How to stitch together a map of your travels

I posted the map of my travels to date and was asked by several people how I did it.  How I did it, and how you'll do it are probably different, so I'll give some ideas, resources and issues you'll encounter along the way; along with some ways to get through them.

First, you need to get frequent GPS coordinates along your routes of travel.  One easy way to do this is to carry a Spot tracking device.  Basically, you register your new device with Findmespot.com or a similar site and it will capture the signals sent from your device up to a satellite and record them.  I didn't figure it out early enough; but, you can download all the coordinates.  There are several formats that you can download them in, so pick one that will work with the software you choose.

I found Google Earth is a pain in the butt for this.  In order to use Google Earth, you need to make a fusion map of your coordinates first.  I don't recommend going this route, so I'm going to focus on alternatives.  Just know that it's a pain in the butt and I'm trying to dissuade you.  There are better tools.

I found GPSPrune.  It is a Java program that will take as input a CSV or even a GPX formatted file of coordinates.  I really like it.  There are a couple things to note.  First, by default, the program will not display a map, only your track.  In the icon bar, dead center, top, you'll see a globe.  Click it and you'll see your map.  The GUI is completely intuitive.  You can edit your map, add photos, audio, etc.  This is a really cool tool, and it's free.  The second thing to note is that after awhile, you'll run out of memory - just give it more, and don't be stingy about it.  You have to run this from the command line anyway, it's just another parameter.  The command you want is java -Xmx750G -jar gpsprune.jar -x.  The 750G part is how much memory you're going to give it.  When you're done making your map and exit the program, the memory will be freed, so don't worry about it, just give it lots.  Finally, you will need to have java installed on your screen.  Open a terminal session or CMD prompt and type java.  If you don't have it, you'll get an error message.  Just google it and download it.

If you know where you've been; but, you didn't have a  GPS tracker, you're in luck.  You can generate the coordinates.  I like this site --->>> http://gpx.cgtk.co.uk  You simply put in your start and end locations and bend the route to what you actually rode.  It's just like Google Maps and probably uses their API.  One note, there's an undocumented ceiling.  I've found it to be around 500 miles.  Beyond that, you'll get an error message.  Simply put in smaller segments.  After you give your route a title and save it, you'll have the opportunity to download the GPX file.  Simple.

If you have a GPX file and need a CSV file for your mapping program, try this --->>> http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input.  This will allow you to select your gpx file(s) and convert them.

I continue to use GPSPrune.  Every time I ride a new segment, I simply import the new segment into my existing map.

One last note...what if you can only download 100 points at a time and your trip was 250 or 300 points?  No problem.  If you're a Unix geek, like me, I don't have to tell you to cat them all up and append them to a file  cat *.csv >> really_big_csv_file.csv.  If you're stuck in the Windows world, open Excel, cut and paste them all into one sheet and safe as a CSV.  Note that GPSPrune doesn't won't except much beyond lat/lon/elevation and some notes, so you may have to delete some extraneous columns for it to be excepted.  If you're using Excel, it's easy to delete columns.  If you're using Unix, either cut -d",", F x,y or open vi and <ctrl> v to visually select the column you want to delete and use x to delete it.

Enjoy, and I hope this helps you make a very cool map of your adventures.

20140801 - Missouri and Kansas

Those that know me will tell you that I'm never committed to the plan until I'm sure it's best way to go...that includes during execution of the plan.  For example...I posted this...

...and rode this...

I have to say, this was a pretty eventful trip for having little in the way of scenery.  As above, I saw lots of corn and lots of soy.  I was joking above.  I saw a little of the Mississippi river; but, most of it was gorgeous farmers crops.

So, on day one, the plan was to get to Mankato, Mn and then run over to Sioux Falls Sd and drop down into Kansas from there.  I stopped in Mankato, only to realize there was a really nice route that would take me as far south into Kansas as I wanted to travel.  Bingo.  That's the road.  It's not interstate and looked promising; although, dreadfully straight.  Corn, corn, corn.  More corn.  If you've seen one square mile of corn...never mind, you should see it all so you can really appreciate how much corn we consume.  It's amazing.

At about 7pm, I found myself somewhere between Leavenworth and Topeka Kansas.  Going to my trusty GPS for lodging opportunities (hopefully camping), I found one place that said "Camping"  - no other description.  Since camping is what I sought, I told the GPS to take me there.  3 minutes into the journey, GPS commands a left turn...down a loose gravel road.  It was pea sized gravel with a firm foundation.  It wasn't problematic; but, deserved full concentration as there were ruts from cars, etc.   Any of those ruts could steer me into a skid.  While dealing with gravel and the sun in my eyes, I got another surprise...

Arriving at "camp," I come to find out that I'm at a boyscout camp and can't pitch a tent there.  This is bad since I just rode 5 miles of gravel road and didn't really want to go back.  Luck would have it that the ranger pointed to a camp only mile and a half from where I was at and only about 500 feet of it was unpaved.  This was the Lake Perry campground, and it was being attended by an older married couple.  It was clear that they were both born on a Tuesday and by Friday, they were married.    Her hearing was worse then his; but, she clearly heard him say "Just wait a minute while I have a look at that motor sickle."  We talked for a few minutes and they directed me to my campsite and asked me to return to pay if it was good enough.  It was fine.  Plot of land, check.  Electricity, a bonus.  $16.  No problem.  May asked where I was from and quipped that she could tell I wasn't from "these parts."  Jim said he was impressed that I was "geared up proper, unlike the other bikers here."   So, I pull in.  My BMW in the middle of a bunch of Harley trikes and motorcycles.  There wasn't another type of motorcycle to be found.  No matter.  I just wanted to pitch my tent before dark, which I managed to do.  Electricity was good; but, cell service was non-existent, so no Internet.  :-(  No matter, I was pretty tired and my eyes were dried out, so by 10pm, I was ready for bed.  There was some kind of music playing at the camp ground and some guy running his pickup truck around with hay bails on a trailer offering kids a ride.  After awhile though, the camp got pretty quiet, except the music lightly playing in the distance.  Well, about midgnight, all the rednecks came home to continue the party.  They thought it would be a good idea to carry on for the next hour.  It kept me up for a little while; but, I went to sleep pretty quick.  It was hot and muggy.  The tent fly needed to stay open most of the night and I didn't need the sleeping bag for but half an hour in the wee hours of the morning.

When I got up, I packed everything and was on my way.  I do wish there were a faster way to break camp; but, to put all that stuff on a motorcycle takes some effort.  Maybe I need to bring less.  Maybe that's the topic of another post.

So, come morning, I saw the same caretakers that checked me in.  I asked them where to go for breakfast and they were torn between the church and the firehouse.  They decided the church was best, so off to the church I went.  I picked up some cash so I could make a donation.  I should have known, biscuits and gravy was being served.  Nothing against biscuits and gravy; but, that's not a descent breakfast.  Of course, I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Well dressed church going folk and one hammered looking biker.  They were very welcoming and promptly brought me breakfast.  Mostly, they were talking about a gimp cow that they didn't expect to fetch much at market; but, actually brought in more than they expected.  While I was eating, another older man came in, ordered his breakfast and sat down next to me.  He asked about my motorcycle and started to tell me about his 90 something sporty.  Listening at times like these is important.  I could see that he really missed riding. He said he really wasn't strong enough to hold the bike up and was thinking about a trike.  I suggested that if money was holding him back, he should try a conversion.  He continued and told me about days when he used to ride a lot.  He'd never gone far from the area; but, loved it just the same.  A tear welled up in his eye as he spoke.  He said he took his wife once and before they got far, she just jumped off and never got back on.  I'm hoping this guy gets his trike or conversion.  He certainly has the spirit.

I left there thinking about this old farmer and how lucky I was.  I was at least 600 miles from my starting point and 28,000 miles into a a fantastic journey.  I thought about how I'd just keep going if I didn't have to go to a job on Monday.  Looking down at the GPS, I could see the boarder of Oklahoma ahead; how far, I didn't know; but, I really wanted to go there.  I didn't have a reason to go to Oklahoma; but, thought it would be pretty neat to go that far.  I stopped in  Moran Kansas.  I needed gas.  While checking the map, I found that Oklahoma was 2+ hours out.  That would mean adding another 4 or 5 hours to my riding, and would put riding up the Mississippi at risk.  It also happened that the cross road - Rt. 54 would take me all the way to the Northeast corner of Missouri and put me on the Mississippi.  Knowing I'd regret it, I turned East.  I thought about it constantly for several miles.  I knew that I was being a slave to the system; but, I also knew I had to make money to continue my travels.  Life isn't free.

After awhile, I was running out of water and wanted to get a bite to eat.  I knew I didn't really want McDonalds; but, towns were fairly far apart and non-chain restaurants even sparser.  As I was walking in, I could see this guy watching me.  He had the "I want to talk" look in his eye.  As i hit the door, I could see that he was hiking and had a pack sitting at the table.  He introduced himself as Noah and asked me where I was going to / coming from.  I told him about my last year of travels and he exclaimed "I knew it!"  He said he could tell by my bike, maps and gear that I was serious about my journey.  I had the look.  I asked him about his hiking and he said that he started in Delaware and was hiking to San Francisco.  If he made it, he'd be the 77th person to do it in modern times.  I gave him my card and asked him to find me on FB so I could follow his travels.  For miles after I left, all I could think about was how this guy is walking across the US with a 32# backpack, and I'm doing it on a world class motorcycle, with GPS, tracking, cameras, computers, and so much more.  I felt really humble, and still do.  I've got nothing on Noah.

Everything was pretty uneventful until I got to Mexico Missouri.  I had just pulled out of a gas station, when I saw this:

Well, I had to pull over and get the pictures.  The lawn artist happened to be mowing his lawn and gave me the full rundown on how it all started and how folks have been dropping off their toilets for years.  He said they're all respectful and call first.  He's looking for a black toilet now.  He said he as pretty much every other color.

The rest of my trip was really uneventful.  I saw some of the Mississippi, and, as usual, got to experience a little rain.  It wasn't much, and I was expecting much more.

So, it's time to share my map to date:

"Don't show nobody nuthin'" - BMW MOA National Rally 7/2014

It was my first rally and I was impressed.  There were almost 6,000 people there, and I'd have to say that at least that many showed up on 2 wheels.  I can't say I've ever seen so many bikes in one place.

This is just 1 minute of video, it took me 5 minutes to cruse through all the motorcycles.

I had serious luck the first day.  I've been wanting to get a set of Wunderlich crash bars (front and back); but, without a garage to work on my bike, having them delivered so I could install them was going to be problematic.  Wunderlich was at the show and was happy to install them for me.  While my bike was getting fancy new bars, I strolled over to the indoor vendor area, where I found Shuberth.  They were able to fix the air inlet tab on my helmet in a heartbeat.  2 for 2!  Now that the business end of the rally was done, it was time to enjoy the rest of the rally.  There was a pretty good vendor showing; but, I thought there were several groups missing.  I expected someone to be there from the Spot company selling Spot trackers and extras.  I expected a smattering of people selling GPS', camping gear, and other things.  No such luck.  That said, there was still an impressive list of vendors there.

I watched the GS Giants competition/demonstration.  They had an obstacle course set up in kind of tight quarters - with a big dirt mound in the center, and several obstacles that required serious skills to navigate.  Jeff Kurtz was narrating the event and some guy 'Coach' was explaining all the technical aspects.  Learning technical riding would definitely be challenging.

I also took in two seminars while I was there.  Jeff gave one.  He talked about life on 2 wheels and did a bang up job.  It was clear to the audience that he wasn't there to sell anything and was emotionally invested in what he's accomplished.  He came across as a straight shooter and was totally open and willing to share anything asked of him.  My biggest wish was that Jeff had put one or two slides up.  He's snapped and video'd so many good things over the last year; even a poster board would have worked.  If you haven't seen Jeff speak, go.  Be prepared to listen to someone who speaks from the heart and a tearful laugh.

Then there was a guy from Thurmont Md., my old stomping ground.  His preso was about mountain riding.  At first, I wasn't going to go; but, Jeff wanted to go and there wasn't a better looking preso in that time slot, so I decided I'd go.  As soon as the speaker walked into the room, it was clear that he was doing the preso to sell a service.  I can pick this kind of preso out; because, I've given so many.  Being a public speaker, I've delivered several types of speeches, most of them promotional.  Usually, I don't have a strongly positive or negative reaction to a speaker; and, if my thoughts are negative in anyway, they are very tempered because I know first hand how hard it is to stand in front of people and deliver a message.

The issue wasn't just the way he delivered his message; but, what he was saying.  The speaker was drawing parallels between his flying experiences and motorcycle riding.  Being an experienced pilot, I thought some of these parallels would be worthwhile; but, he took a totally awkward path that doesn't bode well for motorcyclists or pilots.  He discussed lines and related that piloting was about following lines in the sky - glide slope and localizer and how that keeps you safe.  He was saying that motorcyclists should follow a line while riding, always starting in the left most part of the lane.  He went on to say that he's so close to the double yellow that cars coming the other way have no choice but to notice him, maybe even move over.  He seemed to like this idea and even offered that it was his lane, he was "Pilot in command."  Well, PIC, doesn't apply to motorcycle riders in any capacity and in the aviation world, PIC gives you no authority to influence the behavior of anyone else.  At the absolute most, the PIC can declare an emergency and tell the controller what his intentions are, at which point, the controller is obligated to move heaven and earth to accommodate the pilot.  PIC is a term that is used in the aviation world when discussing the authority of the pilot to meet the extent of an emergency and who's responsible for aircraft operation.  That is it.  There is no flying a course to make another pilot adjust their course as a result.  It's a stupid idea in the air and it's equally stupid on the ground.  A 1000# mass traveling at 45 mph striking another object, also moving at 45 mph, weighing 2600# is going to result in bad things; and that is exactly what will happen when the car rounds the bend halfway over the center line.  I think what was being suggested is unsafe, and irresponsible.  He's not teaching on a track.

I had to believe that everyone in that room had enough common sense to select a lane position that affords them the best view of the road AND maximizes their chances for safety; and if it were just that, I wouldn't be giving this review.  There was a clear problem with the speaker's attitude.  It was clear that he was a commander, he was in charge when he was riding.  He spoke of a riding style, a zen like experience.  The guy behind me even started to hum.   The style was "Show nobody nuthin'."  How do you trust a guy that will charge you $1,000 for a riding course with that mantra?  Also, where's the bit about safety and fun?  Does he really think that anyone is watching him ride, hoping the glimmer of some ancient riding secret can be gleaned from his posture or manipulation of the controls?  I have news for him.  Nobody's watching.  More news...there's nothing that you can teach that is new to the sport.  Many have come before you and many are better than you.  500,000 buys you a raise of the eyebrow, for sure.  I concede that; but you claimed that nobody has embraced riding like you have.  I'm sorry; but, you're in a crowd of 6,000 BMW riders.  There are more than just a couple hard core riders out there that would gladly rip their pinky finger off than stop riding.

When he closed his speech, he was taunting the audience to give him another question.  He had a demanding tone I couldn't appreciate; except to say it removed any doubt about whether I would ever take a riding course from him.  This is not the type of instructor I'd want.

I'm hopeful that the MOA will not invite this speaker back.  I'm also hopeful that those people that do decide to ride with him stay safe and think about what he's teaching before blindly implementing it in practice.