GPS Tracking for touring.
 

Currently in North America, I'm trying to find a way to track my tour position through GPS so loved ones can monitor my progress. There are GPS tracker I'm aware of, but if I were to get one I would prefer one that doesn't require a subscription to service or be too outdated that was a decent one in it's 2G network days. What is most effective? Easiest to operate? Holds a decent battery life? I just want something that I can easily look up online or text the location every few hours. It's become harder than I thought to find this. I wouldn't know if it would cause issues at an airport say I stow it away in my bike luggage so it doesn't go missing on a cross ocean tour.

There are a ton of phone apps that run on cellular data. But that means you must have cellular data. If you want a tracker that tracks everywhere, you will need to get a satellite tracker as they, of course, use satellites instead of cellular. Since the companies (Garmin and Spot) do not own the satellites, they buy the time/data from the satellite owners and thus pass on the costs in the form of a subscription.

If you stick with the phone apps, check your carrier's coverage area as the app is only as good as the coverage. I "think" Verizon is the "best" in rural America but it too will lack coverage in numerous areas.

I will be interested to see if there are others other than Garmin and Spot.

The only thing I can think of to mention is google maps via cell phone. By using it's gps, it records your location history. Which you can later look up and review. Though I believe you have to pause your movement periodically for it to take a recording. Like if you stop to eat somewhere, it will record that, but not your detailed routes while in motion. I'm also unsure how long those pauses have to be for it to record. If you use it's "Directions" functions, it will likely record the achieved destinations whether you stop or keep rolling.

You might look into Life360. My wife and I use it in our auto travels. We use Verizon and as stated pretty good network coverage but not 100%. We travel in northern Michigan and the U.P. There are some dead zones. It does, obviously, require GPS/location be turned on. You might want an auxiliary battery along just in case. For cycling I use Strava's Beacon Text. It's sent to my wife's phone when I ride so she can track me.

I offer this advice whenever this subject comes up: Make sure your loved ones understand that the technology may not always work, for reasons noted above, so they don't panic and call for the cavalry because they think something has happened to you. That very thing happened several years ago when a mother did not hear from her son for a couple of day. She started a thread on BF and on ACA's forum frantically looking for her missing son. Who know what else she did, such as calling local authorities? Turns out the kid was fine. IIRC, his phone battery died and he didn't have an opportunity to charge it for a few days. He never even knew he was missing.

My wife wants me to upgrade my garmin for the new tracking ability, i think the Garmin 1000 has it

Last time I tried using live tracking on my E1K, it upchucked when I left cellphone service...which in these parts is a problem as there's loads of gaps in coverage in the Great Plains.

Also E1K lacks in the battery department, so you'll want a lipstick battery on your stem to do long rides (maybe 6-7hrs endurance IRL, ignore the official rating).

If truly live tracking isn't necessary, then I'd suggest the TrackMyTour app. I think it only runs on iPhones, if that is an issue.

It is an off-line tracking app. You enter waypoints as you ride and either upload them immediately or wait and upload them all at a later time. It puts these points on a map that others can see (depending on settings). You can send them a URL. I have used it on about a dozen tours and like it.

Glympse is an app that is free and does live tracking, but it will only do 4 hours at a time and doesn't show a complete track going back hours if that's what you want.

The Wahoo ELEMNT/BOLT have livetracking, but it is also dependent on cell phone coverage.

I have friends who were using the Sram Quollector during the dirty kanza -- but as far as I can tell it requires a subscription, is based on cell phone coverage, and is not actually available for purchase in north america yet. https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/09/...or-review.html

Transamerica Racing competitors have a transponder on their bikes sending a signal to the GPS Satellite array.

I see three lines of thinking.

1. Send an email when you can find a WiFi connection. Will be episodic at best

2. Use a cell phone and share your location. It is more automated but you need connectivity. Coverage is far from perfect, so warn your loved ones that outages will be frequent.

3. Get some kind of transponder such as SPOT. It'll work (practically) reliably, everywhere. Battery life is measured in weeks. You can send emergency or custom messages. But it requires a device (probably close to 200$) and a subscription (close to 100).

If money is no object, a beacon is probably best. Otherwise, a roaming SIM and the occasional social media update might do.

Road ID
 

When I ride alone I use "Road ID". It's a app on my iPhone that when activated, send a link to up to 5 people via... SMS or email, where they can go to and follow me. One of the features I like, you can set a stationary alert... If I'm not moving for set period of time, it will send a alert (they know where to come find me laying off the side of the road☺☺☺). If I'm out of cell coverage it saves the info and updates when back in cell coverage. It has some other features... may be something you could checkout. Google it, it might work for you.

Get Spot. With the subscription, it can update your position every 5 minutes and uses satellite. You can be anywhere in the world and it works. Batteries last for weeks and easily changeable.

Google maps app will now track you for free if you allow it. Downside, chews up cellphone batteries and relies on 3g/4g access.

I use a smartphone app (iOS and Android; iOS in my case) called Cyclemeter to log my rides. It has a feature that lets you automatically send position updates to registered contacts every N miles or N minutes, which I used to update my wife when I was riding the Southern Tier. Obviously this is dependent on decent cellular coverage, which can't always be taken for granted. iPhones also have a "find my friends" app that you could turn on. I don't know how much this chews through the battery compared to other options; I assume Android has something similar.

There are some high-end bike computers that will interface with your phone, and some smartphone apps (the aptly named Bike Computer is one) that also have crash detection, and will send a notification if they detect what seems like a crash, based on accelerometer data.

The Spot trackers are the only kind of device I know of that aren't dependent on cellular coverage.

Find My iPhone app will allow your loved ones to see you wherever you are. For better or worse. You can also share your location with the Find My Friends app.

I'm a bit confused, thought GPS satellite data was free to receive. Of course a satellite phone or transponder (as fietsbob mentions) would require a subscription but AFAIK no std bike device broadcasts to satellites. Also AFAIK no bike GPS uploads directly to cellular--I checked some Garmin Edge 1000 reviews & apparently cellular connectivity has to go thru WiFi or Bluetooth & another device (ie phone). So wouldn't any tracking app subscription cost be about paying for the software itself & not data access?

It is.

Spot Trackers obtain your location using GPS, and then connect to communications satellites to report your location. They're the only commercially available device I know of that works like this. Everything else obtains your location using GPS, and reports it back via the cellular network (indirectly via a phone, in the case of Garmins).

Sorry to confuse you. Both SPOT & InReach (Garmin) obtain your location using GPS and then connect periodically (every 2 minutes to 7 days depending on your plan and desired settings) and report your location as Adam says. However, to clarify, in order for the companies to report your location to the people you desire, you have to have a subscription plan through them (SPOT or Garmin). Yes, the GPS signal is free to everyone worldwide, but the follow-up reporting your location is not. In-Reach (Garmin) uses the Iridium satellite system, owned by a separate company they contract with. I am unsure which communication satellite company SPOT uses.

Think of it like this. Devices that receive your location (your phone, a regular GPS device, some special watches, etc.) all receive the GPS signal for free. YOU can see where you are at any time anywhere in the world. In order for others to see/track your location in semi-real time using these devicees, 1) you actually have to have cell coverage and/or wifi and 2) you have agreed to share your location.

The SPOT & InReach devices receive your location then communicate, via satellite not cell, your location to others you want to share it with. However, this communication via satellite to your friends is not free when using the satellite trackers (SPOT & InReach). You must get a subscription. Plus you have a one-time purchase of the actual device.

Since I have only used a GPS and have not used a computer/cyclometer in 10 years, I personally don't know of any bicycle computers that send your location back to others (where via cell or satellite) however there may be some out there. I do know some phone apps have a tracking ability (dozens in Android, just search on "Tracking") but they all use cell data (and/or wifi if available wiht some apps), NOT communications satellites, to transmit your location to the desired people/emails. Thus, if you are out of range of cell data coverage and/or wifi (middle of the ocean), the apps are unable to transmit your location. Also, if you are out of coverage, I do not know if the apps store your location and send later on when you regain coverage. However, if you are in a non-coverage area and you get injured, no one has a way of knowing.

With a SPOT or InReach, not only is your location almost anywhere in the world automatically sent to those you share it with, you can send an SOS and the authorities are alerted based on your location. That is why a lot of ocean going sail boats use the InReach or SPOT.


It basically boils down to how much cell coverage you have and/or how much your spouse must know where you are at any given moment. If you will have a lot, or at least what is acceptable to you, of cell coverage, then a phone app should work. The app may use a lot of data, I just don't know. If you will not have much and/or any coverage, i.e. middle of the ocean, then you must have a satellite tracker but they require a subscription.

Due to my extenuating medical condition and a paranoid wife, I have used the InReach for almost 10 years. I would prefer not to (one more thing to remember to turn on/off, battery management, etc.) but it allows the wife some peace of mind which allows me to tour.

Hope this helps. John

Thanks TulsaJohn, I've read many GPS threads but hadn't seen mention of the SPOT/InReach 2-way satellite option. Not super-cheap but nifty to have the guaranteed communication if necessary. Some years ago I found a website that tracks Iridium satellites & tells when to view, was kinda fun to watch them.

Spot has a rental option. I looked into it once, for certain scenarios it's not a bad deal.

DropBar,

I have used the two-way messaging on InReach numerous times. It worked everytime. However, it is not overly cheap at about 50 cents each or less depending on the plan. I use the plan where I sign up only periodically (Adventure???) and then I choose the plan that best meets that tour. For instance, last summer's 6 week solo ID/MT/WY tour in the national forests I used InReach with messaging (about 50 CUSTOM messages a month) since I would be in plenty of non-cell coverage areas. BTW, 3 different "pre-written" ("This is where I am stopping for the night") messages are free. However, for this spring's Texas Coast tour, I didn't use the InReach since I was in a fairly full coverage area plus I was touring with 3 others. Since the plans are not overly cheap, do your research and determine what is best for you (and/or your spouse). For an upcoming Prudhoe Bay, AK to Inuvick tour in a couple of summers, I will have the InReach for sure. Best, John

Resurrected five year old thread.