Dear BTG riders,

today it is time to publish the track. Please find attached documents for detailed information.

Furthermore, we want to remind you of our tracking. The registration page is open. Registration closes on 15th June, 24:00.

Best regards, Thomas & Achim.

Detailed information on GPS Track

Dear participants,

the track for the 2019 Bikepacking Trans Germany is complete. Please treat the website and content confidentially.

Important on this page is the download of BTG2019.gpx (track and POI) and

BTG2019_poi.xlsx (automatically generated list of POIs, as roadbook).

Navigation Hardware

Although the GPX format is understood by many apps and devices, we would advise against navigating with the smartphone. Despite the fact that apps like the popular Kommot are very user-friendly, we still recommend to rely on a dedicated outdoor GPS such as the Garmin etrex for navigation on the track. From our experience and the feedback we have gotten from several participants, these devices offer the best solution in terms of ruggedness and reliability. Our GPX data is tested on Garmin devices.

GPX

The GPX contains:

  • BTG2019p1 – BTG2019p6 : the six parts of the main track, separated by checkpoints
  • BTG2019_Alt1 : an alternative to bypass the passenger ferry Aalbude outside operating hours
  • BTG2019_Alt2 : an alternative to avoid the encounter with hikers
  • BTG2019_Alt3 : the old route along the Rhine – do not use for the Grand Depart

The GPX file is designed to be usable on most devices without modification. Please test this and give us feedback if necessary. If there are any changes to track or POI after today, we will inform you. However, please check the date of the website a few days before the start for updates.

Because of the large number of participants, we will ride the first few kilometers in Critical Mass mode and and make a rolling start after leaving Grenzach. The route then leads back to Switzerland, where it continues up the Rhine.

At the checkpoints there is no control by persons or whatsoever. They are just meant to stop briefly and have a look around. In addition, if possible, you should take a selfie or photo at each checkpoint and post if necessary. If you do not want to post on Facebook, you can do this in the forum of MTB-News, our WhatsApp group or another place.

As most of you know, in many parts of Central Europe it is not easy to find attractive and rideable roads that are not paved. Therefore, the route will sometimes appear as bullying. We tried to take into account the feedback from previous years regarding the route. In some places we have found a better choice, in others (such as on the Bike Crossing Swabian Alb at Bad Urach) we found no useful alternative and sections like the “devil’s kitchen” we do not want to take out. So prepare to curse us. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to your feedback after the tour and also gladly accept concrete suggestions for improvement.

POI

The GPX file also contains about 270 Points of Interest (POI); mainly shelters, restaurants and services. These are usually close to the track. Each participant is free to research and add more POIs to his / her collection.

The GPX file can be loaded and viewed with the Garmin BaseCamp software. It is also possible to transfer the data to the GPS device.

Upload and Navigation

There are several ways to transfer the GPX data to the navigation device. Two of them will be presented here.

1. direct file transfer

2. Transmission via Garmin Basecamp

File transfer

The GPX file is copied from the download directory with Copy + Paste or the mouse into the GPX directory of the navigation device, which is connected to the computer via USB.

Devices like Garmin etrex or GPSMAP support this type of transmission. Others, e.g. the Edge 800, don’t.

Transmission with Garmin Basecamp

In Garmin Basecamp, the GPX file is first imported into the library. A new list folder BTG2019 will be created. The entire folder can now be transferred to the connected GPS device by right-clicking and selecting “Send To”.

The Garmin Edge 800 is from my experience not able to transfer multiple tracks simultaneously. The tracks must be sent to the device one at a time and the device must be restarted after each transmission.

Navigation

After the transfer, you should be able to find tracks and POI via the respective menu on the device, as these screenshots show:

To show a track on the map, it must be activated accordingly

Then the display color is visible in the track overview. The visualization of a track is especially recommended for route alternatives. The actual track can also be followed with the navigation device. This has the advantage that the altitude profile and the current position in the altitude profile can be displayed, as well as the remaining distance is visible to the end of the track. The latter can be useful for orientation in our POI list. Most devices also have an alarm when the track being followed is left.

To follow the track, open it and click on Go.

POI List

A list of points of interest (POI) is useful for planning the tour and orientation while riding. This list is automatically generated by a computer program. It contains all the POI that are 1600 meters or less away from the track.

The points are numbered and prefixed. The numbering of the points is arbitrary; it does not correspond to a geographical order. The prefix stands for the type of point:

B Bivi; shelters and camping
S Service; supermarkets, restaurants and gas stations
W Water
I Information
C Bike shops

Each point has more properties, like

km abs absolute distance along the track from the start
km to CP remaining distance along the track until the next checkpoint
m off Route Distance to the closest point of the track
km betw. distance along the track between the last and this POI
EG betw. elevation gain in between

The “km to CP” column may be useful for orientation, as long as the track is followed as described above. The “Distance to Destination” display can be used to determine the current position in the list.

The example shows the supermarket “S016 Rewe” in the table and the map. The point is not directly situated on the track, but 241 m from the route point with the shortest distance. This point is 70.5 km from the start. It is obvious that it is not the point where you have to leave the track to get to the supermarket.

Here the relation between the shelters “B120 Shelter” and “B064 Shelter” is shown. The distance between the two points is perhaps 10 km as the crow flies, but along the track it is 20.7 km. This can be calculated by the sum of the distances to the respective previous point (or by the difference of the absolute distances). It can also be determined how many altitude meters are located between the two POIs. Based on the calculation, you can judge whether you stay at Shelter B120 or still want to make the 20 km and 600 vertical meters to Shelter B064 (of course you can stay in a hotel in Bad Urach or have a bivi somewhere in between).

This example should show that the shortest connection is not always the best. Along real roads and paths, the green variant is cheaper than the magenta one, especially since it has only a small difference in altitude. Because, according to the Rules, the ride must be continued at the point where you leave the track. On the magenta route you would have to ride up the whole mountain again.

Probably our most extreme example of the difference between straight line and real distance. The bike shop C002 is less than 1 km from the track, but the shortest route across the bridge is 10.4 km.