Gonzo Wanderers

Click Bike Safety again to drop this screen

SO YOU WANT TO DO A GONZO BIKE RIDE...

SAFETY FIRST:

Attach a bright red flashing light somewhere on the back of your bike where it is visible to drivers. It does absolutely no good hidden behind your tool kit. BTW: Turn it on !

Wear bright colours.

Ride single file.

Ride no more than 4-5 in a group. Keep a minimum 100 meters between groups to allow cars to pass.

Line ride only with people who are experienced riders.

Have a rear view mirror. Use it constantly. We are all half deaf, have wind blowing through our helmets, and today's cars are very quiet.

If you are in front, point out road hazards. If you don't know how, ask an experienced cyclist, or fall to the back.

If you are in the back, call out "Car Back" when a vehicle is approaching from the rear. Riders in front of you may not see the vehicle approaching because you're blocking the view in their mirror.

Pass other cyclists only on the left. Call out "On Your Left" as you approach from the rear in time for them to know you're coming.

When stopping at intersections or wherever, get your ass completely off the road onto the shoulder. Drivers hate us anyway, don't make it worse.

You can ride without jabbering at your fellow cyclists. Pay attention to traffic and road conditions at all times. Jabber later when stopped. It's ok while hiking, but not cycling.

Know where you're going and where you are. A cue sheet & map is sent out with every ride. Print it & bring it. If you don't know how, ask. Google Maps on your phone helps too.

Pay attention to your surroundings at all times. You are responsible for your own safety as well as that of others.

COVID PROTOCOLS:

When arriving at the ride start, park in car-clumps of 4 or 5.

Leave some room between clumps.

Keep your socializing to a minimum, and in small groups of half a dozen people. Maintain 6 feet of distance. I realize this is difficult for Gonzos, who have the same social habits as ants and Starlings.

Bring a mask in your bike bag or pocket for ice cream stops or whatever.

Do not give "concerned citizens" any reason to call the Covid Police. Appearances are more important than reality in today's world.

BASIC CYCLING INFO:

You should carry (at a minimum) a patch kit, tire levers, spare tube and air supply (pump or cartridge)

Ideally, you will know how to use the stuff listed in #1. Someone else will probably stop & help you, but by doing so they are taking time from their own ride.

Invest in a basic Garmin or some other form of odometer so you can follow the RWGPS cue sheets issued weekly. Or you can just follow the person in front, who may (or may not) know where they're going.

Be on time for ride starts. The ride leaves the start at 10AM unless posted differently. Driving in at 9:55 (or 10:05) and then getting your gear together while yakking with others is just plain rude.

Read the ride description & e-mail beforehand. It helps if you have an idea where you're going beforehand. Also there is often neat stuff to see or places to stop that are on the cue sheet, but not visible from the road, e.g. this week's lighthouse. Gonzo rides are not designed to be races. Enjoy the journey.

This year we will have two rides each week . They will both start at the same place and time, and hopefully finish at the same place and very close in time. One will be "longish" and average speed will be 20 + kph. The second will be shorter, average speed 15 + kph.

Your rides are mapped out & set up by two or three people who don't get paid. If you want to complain, try to keep it to constructive criticism. Suggestions for rides are always welcome, and offers to map out rides are always accepted with thanks.

Click Hike Distances again to drop this screen

Why does everyone's mapping app give different hike distances???

Tracking your distance while hiking a trail involves a lot of variables and they all contribute a bit of imprecision.

Satellite Accuracy

By law, GPS satellites don't say exactly where you are. Military applications say you are here...Your Strava app...OK, here plus or minus a few meters.

GPS satellites triangulate your position...more satellites...better accuracy. Your tracking app logs things like position, elevation and something called DOP (Duration of Precision) to let you know how confident the GPS satellite infrastructure is in the accuracy of any one reading.

Location Tracking Frequency

GPS may log your position every 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds...etc. Given the accuracy limitations...these variations will definitely affect what the app says is your hike distance.

Distance Calculation Algorithm

When your GPS logs 2 points (each which may be off by a few meters), how does it decide just how far you walked? All apps use a basic algorithm (the Haversine Formula - James Iman 1835) , which computes the distance between 2 points on a known sphere. That sphere is planet Earth and the generally accepted radius of the Earth is 6371 kms...again with the plus or minus. Not all apps use this exact formula or radius value.

Elevation Changes

Many tracking apps do not take elevation into account in their distance calculations.

Missed Points

For a variety of reasons, your phone app will miss a number of logging points. If you look very closely at the track your phone puts on a map or go thru the actual log...you'll see straight lines where the detail was lost for a bit. This will affect your hike distance calculation.

Thousands of Readings

It is very easy to generate a few thousand Longitude/Latitude readings on any one hike. With all the variations mentioned above...it is easy to see why everyone's hike distances varies, sometimes by quite a bit. You could carry 2 identical phones on a hike and the distances would be off for quite a few reasons.

Why do bike speedometers give slightly different distances?

Measuring your cycling distance with a bike speedometer has less moving parts but each has some imprecision built in.

Wheel Sensor

That little sensor on your front fork is a reed switch...basically 2 contacts that get closed by the magnet on your spoke as the wheel goes around one rotation. The sensor may not send every rotation...say a really bump road, or if using wireless, there might be a skip here and there.

Wheel Size Measurement

Speedometers ask you to input your wheel size ie: 700cc 25mm. This gives them the size of the circle and thus the radius of the wheel to cipher out just how far one rotation of that wheel will move you down the road.

You might switch to a 23mm width tire and not tell your speedometer. You may have a under-inflated tire. You may be one of those riders that wallpapers the road as you cycle hills. Any of these variables would affect the simple math that a speedometer uses.

Click Where Am I? again to drop this screen

How do I know where I am on a hike/bike?

You need an app on your phone that has maps, and you need to turn on Location on your phone (which uses the GPS chip and all those satellites in the sky). If you use Google for maps, you need data...but there is a great app out there that is free to use....OSMAND and it does not need or use data.

OSMAND app

OSM stands for Open Street Maps and is runs just like Wikipedia....crowd-sourced and lots of volunteers. You can load their free app and then load up to 8 maps for free (Nova Scotia is 1 map).

OSM has many hikes already loaded on their NS maps, including just about every Gonzo hike. So if you head out to a place like Spider Lake...you can see the myriad of trails. The app and the GPS chip on your phone will let you know where you are all the time.

How do I get a GPX file to follow on a hike/bike?

We generate our bike routes with RideWithGPS. The webpage allows you print a map of the ride, download a cue sheet and a GPX file...all for free, with no login required. The app is fussier...use the webpage.

We generate our hike routes during a hike, and then make the GPX available on the Gonzo Parking page (type Gonzo Parking into Google).

Once you have a GPX on your PC...email it to yourself as an attachment. Then get on your phone, read your mail and click on the GPX attachment. Your phone will ask you what you want to do with this file and may offer up any mapping apps as options...(Strava, Google, OSMAND). OSMAND is the free one.

If you already have some default map app for downloads....you can get the GPX into OSMAND by loading the app, going to Configure Map..Tracks...Add More...From Downloads and your GPX file will hopefully be there.

Click Triangulate again to drop this screen

Why does my phone GPS location need at least 4 satellites?

People have been using triangles to help measure things since back in the pyramid days. In World War II, some bright bulb figured out how to use 3 radio receivers to triangulate the position of partisan radios.

Cell towers can do this as well, assuming the towers are essentially on the same plane (ie: 2 dimensions).

In all these methods, there are built-in inconsistencies. The distance to the object in question is ciphered from the time it takes for the signal to travel from A to B. The level of accuracy depends on geometry of the devices, signal interference, atmospheric conditions and hardware/software quality .

Satellites are way out in space and definitely not on the same plane. You need that 4th satellite to compensate for the 3rd dimension. GPS satellites can generally get your location down to about 5 meters.

HIKING #1 To #40

HEMLOCK RAVINE
Kent Ave off Bedford Hwy
1-2 hrs Hilly
Woods Trail


	GONZO ARCHIVES Remembering is 1/2 the fun, especially when you forgot already.


	THREE MILE Follow the Four Jacks as they fixup up JackKnife's retirement home.


	GPX VIEWER/OPTIMIZER Browse your GPX files. Play with the Optimizer if you like to cut down file sizes.


	GPX CREATE Make up bike or hikes routes. Check distances and elevations.


	GONZO SCOUT HIKES Browse the Gonzo scouting hikes all around HRM and now beyond.


	GONZO TRAVEL MAPS Follow Gonzos travelling about the planet. We are a busy crowd.


	PASSWORD STRENGTH Test password strength. Learn to generate multiple secure passwords.


	PACK LIST GENERATOR Generate packlists for hiking, biking, camping, overseas, etc.


	LEVY CRUISER 2018 Bernie & Wendy Levy paddle EVERY month of the year, 12 years running.


	Sue's UNESCO Sites Sue Green has made a point of visiting over 100 UNESCO sites in her world travels.


	OSMAND Offline Maps This app works offline, has free maps and almost all our hiking trails.


	RideWithGPS No login required to Print Maps & Cue Sheets & Export GPX files. All of our rides and most hikes have a route map link.


	IT'S TICK SEASON!!! Donna Lugar's Tick Presentation (Powerpoint download).


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