I'll use the Col de Romme sign (a pass recently recognised by the Club des Cent Cols).
I click on add a route point.
A small window appears.
Click on generic point, and a drop-down menu appears.
We choose the point that interests us. For me, it will be Col hors catégorie.
In the Title field, enter the name of the point.
Then click on the map at the point where the feature is located.
To make the characteristic point appear, the mouse pointer must correspond to a hand with the index finger pointing. If the index finger is not pointing, the characteristic point will not appear on the map.
A small icon will then appear.
On the left-hand side of the screen, you can see the distance of the point from the start and its altitude.
Simply click on the save point to save it.
Then repeat the procedure for each desired characteristic point.
If you wish to modify or delete the characteristic point, position the mouse pointer over the route point and right-click. You can then either modify the point or delete it.
Once you have clicked on the 3 dots, a pop-up menu appears which allows you to modify the route by clicking on the word modify.
In the end, on the map, it looks like this.
When the route is complete, you send it to your Garmin GPS.
Click on Send to device.
At this point, the data is sent using Garmin express software, which must be installed on your computer beforehand.
When the route has been transferred to your Garmin Edge, this is what appears on the screen.
I took the example of an outing in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva.
I know that my first col (Col de l'Alliaz) is 6.8 km away with an estimated finish time of 16 minutes 24 seconds.
The second pass (Col des Joncs) is 14km away, with an estimated finish time of 32 minutes 50 seconds.
And so on.
When you get close to the pass, it appears on the GPS map (Col de l'Alliaz).
When you are at the pass, the name appears at the bottom of the screen.
