Fenland Friends 600 GPS Tracks 2018

This page is for downloading alternative versions of the GPS files for this, Tom Deakins' calendar event, starting from Churchend, Great Dunmow, on Saturday 8 September 2018 at 6am.  If you want information about the ride itself, visit AUK or yacf.  The GPS files are below the map.

This is the final version of the route:: up the left-hand side and back down the right (more or less).

You can browse the route on this RideWithGPS page.

The GPS Files

IMPORTANT — make sure you understand which version of the following GPS files are most suitable for your device.

  • Garmin Edge devices — new 500, new 700, 800/810/820, 1000, 1200 — use TCX; 10,000 points should be okay
  • Older Garmin Edge devices — you're in a murky area in that TCX should work, but you may get a more reliable result from GPX; 10,000 points should be okay
  • Wahoo devices — TCX 10k
  • Older Garmin devices — GPX and either 250-point or 500-point depending on which device.

Make sure you test these files out on your device before you start!

The full-route files are provided as a single TCX or GPX each.  However, the rest of the GPS routes, where the route is split into multiple GPS files, are provided as a ZIP file for each format — you require all of the files in the ZIP file!

The routes are provided as follows:

  • a single route for the whole 600km — FULL;
  • a set of two — Northbound (300km) to the turn at Goole, and Southbound (300km) to arrivée — NORTH and SOUTH;
  • a set of eight routes, one per stage — STG.

Each part starts and ends at a control.

You must decide which you want — I have named them so that they should behave correctly if you decide to install all of them at the same time: FULL, NORTH+SOUTH, STG respectively, as indicated above.  All of the names start FF600.  In addition the format (T for TCX and G for GPX) as well as the number of points (250, 500 and 10K) are included in the visible name, so you should be able to load multiple sized files at the same time, although please check carefully before you start!  For example, the northbound TCX file with 500 points will appear on-screen as FF600NORTH_T500.

There are additional notes in the organiser's notes and routesheet, including cautions and alternative routes. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the route and any reported hazards before you start, especially as none of this information is included in the GPS files!  Not least of which, there's an info-control in Kirton-in-Lindsey at the end of stage 5 in Kirton-in-Lindsey — don't forget to being a pencil!

This is now where it gets complicated — there are a LOT of options here, sorted by how split-up the route is, how many points/dots in each part, and whether it's TCX or GPX.

Updated 3 September 2018 for technical issues on older devices and an over-long single-stage file for stages 6 and 7.

Whittlesey Diversion

There is a diversion after Whittlesey control on the return leg due to the road between Whittlesey and Pondersbridge being closed for resurfacing, confirmed by Cambridge County Council.

I have updated the official tracks so that they follow the diversion, which adds on just under 2km overall.  Download any of these routes/ZIPs and it will include the diversion, as of about 18:30 on Saturday 1 September.

Full Fenland Friends 600km route in one part — advanced, use with care!

IMPORTANT — Fenland Friends is predominantly an out-and-back route that criss-crosses itself. It is your responsibility to make sure you ride the correct "leg" of the route if using these "full-route" GPX/TCX files!!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

  • 10k points — TCX or GPX file

It would be utterly ridiculous to try to navigate the whole 600km route using either the 250-point file, or the 500-point file, but here you go for kicks:

  • 500 points — TCX or GPX — use with extreme care!
  • 250 points — TCX or GPX — use with extreme care!

Note that the low-point-count routes above are well-suited to uploading to weather services such as Weather Bagel, which often choke on huge point-counts.

Fenland Friends 600 in 2x ~300km parts — northbound and southbound

To my way of thinking, this is the most useful set to use.

  • 10k points — TCX or GPX ZIP
  • 500 points — TCX or GPX ZIP

It would be fairly foolish to try to navigate each 300km part using the 250-point file, but here you go for a larf:

  • 250 points — TCX or GPX — use with extreme care!

Fenland Friends 600 one-stage-at-a-time — NINE stages, NINE files

Tom is treating the info control on stage 5 as a control and the end of the stage, with the second half being stage 6, so these stage routes are renumbered accordingly:

  • 10k points — TCX or GPX ZIP
  • 500 points — TCX or GPX ZIP
  • 250 points — TCX or GPX ZIP

 

If you're having problems or have a question, email Nick.