Help for MindThePedal Race page
Race Track Selection
In order to see all the races that have been published in a given location you need to zoom to a resolution of no less than 20 miles (50 Km), as shown on the left bottom corner of the map provided by Google (as shown in the picture below). |
To display the race tracks you need to zoom-in to a factor of at least 20 miles (50 Km). The zoom factor is shown in the left-bottom corner of the Google map. |
You can zoom in or out using the classic google map control or, if available, you can use the mouse wheel. Once you have zoomed in, all the races that have been published in the area are shown with a baloon shaped marker.
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The picture shows a baloon marker representing a race track. You can see the race track baloons only if the zoom factor is at least 20 miles (50 Km). If you have logged in, you can select the race track details by clicking on the baloon marker. |
To see the details of a race track you need to click on the marker you are interested in. You can see the race track details only if you have logged in. Once the race track marker has been selected, all the waypoints and the race track will be displayed on the map. The picture above shows the race track that has been defined south of Dallas TX. Once a race has been selected (by clicking on the marker), some buttons will appear beneath the google map. See the following table for more details.
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The globe button will allow to go to the map zoom and position where you were just before selecting the race track. |
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A magnifier icon will appear only if at least one challenger has uploaded a GPX file for the selected race track. |
Example
Zoom onto Dallas TX up to a resolution of 20 miles, as described. You should see one marker south of Dallas on the 35E.Click on the marker.
The interface will show the start point of the race track and the track (a blue polyline), as shown in the picture below.
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The picture shows the starting point of the track and part of the track itself (a blue plyline).
You can zoom in and out and moving the map to see the whole race track. You can move the map by dragging it. |
Beneath the map you will see two buttons, the globe and the magnifier.
Click on the magnifier button.
You will notice that a table will be displayed and the drop down list (Waypoint) now contains some numbers that you can select. This is shown in the following picture.
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Each row of the table has the following columns:
- 1) the nickname of the challenger that has uploaded the GPX for this race track
- 2) the date when the GPX file was created
- 3) a GPS error
- 4) elapsed time
Select the Waypoint 2 from the drop down menu.
You will notice that the values of the column "Elapsed" have changed: now the columns show the elapsed time to get to the second waypoint.
Hold on, what is a Waypoint?
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A waypoint, shown on the map as a greenish circle with a cross in the middle defines a sort of virtual time trap on the race track. Elapsed times achieved by the challengers will be taken in proximity of these points. The waypoints are placed by the author of the race track and they represent the "spine" of the track. The track editor allows you to define a track just by placing a set of waypoints. |
Challenger details
You can click on the nickname of the challenger to see more details. Each user can in fact publish some information about her GPS devices, Clubs and Bycicles.
Challenger Original Data
If you click on a row of the table (but not on the nickname) you will see that the background color of the row will change and another button will appear on the right hand side of the magnifier button - as shown in the following picture: |
If you go over the button with the mouse, a cross will appear in the middle of it. We will call this button the "Race Data" button. Click on the Race Data button. The button will now be replaced by a small animation showing that something is going on (the original gpx data is being downloaded from the server). When the animation stops, the map will show a red line that should overlap the race track. Also, you will see a set of "totems" in proximity of the race track waypoints. Depending on the GPS error, shown in the third column, the totems will perfectly overlap all the waypoints (GPS error = 0) or they will be very far from them. You can also check if the challenger has really been riding on the race track or, instead, there has been some cheating. The following picture shows a particular of the original data of a challenger (with a zoom factor of 200ft - 100mt).
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The picture shows one race track waypoint and the corresponding virtual "totem". The totem is represented by a red circle and a cross key. The totem is placed onto the point (GPS data) recognized to be the point closer to the race track waypoint. The totem represents the point (as collected during the real cycling activity) used to calculate the elapsed time for the closer race track waypoint. |
Ok, this looks fun. How can I take the challenge?
Well, the first thing you need to do is to go and pedal -with a GPS device- along the race track on which you want to take the challenge. Before doing it, we suggest you to study the track so you will not flap around. You can upload up to 10 different GPX files for each race track. You can delete the worse ones - or you can keep them for your personal records. To delete a GPX file, select the file by clicking on the row of the table. If you are the owner of the GPX file, then the basket icon
will appear. By clicking on the basket icon the GPX file referenced by the table row you have
selected will be removed.In this release the maximum size of the file you are allowed to upload is 900KB.
If your GPX files are larger than 900KB then you can use utilities like GPSBabel to filter your original GPX file. For instance, you can discard all the track-points that are within a given distance (a value in the range 10-20 meters will usually do). In this way you will obtain a smaller file without sacrificing resolution.
You can use GPSBabel to convert from different formats to the GPX format, too. This is useful if your GPS device cannot natively produce GPX files.
Once you have completed the workout on the race track, get the GPX data off your GPS device and upload it using the interface you find in the "Races" section. How to get a GPX file off your GPS device depends very much on the device you are using (brand, model, etc.) so this is a topic we will not cover in this page.
Tips for a successful GPX upload
We apply an algorithm that is supposed to recognize if the GPS data collected during your workout has -or has not- taken on the selected track. If the GPS data cannot be overlapped to the race track, then you will not be able to publish your original data (and thus you will not be able to take the challenge).In particular, the following tips should be useful:
a) before you start pedalling on the track, be sure that your GPS has properly hooked all the available satellites so you will start with a clear position
b) check very carefully the track starting point on the map and start your workout as close as you can to it or before it. If your are not sure, start collecting GPS data before the starting point.
If your GPS data has been collected on a track "longer" than the race track on which you want to take the challenge, that's fine as long as the race track is a subset of your GPS data. In this case the upload service will use only the GPS data that can be overlapped to the race track.
The upload service tries to be not too severe, so you might be able to see your original data even if it cannot be completely overlapped to the race track. In such cases, you should notice a very high GPS error in the table that shows the challengers' original data.
I would like to post a comment about the track
Once you have selected the track you would like to leave a comment about you can click on the post icon
to open
the track-post pop-up window. This facility has been developed using Google Friend Connect, so
you will need a valid account and you must join MindThePedal group.