Navigate with the Garmin Forerunner 305

A couple of weeks ago, one of my riding buddies invited me to join him on a training ride to prepare for the Jerusalem Marathon. The idea was to ride one lap around the 30 KM course to get to know it before the actual race. Since neither of us ever rode that course before, he asked me if I could add it to my Forerunner 305 GPS and use it to show us the way.

I love my Garmin FR305. I use it all the time for training. It provides me with lots of information about my runs/rides both during and after workouts. But it has never occurred to me that I could use it for navigation. So I did some research online (there's not much information on the official Garmin site) and found a few tutorials that explain the process. Since I couldn't find anything detailed enough, I thought I'd write my own take of it and share it with my readers. So here goes...

To get started you'll need to get a hold of a course file. There are many tools and sites that let you create a course file by drawing a route on a digital map and saving it locally, where the most common is Google Maps. In Israel, you can use Amud Anan to draw the course on a topographic terrain map (Google Maps does not provide topographic information for Israel yet) and save it to your computer. You can also download an existing course file from a plethora of sites that store and categorize routs for hiking, running, biking etc. and let users upload and share their own routs. There's btrail, USATF, MapMyRun, MotionBased Trail Network just to name a few.



The important thing is to store the file in the correct format for the Forerunner 305 which is a .crs file (remember, this is a course file, not a workout file). There are a ton of different file formats for the different GPS devices and tools, but luckily it's easy to convert from one format to another using this conversion tool. Just point to your source file, select the format you're interested in (Garmin Course CRS) and hit Convert. If you choose Options, you can also name the course, and add/fix elevation data to your course.



Once you have the CRS file stored, open Garmin Training Center, and choose File -> Import -> Courses. Select the course file, and voila, your file is right there under the Courses tab. Now connect your FR305 and click on the "Send to Device" button to transfer the new course to your Garmin Forerunner.



Once the course is on the device, click Mode, then choose Training, Courses and select the course you want to follow. Click Do Course to start. The timer does not actually start until you press the normal Start button.



In navigation mode, the FR305 provides screens that are unavailable in standard training mode: navigation data fields, map view, elevation graph, compass, etc. You switch between the "special" screens using the Mode button, and the standard screen using the regular up/down arrow keys.

The most useful screen in my opinion is the map screen. It shows the planned course in a thick line, and the actual traveled track in a thin dotted line, and the current location is shown using a small triangle. This screen makes it very easy to follow the planned route.



One complaint I have about navigating with the FR305 is that it displays a "Off Course" message too often, even when I'm on course or off by a tiny bit. the problem is that the Off Course message stays there until you hit the Enter button which could be difficult in the middle of a hard climb or a fast descent. And while the message is on screen it is hard to see the data behind it.

Other than that, it's a great way to explore new trails without getting lost.

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The Evolution of My Mountain Biking

If you've read my previous post about running gadgets, you've probably assumed that I'm a runner. Well, I am now, but I wasn't always one. My true love has always been mountain biking. More accurately - my current true love is mountain biking. Before that it was BMX, and before that offroad dirt bikes. I guess I just love anything with two wheels and handlebars. I've been riding bikes since forever, and mountain bikes since 1994. I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't own a bike or two. Maybe only during my 4 year military service.

A few hours ago I came back from an epic ride with my friends. It's the same group of people I've been riding with for the past three years. The ride was awesome! We headed out to the Jerusalem mountains for some fast cross-country riding with lots of long steep climbs combined with a couple of classic single tracks. When I look at my friends I'm amazed to see how much our riding has changed in the last couple of years. These days most of us are riding steel hard tail bikes with no gears. It's a long leap sideways from the high-tech aluminum long-travel full-suspension bikes we all owned and rode just a few short years back. But I'm moving too fast here, let me start from the beginning.

The bike that I consider to be my first "real" mountain bike was a rigid 1994 Kona Lava Dome. It was 2 sizes too big, and was very very, well, rigid. But I loved it. It was fast and light, and climbed like there was no tomorrow. It had a beautiful cromoly frame, Grip Shift shifters, cantilever breaks (which were a pain to adjust) and flat, narrow handlebars - SWEET! The reason I bought it (not that I really needed a reason) was to commute to my school which was located smack in the middle of the Carmel mountains in Haifa. To grab some extra credit I joined the school's mountain biking team, which meant I had to attend the team's weekly early morning rides (rain or shine) to the Haifa University which was all the way up the mountain. We took the road going up, and once we got there we chose one of the numerous fire roads that lead back down and just raced down full speed ahead - no single tracks, no technical trails, just full-on speed that, on a rigid bike, would loosen the fillings in your mouth and blur your vision. Most of the time it also meant climbing back from the bottom of the mountain to the Technion's campus which was about half way up. By 8:30 when class started, we'd be back in school all sweaty, smelly and - depending on the weather - soaking wet, but with huge smiles on our faces. This is what got me hooked on mountain biking.

Around 1998, a little after I graduated form university, I traveled to visit my kid brother in Canada. We went on a roadtrip through the Canadian Rockies. On one stop along the way, I think it was in Lake Luise, my brother and I rented mountain bikes and went for a short ride in the trails around the lake. It was the most beautiful bike ride I've done until then - long winding single track in deep green woods that seemed to last forever. Absolutely perfect. When we got back to the store to return the bikes I noticed that they were having a huge end of season sale (it was the end of summer) on all their new bikes. I just couldn't resist, and bought my first full-suspension bike - a DeVinci Magma. Or Contact. I forget. What I do remember is that I actually tried out two different bikes: an XC race-ready hard tail, and a more moderate full-suspension FSR style bike. I almost went for the hard tail just because it had an XTR rear derailleur. Plus, full-suspension bikes weren't very common back then, and I was afraid of being an early adopter. What a dope. Luckily I wasn't fooled by the bling of the XTR, and went for the full-suspension bike. Apart from the XT rear derailleur it also had a RockShox Judy 80mm fork, 3.25" of rear wheel travel, V-breaks and a wide Titec riser bar which I had cut by an inch on each side (once again, what a dope). I remember coming home with the new bike and taking it in for a tune-up at the local bike shop, the bike mechanic was so impressed with the suspension, he suggested I sign up for the upcoming downhill race! I'm glad I didn't listen to him... I enjoyed riding the DeVinci very much, but didn't quite know what it was best for. I took it out to the most technical single tracks available at the time (mostly motorbike enduro trails), and was surprised the bike didn't handle them very well. What was I expecting? Anyway, at the time motorbikes started grabbing more and more of my attention, and the poor bike was left alone to collect dust on the porch while I rode the same trails on a 2 stroke KTM.

Motorbikes came and went, and one day in late 2003 I noticed a new trend: everybody around me was talking about, or buying all mountain bikes. So, I decided to join the long travel revolution (what can I say, I'm a trendy guy), and bought a Rocky Mountain Slayer 70 with 5 long, plush inches of front and rear travel. Finally, I thought, a bike that can handle anything I throw at it. It was the bike that got me riding mountain bikes again. Biking in Israel was taking off like crazy, new trails were popping up everywhere, and everyone I knew was riding bikes. The new trails were getting more and more technical with rock drops, jumps and steep downhills. There were even a few trails that had wooden bridges, ladders and jumps built along them a-la North Shore. In most cases I handled the technical elements quite well with my Slayer, but I was starting to feel a bit inadequate. Everywhere I looked 6 and 7 inch bikes were roaming the trails, riders wearing full-face helmets and body armor were sharing the same trails I was, taking crazy lines down the mountain sides. It was getting just too tempting. So once again, in late 2007 I said goodbye to my Slayer and bought a new bike: a DeVinci Frantik. This time a full-fledged freeride bike. It had a coil spring, a beefy 180mm single crown fork, 1.5" head tube and it weighed 18KG. A freaking beast - and I loved it. This time there were no excuses, I rode everywhere, down the gnarliest trails and the craziest drops. And I did it all with relative ease. This bike was awesome, it made me a better rider by providing stability and security in the most difficult and unpredicted places. It showed me that I can actually do and dare more than I ever thought I could. But all this goodness came at a price - it was all becoming too easy. More and more I was starting to feel that it wasn't me but the bike taking these crazy lines and speeding down these fast trails. Plus, I also learned that Israel is not BC, and Merav is not exactly Whistler. I spent way too much time pedaling up the trails on an 18KG bike that's specifically designed to do one thing: go fast downhill. I realized that on 80% of the time, this bike is not exactly the right tool for the job. Yes, it was fun, but it was also punishing. I hated the climbs, I hated missing out on epic rides with my friends, and I was quickly getting out of shape. Which takes us back to the beginning of my story, and today's ride with my friends.

So, in November of 2008 I bought a steel hard tail bike with 29" wheels and no gears, the Niner Bikes SIR9. In a way this took me back 15 years to my old steel Kona, but after a few rides with the SIR I've realized it's the best bike I've ever owned. I feel like all the improvements in bike technology over the years have made me numb. These long travel bikes are fun to ride, no doubt, but they isolate the rider from the terrain and from the sensations that come from being 100% connected with your bike. I now know that there's no such thing as a do-it-all bike, and that you need the right tool for the job to get the most out of it, but this bike IS the right tool for the job 85% of the time, it's all up to the rider to make it happen and not give up. I guess I went full circle from steel, rigid bikes to full-suspension aluminum beasts and back, and all I can say is steel is real baby, steel is real!

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The Running Geek

Aside from being a full time developer and a gadget fanatic I'm also an enthusiastic runner. Running helps me stay fit - that's obvious - but it also gives me an opportunity to expand my geeky horizons.

There are many aspects of running that can make a geek truly excited. You have your selection of motion control-super comfy-arch supporting-long lasting shoes, the dizzying array of light weight-sweat wicking-all weather-quick drying clothes, and of course the energy bars, gels, drinks and powders that fill up aisles and aisles in your local organic food co-op. But my two favorite running gadgets are, by far, the running watch and the music player. I'll start with the watch.

When I first started running I bought the cheapest stopwatch I could find in my neighborhood drug store. It cost me 10 bucks, and it worked perfectly. I ran the same 5k course twice a week, and all I really needed was to know how long it took each time.


After a while I decided I also wanted to track my heart rate. Many runners claim it makes training more efficient, but to me it wasn't about that. I just thought it was cool to be able to see your heart rate change in real time while running. So I went out and got the Nike C8 running watch with the HR monitor.

I enjoyed the C8 for a while, but there was a problem. It had no memory. It didn't keep a log of my runs, so I couldn't compare runs, track my progress or view my running history. All the data it displayed, disappeared as soon as I reset the timer, and that just didn't cut it. Oh, and there was one more issue. Over the years I started to run in more diverse locations. Tracking my running distance was becoming more important to me as well.


So I decided to spend the cash and buy the Polar RS200 with the accessory foot pod. This was a huge technological leap forward. The polar collected information about the time, distance, pace, heart rate, and more, showed it in real time, and - my favorite feature - allowed me to upload the data to the Polar Personal Trainer site for logging. I would sit for hours analyzing each run. I enjoying comparing recent runs with older ones, examining my progress. I generated reports showing the total distance I ran in the last year, and the aggregated number of calories I've burnt since I bought the watch. It was great. It was fun. But, you guessed it, there were some problems. First of all, the foot pod. The main issue was its accuracy. The foot pod could be very accurate as long as you calibrate it properly. And by properly I mean a different setting for each shoe, track and style of running. If you calibrated it for a road run, it would be off if you ran on a trail. If you calibrate it during your 18K slow pace run, it would be off in the 5K dash. Plus, it was bulky and inconvenient, and the batteries ran out just when I most needed it - in the middle of a race, of course.

Then there's Polar's "special" data transfer protocol. It goes like this: You place the watch close the your PC microphone and hit the send button (oh, and you have to make sure that the PC software is in listen mode first). At that point the watch starts emitting these horrible sounds just like an old 14,400 baud US Robotics modems sounded. About 50% of the time, the connection would fail mid-way through the transfer, and you'd have to start all over again.


These reasons, plus the unbelievably low price ($160 at Amazon) convinced me to purchase the coolest running watch (if you can even call it a watch) I ever had - the Garmin Forerunner 305. I'll never forget the first time I took it our for a run - it felt so good to loose the foot pod. Here's what I like about it: it's light weight yet feels very solid on the wrist. It has a large display that is very easy to read while running. It hooks up to the PC by USB, it even has its own little cradle. And it stores so much data about your runs it will knock your socks off. Since it has a GPS unit built right into the device, there's no foot pod, no external GPS, no calibration, and best of all, it works great during other outdoor activities like biking, skiing, or horse back riding (you can't swim with it though - it's not water proof).

Garmin offers a desktop client (Garmin Training Center) that lets you analyze your runs and store your training history. But I personally prefer the online options they offer. Garmin offers several online applications each for a different purpose or device. There's Training Peaks, New Leaf, Motion Based and the most recent addition to the Garmin web arsenal Garmin Connect. I currently use Motion Based which is decent - it provides plenty of information regarding the activity - but the UI is kind of old and confusing, and for some reason they charge $12 a month to view all your activities (with the free service gives you just see the last 10). Hopefully, it won't be long until they finally complete the migration to Garmin Connect.

Music players are the second piece of running gear I love to geek out on. Music goes exceptionally well with running (see Nike+). I love to run outdoors, and music helps me stay motivated and strong when I go out on long runs al by myself.

The first player I owned that's worth mentioning is the 3rd Gen iPod I got in late 2003. It had a 40GB hard disk - enough to store my entire music collection - but it was relatively big and uncomfortable to run with. I even bought an arm band for it, but it just didn't work well. After it got stolen, I bought a 60GB 4G Photo iPod, but again, it wasn't ideal for running. It often skipped, it was heavy, and not very resistant to hits and bangs. It died less than a year after I bought it.

That's when I bought my first running specific player - the Rio Forge. The Forge was small and curvy - designed to hold in your hand while running. It featured a built-in stopwatch, FM receiver and a memory card expansion slot. But it was terribly slow to start-up, the navigation controls were horrible to use while running, and the arm band was not comfortable at all.

Luckily I got a 1st Gen 1GB iPod Nano as a Christmas present from work. It was an amazing player. Tiny - compared to anything else at the time - slick, and real easy to use. Navigation was easy, start up was instantanious, music syncing was a breeze with iTunes, 1GB was just enough to store all my favorite running songs, and the Nano was small enough to hold in my hand while running. It's the player I used the longest so far.

Recently I gave up my Nano for a new player - the Sansa Clip 4GB. I was looking for a really tiny player that will clip on to my running shorts. I considered getting the iPod Shuffle, but the Sansa Clip turned out to be a much better deal. It cost about half of what a 2GB Shuffle would have cost me, it has a screen so I can see what's playing and choose a playlist, it has an FM tuner, a voice recorder, excellent sound quality, and comfortable in-ear headphones. I love the Clip - it's so small and light I barely notice it when I run.

So much for running geekyness. Next time I'll write about my other obsession - mountain biking.

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