Report - First Route Planned Entirely on Tread App for XT2

[jfheath]

The setup.

I have my phone paired with the Zumo XT2 and the Tread app installed.
I have big fingers - so the phone is rather hit-and-miss using the route planner on there - although it is much more usable than others that I have tried.
I usually have my ipad with me and that is also set up for planning and linked to my Garmin Account.

I've found out how to do this without disturbing the phone's BT connection every time - Basically the Ipad talks to the Garmin Explore database, not to the XT. So the ipad creates the route and once synched, the phone can pick it up and pass it to the XT2.

I created Waypoints first of all. Using the map and the cross hairs, zoomed all the way in to ensure that they were correctly placed on the road.
Once these were created and were clearly visible on the map, I tapped on the first and from the pop-up menu selected to start a route from that point.
Then each waypoint in turn - no need to remember the names - the order is obvious on the map - tap on the flag, choose add to route from the options. Repeat until all points have been added.

Then choose the cross to close the route - and the option to save it. Select the collection to add it to (which I realised I should have done for each waypoint - but never mind - I did that later.

A bit of final tweaking. One segment needed to be changed to shorter distance. All of the route points are listed in a scrollable popup, and it is possible to change the route calculation method here. Select the segment, choose faster time or any of 4 different adventurous routing modes thta give the plot that you want. If not, then select the segment and choose to add a shaping point or via point at the selected point. Unlike any other zumo before the XT2, that routing preference for that segment is preserved and is sent to the Zumo. If the XT2 needs to recalculate that particular segement - it will use Shorter Distance.

The ipad synched to the database. The XT2 synched and downloaded the route and waypoints.

It behaved impeccably. I could not create a track of my route to display, so I turned off traffic info on the Zumo -this prevents it from suddenly annoucing a road closure and recalculating. MY experience is that the roads are sometimes just under traffic light control.
But we came across 4 road closures on the roads I was wanting to ride in the first 2 hours - no warning, of course ! One invloved having to skip a route point. Recacculation came within a few request to go back. Usually 2. And the routes were spot on.

ETA was a tad off. but it hasn't had chance to build aprofile of my riding behaviour yet.

[smfollen]

@jfheath Thanks for this post and all your recent efforts to figure out the Tread app and Explore database.

I had tried Tread briefly soon after getting the XT2 but quickly removed it from my phone, primarily for 2 reasons:

• I'd much rather do my route planning on the big screen of a computer.

• When I sync'd to the Explore database via Tread, it made a complete mess of the existing routes on the XT2. It seems that Explore doesn't actually route over roads at all.

I'm wondering if I've missed something.

I know from your [very helpful] posts here, as well as your signature line, that you are a fan of Basecamp. I am too and use it successfully with the XT2.

So I'll ask a favor - could you comment on Basecamp vs Tread with the Explore database for route planning? Or stated differently, am I missing something?

Thank you once again.

[jfheath]

I'll try to write something quickly before the server goes down !

The thing about Tread is that you can program your route in the same way that the XT2 understands it.
It gets saved on the XT2 as a 'Saved Route' (as opposed to imported). The thing about that is that Imported routes seem to be prone to changing their nature when they are recalculated. (Eg RUT behaviour, Removing route points - shaping and via).

Take a look at the screen shot of my Ipad taken from the route that I planned in a hotel room on Tuesday night. Click the image for a better view.

Tread Route on Ipad.jpeg (410.41 KiB) Viewed 791 times

You can see that I have a number of Via Points (orange flags). You can also see that there is a little blue flag as well - in the same place. This is because before creating the route, I zoomed in and created a few waypoints first. (Remember that a Waypoint is a saved location, it is not a point on a route as many people believe).

Once I had my waypoints accurately placed - by zooming in on the ipad screen to get the cross-wires locate in the middle of a road - and named so that I can recognise the location - then I can start to create a route.

THis is very easy on the screen. Start by tapping the dotted s-bend button.
Tap a waypoint. The Ipad offers Start here/Start with Cringles

So I start with Cringles. The right hand pane pops up with my new point at the top.
Tap another Waypoint - A525 Whitchurch East flag. More options - I choose 'Add A525 Whitchurch East'
The list at the side grows.

And so it goes on. You get the options because the Tread app recognises that you might have been pointing to something near the flag, not to the flag itself. So it lists all of the things that you might have been wanting to point at.

And so it goes on until you have tapped each little blue flag on the screen and added that waypoint to your route.
What I do then is save it. You save it by pointing to the cross at the top left of the right hand menu.
Yes you want to save it - and the route disappears. Which is odd, and inclined to force you to mutter something like 'Tish, Oh dear me'

But the route that you saved is now in the top left 3-bar menu - Explore Library.
You'll have a job finding it becasue you forgot to name it and you didn't notice what the Ipad had called it. But it is there. So you choose that, and the first thing you then notice is the little pencil in tht top right corner - next to Pennine ZigZag in my screen shot. THat is what you use to rename it.

While you are there - spot the three dot menu. Delete Route/ Route Settings/ Garmin Adventurous routing.

I am not going to dwell on that (yet) becasue on my screen shot, I have tapped aprt of the map where the route is. The bit between A536 Congletone N and A54 West. I got a pop up asking me what I was pointing at, and one option was 'Select this segment'. For Tread a new term 'Segement' has been defined. It is the bit of route that lies between two Via Points - (or stops as they now seem to be named). That segment is highlighted with a white outline. Very pretty. Frills.

Note that the route list has a line between each pair of Via Points - with some distance and timing information - but also 'FAster Time'. You can change the route preferecne for each segment. You could never do this with Basecamp. The options are Faster, Straight, Shorter and Adventurous 1,2,3,4. And it applies just to that section.

Unlike BAsecamp routes - this information is sent to the XT2 it is recognised by the XT2 and if the route is recalculated, that segement will be recalculated using the setting that it was saved with.

Overriding all of this are a few settings which apply to the whole route. Popular Paths (Moto), Michelin Scenic Roads, Hills and Curves.
You select whichever you want the route planner (and the XT2) to consider using when calculating your scenic route segement.

Lot and lots to play with.

Finally for now. When you have a frilly segement selected, you can then point a finger somehwere on the map and get a pop up menu that allows you to add a shaping point or a stop (via) to the route - - it will adjust the frilly segement to vsiti that point.

I get the distinct feeling that Garmin have pulled out all of the stops with this bit of kit. Everything that you can do in the tread app on the ipad, you can also do on the XT2 screen. (If you sharpen your fingers). It might be worth getting one of those fine pointed capacitative touch sensitive screen pointers.

My route (even after numerous detours (we had 4 road closures in two hours and had to wander away from the route. including pressing skip. The XT2 behaved perfectly. Asking for a U turn twice and then calculating a sensible route ahead. By this time I would have resorted to using my safeguard track on the XT. Pity that the XT2 doesn't allow you to make a track of your route.

You can start off with a BC route and import it into the Zumo and then edit it either on the Zumo screen or in the tread app.

I don't think this makes it a 'saved' route. I'm not sure. But if you ever import a route from BC into the XT2, make a copy of it straight away.
Apps -> Routes -> Select Route -> Spanner -> Copy - give it a name and then use that. Copying a route makes it a saved route - which is not prone to RUT behaviour. Tried and tested . Brilliant result. Get into the habit of naming your routes so that you can recognise the original BC routes and the ones that have been copied.

I'll probably still use both - I still want my tracks so that I can see what the XT2 is doing when it recalculates.

But the more I use it, the more impressed I am with how well it appears to have been thought out.

As reagrds your route planner not finding the roads - on the route planner app on the XT2 tap the 3 layer map symbol top right. The ones that are in black are not selected. THe ones that are in blue are selected. There might be an option in there which is telling it to look for unpaved roads. Also check your avoidances.


For an important trip - I'd import a BASecamp route - but play around with the Tread App. There's a lot to get lost in, but once you start to get the hang of it, It is really useful. I am surprised. Apart from not being able to create a track of the route I have found nothing yet that has made me want to ditch it.

But I am still very much in the learning phase.


If using Basecamp - find out how to make a acopy and use that instead.

Dont used routes exported from Tread - they contain only the route points.

[Sean OZ]

Thanks for another very detailed post jfheath. I might now actually get myold ipad of mine repaired and then give the Tread APP another shot. No just yet though...