Tech Tips by Lyle Opseth

After last month’s rather lengthy tech tip, I promised to make a brief one this month. Do you know that some bike lights can be controlled by compatible bike computers and by Shimano’s Di2 shifters?

I’ve seen several club members with bike computers that can control bike lights and I’ve seen them using compatible bike lights that can be paired together – but they haven’t done so and are unaware that this can be done. For two cycling seasons, I was one of these club members. We would manually turn on the lights at the start of the ride – if we remember – and turn them off at the end of the ride - but only if we remember.

Often, new bike computers are purchased for the larger screen (as we can no longer read the tiny screens of smaller computers), or for some of the advanced features such as route mapping and directions, enhanced training features, and so forth. Users don’t realize that they can pair their bike computer with their bike lights! I certainly didn’t. All I needed was to take a minute to pair my lights with my bike computer and my problems were partially solved. (I say partially because I still need to remember to recharge the lights.)

Compatible devices

Riders with a Garmin Edge 820 or higher bike computer can configure compatible Bontrager Flare RT and Ion RT lights to turn on automatically when they start a ride. And the Edge will use its built-in ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness for the conditions. The Edge can also work with Varia bike lights and GPS giant lights via ANT+. Newer models of lights and computers come out all the time so check with the manufacturer’s instructions to see if they support this feature.

If you are using Shimano’s Di2 electric sifters, you can also control the lights with proper programming using the Si2 Shifter’s buttons in the hood. I don’t do this as I use the hood buttons to manage the Edge computer which is simpler than trying to use the buttons or touching the screen on my bike computer as I can keep my hands on the handlebars.

How to… 

I’m not going to provide detailed how tos, as this is dependent on your particular set up. I will say that pairing my lights to my bike computer was a simple as pairing the cadence (for my cranks) and speed sensors (on my wheel).

Finally, you can visit the article "Garmin and Di2 Can Now Control Bike Lights" (https://www.bikeradar.com/news/garmin-and-shimano-di2-can-now-control-bike-lights/) for more information. 

Or check out the article "Why Would I Need an ANT+ Bike Light?” (https://seesense.cc/blogs/hub/why-would-i-need-an-ant-bike-light).

Tech Tips by Lyle Opseth

If you use a Garmin Edge bike computer like me and you like to pre-load EVCC route maps for navigation, you can do this wirelessly without having to load it from your computer via a USB cable. I can load a route in the parking lot right before we start the ride.

All you need is to pair your bike computer with your mobile phone, and install the RideWithGPS (RWGPS) app on both your phone and your Garmin cycling computer.

Many use the RWGPS app on their mobile phone for navigation. However, there are some advantages to using your bike computer. When using your phone, you may need to have your phone mounted on your bike handlebar and not everyone has the room. Navigation can significantly shorten the life of your phone's battery, and it may require data usage on your phone where many plans don't allow for much data and extra data may be expensive.

Once you've set up your phone and Garmin Edge bike computer, these are the steps to load a map wirelessly. I can do it in less than a minute. 

1. Open the EVCC Wild Apricot member app.

2. Find your ride under “My tickets”.

3. Click on “SendToDevice” on the map. RideWithGPS should open on your phone and automatically pin the map. If you touch “Open Full Version” instead, you will need to pin the map yourself (described below).

4. Go to your bike computer, open the RideWithGPS app, find the ride under pinned routes and download onto your Edge.

5. You are ready to navigate!

In this tech tip, I'll give a quick overview of the steps required to set up your phone and Garmin computer to wirelessly load routes as described above. It took me just a few minutes to install, set up and test. It could take longer if you haven't been keeping the software up to date and especially if you haven't been updating the maps on the 800 and 1000 series bike computers. This is a great time to also ensure you have the latest software and maps installed.

Compatibility

Before you begin, you should ensure that your computer is compatible with this feature. The Garmin Edge 1030, 1030+, 1000, 520, 530, 820 and 830 bike computers support this.

Step 1: Installing Garmin Express on your computer

To manage the software, maps and apps on your Garmin device, you will need Garmin Express installed on your computer if you have not already done so. You can also use this to manage software, maps and apps on many Garmin devices, including other bike computers such as the 500 series computers, car GPS navigation computers, Garmin smart watches, etc.

Follow the instructions on this web page to install: Garmin Support > How do I install Garmin Express? 

Installation should take about a minute.

Step 2: Updating your bike computer software

Make sure your bike computer has the latest software update installed. You should be doing this occasionally anyway. While you are at it, update your maps on the 800 and 1000 series computers. I recommend updating maps at least yearly because of changes to roads and pathways in and around Calgary. You can also install additional maps, including free open-source maps, if you are cycling outside North America though you may need to at least temporarily delete North American apps if your computer doesn't have enough space for everything.

To do this, connect your Garmin to your desktop/laptop computer with a USB cable, and start the Garmin Express app. It may take a minute or so for your computer to read the Garmin device. The Express app will show that it is talking to the device and will check for a software update. If an update is indicated, click install.

Step 3: Updating your bike computer maps if supported (Optional)

Update the maps on your Garmin Edge bike computers if you haven't done so recently (520/530, 705 and higher series). If you haven't been updating maps, this can take awhile so only proceed if are not in immediate need of your bike computer.

Click on the “Manage Maps” button in Express. Express will display the maps installed on the computer and additional maps that you can install. It will also indicate if installed maps may be updated. Click “Install” next to the map you wish to update.

You may also install or update maps without Garmin Express if you have acquired other maps. See the following for details: How to install free maps on your Garmin Edge

Step 4: Install the RWGPS app on your bike computer

The RWGPS app on your bike computer works with the RWGPS app on your phone to wirelessly install maps. The RWGPS app for Garmin is free.

Step 5: Install RWGPS app on your mobile phone if not previously installed

If you don’t have the RWGPS app on your phone, add it now. 

Go to the Apple Store or Google Play store on your mobile phone, search for RideWithGPS and install it.

Step 7: Disconnect your Garmin from your desktop/laptop computer.

Wait for your Garmin Edge to start up.

Step 6: Make sure your phone and bike computer are connected via Bluetooth

If you haven't previously done so, you need to connect your Garmin Edge to your phone via Bluetooth. This varies between devices, so follow the instructions in your Edge owner's manual.

Step 7: Pair your RWGPS Edge app with your RWGPS mobile phone app

Disconnect your Garmin Edge from your desktop/laptop computer and wait for it to start up. Once the Garmin is running, in the lower right corner (on my Edge 1030+) of the home page, IQ appears. 

Touch “IQ” and the installed apps should appear including “Ride With GPS”. Touch “Ride With GPS”. You will be asked to pair with your phone. Follow the instructions. Your bike computer will give a number that you must enter into your RWGPS app on your mobile phone to complete pairing.

You can also initiate pairing by opening the app, touch “Settings” and touching “Pair Device” if it is not paired.

Loading Routes onto your compatible Garmin Edge

From now on, you should be able to easily install maps wirelessly onto your Garmin. You can load rides that you have pinned in your route library or the EVCC library or you can load recent rides that you have opened in your RWGPS account on your computer or phone.

I will describe one process to download a route on a Garmin 1030+ as that is what I use but the process should be very similar for the other supported Garmin Edge devices. (I described another way using the club's Wild Apricot app on your phone at the start of this blog. Follow the steps below to install other maps you may wish to use.)

1. Open the RideWithGPS app just like you need to open apps on your phone. Touch “IQ” which opens a screen listing the installed apps on your Edge. “Ride With GPS” should appear in the list. Touch “Ride With GPS” to open the app.
   
2. To load a recent route, just touch “Recent Routes” and the list of the ten most recent routes will be listed. Select the route you wish to load if it appears and select “Download” or “Download & Ride”.
   
3. To load other routes, you can pin them. In your browser or on the RideWithGPS app on your phone, open the route and “pin” it. On a browser, you will see “Pin” in the upper left-hand corner of the route. Click it to “pin”. On your phone, use the RWGPS app to select routes you want to load. In the Apple version of the app, I click on “Save” at the bottom of the screen which subsequently allows me to either pin or unpin the route. Pinned routes will be displayed if you touch “Pinned Routes” on your Edge.
4. Note that only the ten most recent routes or the ten most recently pinned routes will be displayed on your Edge. If a pinned route doesn't appear, you can quickly unpin and pin it again to get it to appear.

Please note that you will need wi-fi or cell-service with a data plan to get full access to your Ride With GPS account and the EVCC route library.

While my writeup suggests this is an involved process it really isn't if you have previously been keeping the sofware (and maps) on your bike computer up to date using Garmin Express and you have had the RWGPS app on your phone and paired to your bike computer. I found the whole process straightforward and only took a few minutes. If you haven't, there are more steps involved that I've included in this writeup but it is still straightforward.

I recommend that you keep your bike computer software and maps up to date. You should also have been running the Garmin Connect app on your phone to assist with this. The Garmin Connect app also allows you to wirelessly load completed rides to the Garmin Connect app and to Strava but that is a tech tip for another day.

You can also review the following URL for additional help and an alternate way to install the RWGPS app on your bike computer from your phone rather than your computer. My wife used this method but found it wasn't as straightforward as I did from my computer. 

RWGPS Support > Garmin Connect IQ

By Tanya Colwell, EVCC Program Director

The club is run by cycling enthusiasts that accommodate many different levels of riders and organize various social events. We continue focusing on our core urban and road ride events, we are also looking into adding more multi-day trips, more mountain biking and perhaps even gravel rides.

In mid-March, we were excited to gather over 50 club volunteers at the Coordinator's Kick-off meeting in March to get organized for the season. We talked about coordinators' responsibilities, planned the rides for the months of May and June, and brainstormed about possible training for coordinators and participants. 

Some suggestions included:

We will be following up on these ideas at a later date.

Keeping our rides safe 

As coordinators, we want to provide a safe riding environment by:

With safety in mind, please update your emergency contact on your EVCC's profile page. We recommend having a local Calgary contact and not somebody who is on the ride with you.

Volunteer rewards

Volunteers with EVCC get a free membership for the following year if they coordinate 5 or more events. They get to choose the routes and distances they want to ride, and get a team of like-minded cyclists to ride with them. Thank you to our many volunteers for being a part of EVCC. If each ride coordinator posts just one or two rides a year we will keep Calgary rolling and smiling!

Tanya

Tech tips by Lyle Opseth

EVCC provides two apps for your mobile phone, one for general members and a second one for coordinators.

Each app provides features for members to manage their registrations and coordinators to manage their rides. These apps do not provide a complete set of features available on your computer browser but, rather, provide complementary features you can use when on a ride or away from home. While these apps require a data plan to work best, they can also be used for reference without a data plan with a little bit of preplanning.

Find it on your favourite app store

There are Android and Apple iOS versions of these apps which you can find on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Search for “Wild Apricot”. Download and use is free. Members should install the “Wild Apricot for members” app and coordinators should also install the “Wild Apricot for admins” app.

The apps require you to sign in with your id and password, the same ones you use to login to the EVCC website on your browser but you should only need to do this the first time you open the apps.

The following discussion provides an overview of the features of each app. This description is not complete but outlines the most used and useful features. I use the Apple version of the app so the features may be slightly different than described in the Android version.

Wild Apricot for Members

Use this app to ensure you are registered for a ride, find the start location, find contact information for the coordinator or other ride participants, get the latest ride information, and to display your club membership digital card if you need to show it at a participating retailer for a discount.

When you open Wild Apricot, you will see four tabs at the bottom: “Members”, “Events”, “My Tickets”, and “My Profile”.

Feature #1 - Members: This lists the club members and their public information. You can use this to find the phone number of a member to contact them. For example, if you are going to be late to the start of a ride (e.g., got lost finding the start or held up in traffic) or you lose the route on a ride and there's cell service, you can look up a coordinator's phone number and call them.

I recommend that coordinators review their public information to make sure their contact information is correct and that your mobile number is provided rather than your home phone number.

Feature #2 - Events: Events lists all public upcoming club rides. You may use this tab to register for a ride, look up the start of the ride (if you can't find it), and review the ride description details and registrants.

Touching the start-location field from the overview page will open the map to show the location of the start. While the ride description may include the Ride With GPS map as a convenience, you will need to load the map onto the Ride With GPS app or your bike computer to get ride guidance. You cannot load the map onto a bike computer from the Apricot Map. Review the “Ride With GPS” information on the club website for information on using Ride With GPS maps.

While you can register for a ride on this page, you cannot deregister. Go to the “My Tickets” tab to do this.

Coordinators should review the location field of their rides in this app to ensure that the start location is properly displayed in a map. Sometimes I provide the GPS coordinates to avoid ambiguity. (This can be easily determined in Google Maps when creating your ride. I can provide help if needed.) A location description like “Train station in Banff” is too vague. Do you mean Banff townsite, Banff national park, or Banff Scotland? Apricot doesn't know. And even when using the location “Railway Ave., Banff”, Apricot may confuse it with Railway Ave in Canmore or some other town with a Railway Ave.

Feature #3 - My Tickets: Use this ticket to find all the upcoming rides for which you have registered. Use this page to deregister from a ride. Your contact information is also listed. Review it to make sure it is correct so the coordinator can contact you if needed (via text, email, or phone), or to get your emergency contact information.

Feature #4 - My Profile: This shows your public and private profile information for review. You can select “My Card” so you can show your club membership card. This can be useful to get discounts at partner retailers.

If you don't have a data plan or the start of the ride doesn't have cell service, you can preload ride information such as a map to the start location or the coordinator's contact information before leaving home in case you may need this information.

Wild Apricot for Admins

Coordinators can use this app for managing their rides. This app cannot be used to create or edit rides but it is useful for managing the participants registered for a ride. This app opens with four tabs listed at the bottom and the “Events” tab is the opening default. Coordinators will mainly use the “Events” and “Contacts” tabs.

Feature #5 - Admin - Events: The “Events” tab is used to find any ride. Rides are normally tagged when created and you can select tags as a filter to find a ride. Usually I just select “Upcoming Events” and then scroll to find my ride. Rides are listed chronologically. 

When you display a specific event, it will display similarly to the members app version with some additional information (e.g., the waitlist).

Selecting the “Registrations” tab displays the registrants and allows you to mark the attendance of each preregistered member. I sometimes use this to manage ride participants rather than a paper copy. If the start location doesn't have cell service or you do not have a data plan, you can preload this page and leave it open to manage attendance.

Feature # 6 - Admin - Contacts: You can use this tab to find the contact information and emergency contact for participants of your ride.

No Cell Service or No Data Plan

You can reference a page in either app even if you don't have cell service or a data plan if you open the app to the needed page and leave the app open to that page. For those with limited data plans, the data usage of the apps is minimal.

Dreaming of cycling season? So are we. While you wait for the snow to melt, gear up with this guessing game.

All of the photos below were taken either during an EVCC ride, or on a familiar EVCC route. How many can you identify? Share your guesses by clicking on the three vertical dots at the top left of this blog post, and selecting "add comment". Be as specific as possible and let us know if you have any great memories of riding these routes.  

Have fun!

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Order your new EVCC jersey today!

We are excited that our new club jerseys are ready to go -- along with matching shorts, bib shorts, arm warmers and leg warmers.  Our new kit is made by Louis Garneau and is now available for ordering on our website.  Order deadline is midnight on February 27. This deadline enables us to get 20% off the regular prices. Order Now!

Hello everyone,  You might have noticed that you received an email indicating that your password had expired.  This is what happened:

Stronger password requirements

To improve account security, Wild Apricot is strengthening its password requirements. 

Now, valid passwords must adhere to the following requirements:

• 12 characters or more
• both upper and lower case letters
• at least one number
• at least one of the following special characters: #?!@$%^&*- 

This policy will be applied to new administrators and new members once your account is updated to the new release. Existing administrators will be prompted to change their passwords a week or two after their account is updated. Thereafter, administrators will be forced to change their passwords every 365 days.

For added security, administrators will be automatically logged out of their account after 3 hours of inactivity.

         

Bob Ross was an avid cyclist and loved to ride the pathways from his home on Bow Crescent. 

An active member of the EVCC during the 90s and early 2000s, Bob participated in numerous supported mutli-day cycle tours in Alberta, BC and California.  When the EVCC produced a printed newsletter, Bob volunteered to address 850 envelopes and help collate, fold and stuff the newsletters while hosting the Cadence parties at his condo with his late wife, Diana.  These generous contributions spanned about 15 years, ending when his home was flooded in 2013.  By then EVCC had decided to go with an online Cadence only.

When Bob moved from a condo into his new home on Bow Crescent, he had the space and offered EVCC a free repository for the club’s Golden Triangle gear, saving the club about $2000 per year in storage fees.

Bob’s door was always open and his house was a popular stop on some of the club’s NW urban tours.  His freshly roasted coffee was legendary.

Pre-covid, when the pathways were clear of snow and ice, Bob, Henning Johansen and Don Whiting would meet at Eau Clair on their bikes, cycle back to Bob’s house in Bowness, hop in Bob’s SUV still attired in spandex and dine at the Market Mall food court at the same table every Wednesday.  Old friends would drop by and it became a weekly reunion where we celebrated Bob’s birthdays.

I’ll miss Bob and will remember his hospitality, warmth and generosity to myself and the members of the EVCC.

 

Don Hollingshead

Headline: Our new look captures the joy of the ride

We’re celebrating our 40^th birthday with a fabulous new look including a fresh logo design and new club colours.

The logo features the rivers, mountains, sunshine and roads of the Elbow Valley and surrounding areas where most of our club rides take place.

The vibrant colours also match the scenery – the blue of water and sky… the green of trees and grassy fields… the yellow of sun, canola, and fall foliage…  the charcoal black of the Rockies, roads, pathways, and bicycle tires!

Encircling it all is a wheel of sunshine, evoking the joy of a happy day spent on two wheels with great friends – whether on a road, mountain, pathway or e-bike.

We believe the logo captures the uniqueness of our club compared to other bike groups in Calgary and Western Canada. We want to stand out as a recreational club, focused on fun, fitness and friendship. We welcome riders of all levels, and we’re known for our wide variety of cycling routes with spectacular scenery and destinations.

Thank you to the logo team

The new look was developed by a team of EVCC volunteers with the help of Calgary graphic designer Isabel Duffy (photo below). Isa is an active cyclist, skier, and outdoor enthusiast who understands the EVCC lifestyle of fun and fitness. Thanks to Isa and the logo committee of Tanya Colwell, Helen Hayes, Maria Saley, Don Hollingshead and Heather Opseth.

New jerseys coming soon

We know you’ll be excited to sport this new look while riding this season – we are working on new jersey and clothing designs that will be available in time for Spring cycling. Please stay tuned for more details. 

Did you know?  The EVCC's 40th anniversary is on Monday, January 23, 2023.  Interested in the first newsletter?  Read it here:  Jan Feb 1983.pdf