In this post, I’ll show to get routes from RideWithGPS, Strava or other route planning services onto a Garmin 820 Explorer GPS device using an iPhone and the Firefox web browser.
If it looks familiar, it’s because it’s a tidy up of a previous post.
How to do it …
0) Install the Garmin Connect app on the iPhone and make sure to log in and check that it syncs with the GPS device.
1)Install the Firefox mobile web browser
To follow this procedure, it is essential to have a copy of a mobile web browser that has a Download manager view, Firefox is one such.
2) In Firefox, navigate to the location of the route to be downloaded — This is the hardest bit of the whole process because many services intentionally make this far more difficult than it needs to be, if problems read notes below.
a) Use Firefox and not the site’s mobile app if installed — most mobile apps do not provide the ability to export their GPX track files to 3rd party apps.
b) If the site mobile app is installed, and it keeps trying to hijack the link to your route, pressing and holding, (rather than tapping) a link allows access to the normal link handling by Firefox.
c) If when on the route’s page their are no download links visible, as is the case with Strava, then try clicking on the three dots to the RHS of the address bar and use Request Desktop Site to see if that makes them visible in the web page.
d) If using RideWithGPS their website is a car crash on mobile devices. I’ve documented the problem and workarounds for it here, I’d recommend going and reading it.
3) Locate the Export/Download GPX Track, or GPX link for the route
We can’t use TCX or other options because the Garmin Connect app only registers itself on the phone as being able to handle GPX files.
4) Click on the site’s GPX (track) export/download and this should open Firefox’s download dialogue. Accept by tapping Download Now
5) The file should then download into Firefox’s downloads cache.
6) Touch the download to see the actions installed on the phone for handling GPX Track files. In this list hopefully there will be Copy to Connect.
a) If Copy to Connect, or any other app that’s needed, isn’t visible, try side scrolling the list to right. If it’s still not visible, have a look under More, where it might need enabling (and the displayed app order can also be changed if desired).
b) The same download can be accessed repeatedly, at any time from within Firefox by opening a new tab and touching the downloads icon. This is useful say if you’d also like to copy the route into other apps for following, e.g. I augment my Garmin with the UK’s Ordnance Survey’s OS Maps app so that I can use their highly detailed large scale Explorer range of maps.
7) To start the import to the Garmin Connect app, touch Copy to Connect.
Garmin Connect can be a little temperamental, it occasionally seems to need a couple of goes to work if it not already running on the device, and may (I’m not 100% on this) also not work with route names that contain non-alphanumeric characters.
8) Garmin Connect should open and prompt with import options for the route. Fill these in as you see fit.
9) Garmin Connect will then give an import overview of the route.
10) Change the Course Name to something useful by tapping on the little blue dot with lines in it at the bottom RHS of the screen. This brings up the Course Details page, tap Course Name to rename to something useful.
Make any other adjustments to privacy etc as you see fit.
By default the name is activity type and import date, which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.
11) Once happy with the Course Details, tap back, and the Course will then be available in Garmin Connect’s Courses view — almost done!
12) Make sure the receiving Garmin GPS device is on and hasn’t gone to sleep or turned itself off.
13) From the list of Courses select the Course, which should bring up the Course Overview.
14) In the Course Overview, touch the Send to Device icon in top RHS of the screen and a device selection dialogue should open. Select the required device, and the Course should be transmitted to the device.
If the Garmin device is watched carefully there is a small confirmation displayed briefly on the screen showing when download has completed.
15) The course should be available on the Garmin device under Courses->Saved Courses.
16) To use it for a ride, select the course and then touch Ride/Run/whatever and follow the instructions.
Don’t forget to start recording your activity if that’s also what you want to do.
