Electronic Files

lnelson

Premier Member
#1
Would you be willing to share your electronic files (Word, Excel, etc) that you use for planning, documenting, or tracking your rides. Maybe some of us newbies could learn from the masters......
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#2
I'm not one to share files, but I will share format & layout:

Capture2.PNG

Above the gray bar...day and date for this segment.
Distance & time that Google calculated - along with my hotlink to my Google Map daily route.

Below the gray bar - Column and purpose:

A (not displayed) D1-001 - This was the waypoint name convention for the GPS-specific route that I used for the bike GPS (Day# - stop#)
B - State sequence number, then a letter that designated how many more times I'll get a receipt in that state.
C - Physical address
D, E, F - City, St, ZIP - in case I needed to enter the data in another search engine.
G, H (not displayed) Lat, Long Originally derived from Google Map, but converted to lat long for GPS use.
I - Purpose of the stop
J - Odometer on the bike - referenced to the photos taken of the receipts
K, L - Time Stop & Time Go - Derived from GPS track data or GoPro camera time stamps
M - Image number - photos taken of the receipts have an individual number (used for certification)
N, O, P - After-the-fact data on fuel
Q - this sheet can be turned into a printed log...but I didn't use it.
R, S, T, U - My calculated leg times, distances, segment pace and overall pace to that point.

All data after column N was for my personal use only, and was not submitted as my log for certification.

Hope that helps!
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#3
A bit of further explanation...

As I planned my 48 state ride, this Google Spreadsheet was my notes and other data collection repository. The routing was originally laid out using Google Maps - a single map a day to make my life a bit easier.

The intent of the spreadsheet then became it turning into my log sheet for the ride, once completed. This is where the data from column J and beyond was added. Columns R, S, T and U was in the original spreadsheet, but really wasn't useful as the ride progressed.

This topic might be worth a bit of time explaining a few other oddities in my blog...give me a day or two.
 

lnelson

Premier Member
#4
A bit of further explanation...

As I planned my 48 state ride, this Google Spreadsheet was my notes and other data collection repository. The routing was originally laid out using Google Maps - a single map a day to make my life a bit easier.

The intent of the spreadsheet then became it turning into my log sheet for the ride, once completed. This is where the data from column J and beyond was added. Columns R, S, T and U was in the original spreadsheet, but really wasn't useful as the ride progressed.

This topic might be worth a bit of time explaining a few other oddities in my blog...give me a day or two.

Thank you this what I hoping for, insight to the planning and tracking...
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#5
Thank you this what I hoping for, insight to the planning and tracking...
I'll post what I messed around with yesterday & probably a bit more over the weekend on my blog, but this isn't too tough...

Much like you, I had asked these same sorts of questions a couple of times; and I did get a reply or two. When you look at either the dataset or the method(s) used, you learn something. Once you've done this a time or three, you get your own ideas on how things should be researched, organized and "presented".

In my last career, I was in 'logistics engineering'; fancy term for figuring out how much stuff do I need to fix how many widgets for how many years.

So in LD riding, your "presentation" is simply how you plan to use - and in what format - the data you researched and organized. It can be simple, it can be complex - all depends on the ride.

You have certain ride parameters you want to stay in - fuel range, rest durations, things like that. Again, once you've done this a time or three, you know what you're comfortable with, and you also know what makes you squirm. Friday-afternoon major metro area traffic, early-morning deer-country ride start, things like that.

In my case, I'd deconstructed that 48 state route into daily chunks as I mentioned before. I know what my fuel range is, I know that I want to cover a given distance daily. Since the majority of the route was pre-defined, simply verifying each stop using Google Maps was accomplished. I made my changes to the route, plotted fuel stops, tied 'em together, then went "Wow! Can I do this?"

That was pretty much the end of 'research'. 'Organization' was done in parallel with research, and my first post in this thread was my means to organize the data sets into something 'presentable', something that I would have access to during the ride.

A common management phrase used during my career was "organization is the key to success." It has worked well for my LD excursions so far.

I've probably thoroughly flogged this topic here; more on the blog.

hope it helps!
 

Roadglider

Premier Member
#7
I still consider myself a Newbie to the LD riding world. My E-Files are a work in progress. Excel is my choice for Planning and Tracking docs. I am open to better ways of doing business.

The Planning file consists of Raw data to include Addresses/phone numbers/google map links. I always call ahead to potential fuel stops to confirm it is not closed down and the station hours. Of course, I have not gone farther than 1500 in 24hrs, so it is not a huge hassle. All raw data for one ride is on one tab titled with the month year and Ride type/name. I then separate the completed to the left and the future planned rides to the right. The middle tab is pictured below, I just move each ride after completion.

Raw Data Planning File.png

The Tracking file is the Mile Eater Program in excel. I created this, so I can input each ride and it will auto insert into future levels except Silver. Silver must be entered manually because of the 12-month time requirement for either the 5 or 12 ride option.

Tracking File.png
 
#8
Here's what I use. It's pretty simple, but it works for me. It started off as an Excel spreadsheet, but as I refuse to pay Microsoft for a software "subscription", I have converted it to an Apple Numbers spreadsheet. Unfortunately, I can't post the actual spreadsheet file to the forum, so I have attached a jpeg image of it.

At the top, I have to enter my start time, and my estimated average speed. Then I just fill in the locations, time zones, miles between stops, and the names of the highway exits. The spreadsheet calculates my elapsed time, and my estimated arrival time at each stop. I also have to fill in how long I expect my stops to be.

I use Google Maps to find exits along my route where there are gas stations at an appropriate distance. For me, I like to keep each leg of the trip under 190 miles. I then use Google Street View to see if each gas station actually exists. A couple of times in the past, I found that there was no gas station at a location where Google Maps said there was going to be one.

I then print this out and take it with me on my ride. As I progress, I just fill in my arrival times, departure times, odometer and gps readings. I have found that it gives me a good reference to know if I am on track to complete the ride as planned. BTW: I just did this particular ride last weekend, and finished within 13 minutes of my estimated time!

When I get home, I take all the necessary info from this sheet and use it to fill out an official IBA log form. My spreadsheet contains extra info that the certification team doesn't need, and my handwriting is pretty terrible while on the ride, so I figure that a fresh log written at home probably helps the person who has to read the thing.
IB Planner.jpg
 

Scott Parish

Premier Member
#9
My fellow IBA riders are much more detailed oriented than myself. Personally - I just like to know how far in miles and time to the next stop as I generally can not keep track of too many things at once. For a BBG I will include columns for time-in and time-out etc. as it is necessary to know your interval time to determine if you are still on schedule or not. However, for longer rides; like Ken - I just focus on a daily ride goal and figure I will sleep when I get there.

1537202838538.png
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#10
My fellow IBA riders are much more detailed oriented than myself. Personally - I just like to know how far in miles and time to the next stop as I generally can not keep track of too many things at once.<...>
Hehehe...

The most complex ride I've done, but I did a lot of work before the ride to make it as simple as possible.

This was why I really had a lot of extra effort in getting the GL1800 GPS to do exactly what I wanted it to do - take me from one waypoint to the next along that daily route. All I had to do then was keep following that pink line on the screen in front of my face. When it took me off the main road, there was a reason - I planned it! :)

You also noted that I lost track of 'time' very easily. Was I actually on schedule? Slow? Fast? Toss in a time zone change and things really do get scrambled.