GPX Versions 1.1 vs 1.2 for Garmin Visually Explained

[Carl Lee]

@simon-james-hancock, also learned the hard way is if you start your route with 'CEP' (closest entry point) and either your end point or some other part of the route is closer to you than the start point, you can ride a very short route! In which case, choose the 'Start'.

If you wish to mark a petrol station or similar without creating a via point, create a POI of it in MRA. You can name it whatever you like and change the symbol. It will only show up as a flag and name on your Zumo though - these can be edited. There will be no distance or time shown to it but very handy nonetheless.

I'll reaffirm what I said earlier re 'auto-recalculate' with GPX1.2. It can be left on if you wish to be guided back to your route. It does not (in my tests) recalculate you to the next via point.

[Simon James Hancock]

Carl that is exactly what happened to me when my end point was closer to me when I set off than my start point, thanks.
I will try the POI when creating the map in MRA.
Maybe when selecting a petrol station in the Up Ahead menue it will not be neccessary to creat a POI.

[Will Brooks]

I've found when creating routes especially circular ones with a start and finish point close together or an "out and back" route using some of the same roads that the best way is to plan my route and then split it into 2 routes using the MRA split function so I have an "OUTBOUND" route and a "RETURN" route. That way I can totally eliminate the issue of confusion when skipping or recalculating of the XT misrouting to a point that is on my return leg rather than my outbound leg.

[Simon James Hancock]

Brilliant!
I have now created an out bound and inbound route.
Later on I will give it a try.
Thanks everyone for the patcience and time taken to answer my questions.
Pardon the pun but things are taking shape.

[Mzokk]

@Simon-James-Hancock It appears from reading through all of this that your XT and XT2 will behave slightly differently with GPX 1.2 files. The XT and older Garmin devices will recalculate according to their own parameters if you use GPX 1.2 and accidently recalculate the route. This behaviour will not be fixed by Garmin as the units are now discontinued. I've tested this in simulation mode and riding the bike with a GPX 1.2 route on the Garmin Zumo XT you cannot let the unit recalculate. This is fine as all that happens is that the unit goes quiet until you re join the magenta line. For the XT2/3 it appears that recent software updates from Garmin mean that if you deviate from a GPX1.2 route you can leave automatic recalculation on and the device will navigate back to the route.

[Carl Lee]

@Steve-Jarrell said:

When you introduce an intermediate via point in the route and then skip it, you give the Garmin the permission to totally ignore your planned route and do whatever it wants to do and recalculate the route as it sees fit!

Via points have always been a nuisance if you don't visit them no matter what GPX format is used. I use them a lot on trek events where we have to visit multiple points but other than that use them very sparingly. Next time I get a chance, I'll build a 1.2 route with some extra via points and ride it. They'll be in places where the XT2 would find it a lot quicker to re-route in order to get to the next via point if skipped. I'm not sure when this will be but standby......

[Steve Jarrell]

@Carl-Lee Very good to know. Thanks!!

[Steve Jarrell]

@Carl-Lee As long as you don't mind the Garmin rerouting you to get from via point to via point it's not an issue, but if you're expecting to follow the route that you planned you may or may not do so!

[Steve Jarrell]

@John-S-Parry I'm not sure. That will be a good test. I will bet it does force a recalculate. However as has been pointed out here it very well may be device dependent (XT-XT2-XT3).

That's a beautiful part of the country. I flew into Seattle a few years ago and drove down the west coast mainly on the 101 to San Diego for a couple of weeks. The prettiest part of the drive was WA - OR - Northern CA by far.

[John S Parry]

@Steve-Jarrell Yes, the WA - OR - Northern CA sections of the west coast have incredible scenery. I always try to catch that area when there are known periods of good weather and clear skies. But from a pure riding perspective, Central California has some of the best backroad riding to be found anywhere. That's my backyard, and I try to take full advantage of it.

Back to the "Up Ahead" and what adding diversions does to a route -- I'll construct a test to see how much of the overall route is touched. Like you, I hate any recalculation because I never trust what might actually be altered. My routes have a given shape for a reason and changing them on the fly during execution goes against my intent. Using a feature like "Up Ahead" is a valid alteration (to me) given a specific circumstance, so I'll investigate that further.

[Carl Lee]

So long as you have your track visible, none of this is a major problem. And in any case, it's always quite easy to get back to your intended route by stopping it then restarting with CEP.

I spend some time planning the specific roads I want us to go down so also hate it being messed up. I'm really pleased with how 1.2 handles a normal deviation so finding out about skipped via points and "Up Ahead" deviations will be interesting.