Who likes or hates Garmin BaseCamp?
- Thread starter Bernard Sullivan
- Start date
Making every bonus stop a "10 minute layover" averages out well for our rally style and routines. I do not need to add additional time for fuel stops or anything else. Allowing BC to project arrival and departure times based on the start time of the ride and the 10 minute layover at each bonus gives me an EDT from each bonus stop. This gets carried over to my routing sheet and at every bonus stop we know if we are running on-time, late, or early.
Most bonuses do not take 10 minutes so we can put time in the bank. A few will take more than 10 minutes and charge from that bank. If it is obvious during route planning that a bonus is going to be longer (eg: "Purchase a ticket for and attend the 30-minute presentation"), then I will adjust, but giving every "generic" bonus a 10-minute layover typically sees us within a few minutes of ETAs and ETDs throughout the day. When it all washes out in the end, we usually have enough time to make our fuel stops unscheduled and at our convenience.
Most bonuses do not take 10 minutes so we can put time in the bank. A few will take more than 10 minutes and charge from that bank. If it is obvious during route planning that a bonus is going to be longer (eg: "Purchase a ticket for and attend the 30-minute presentation"), then I will adjust, but giving every "generic" bonus a 10-minute layover typically sees us within a few minutes of ETAs and ETDs throughout the day. When it all washes out in the end, we usually have enough time to make our fuel stops unscheduled and at our convenience.
@Greg Rice - Kinda sounds like the BMW rider telling me how feature rich his bike is... as it sits with a pool of oil under the final drive. 
But ok, can you elaborate on why you find it useful to build in stops/layovers? I'm curious because I can't think of any situation where that would provide info I don't already have.
What "good features" do you find useful?
Yes, it's nice that it doesn't require an internet connection, that was always part of the appeal to MS too. Plug in your locations, hit optimize, and sometimes that was all you needed to get the big picture. There's a lot more time involved with BC to do the same.
But ok, can you elaborate on why you find it useful to build in stops/layovers? I'm curious because I can't think of any situation where that would provide info I don't already have.
What "good features" do you find useful?
Yes, it's nice that it doesn't require an internet connection, that was always part of the appeal to MS too. Plug in your locations, hit optimize, and sometimes that was all you needed to get the big picture. There's a lot more time involved with BC to do the same.
Basecamp is great for IBA certified rides and rallies. It is easy to add a start time and date and then add gas and hotel stops and add a layover for each of those. Then you will get a much more accurate time of your planned ride. If your ride crosses the country, you can then use multiple ride profiles ( different speeds ) once you cross the Mississippi river heading west or if you are riding east.
I have used Basecamp to plan rides to the minute and actually rode the ride coming in within 10 minutes of the ride planned in Basecamp.
I rode in many rallies where I was where Basecamp said I was going to be.
One very good example is when I set the motorcycle coast to coast record back in 2018 ( last year someone beat it ). My planned ride was 29 hours and 45 minutes including my stops and I did the ride in 29 hours and 23 minutes.
https://www.gregrice.com/rides/gregrice-2923.html
If I have X hours of riding time to the time restricted location, (bonus, ferry, etc), it seems pretty self evident to start the ride X hours before the time I need to be there. Having it done for me doesn't strike me as a big time saver.
@Greg Rice - Thanks for the response. Experience taught me I could ride XXX miles in XX hours while doing bonuses. Like most riders, I set bench marks for when I should be where and used that to determine if I was up or down on time, and should cut a bonus or add a bonus. The bench marks at points in the route where it would be optimal to add or subtract to avoid losing higher point bonuses.
It's great that it works for you, but it's not adding value for me. Your accuracy is dependent on the variables of life. An unexpected traffic jam or detour and you're going to deal with that by adjusting your plan on the fly. To me, you're micro managing your plan a bit for a rally. In a 12 hour rally with less room for error, I can see the value. Less so in a 24 or multi-day event.
Record? Not even close. The people doing it faster simply won't document their speeding. This isn't the venue for records over distance.
@Greg Rice - Thanks for the response. Experience taught me I could ride XXX miles in XX hours while doing bonuses. Like most riders, I set bench marks for when I should be where and used that to determine if I was up or down on time, and should cut a bonus or add a bonus. The bench marks at points in the route where it would be optimal to add or subtract to avoid losing higher point bonuses.
It's great that it works for you, but it's not adding value for me. Your accuracy is dependent on the variables of life. An unexpected traffic jam or detour and you're going to deal with that by adjusting your plan on the fly. To me, you're micro managing your plan a bit for a rally. In a 12 hour rally with less room for error, I can see the value. Less so in a 24 or multi-day event.
Record? Not even close. The people doing it faster simply won't document their speeding. This isn't the venue for records over distance.
The BC screwdriver handle is wrapped with 50-grit sandpaper. I've been in chat with Garmin support for hours today trying to get BC to recognize an RV770 (yeah, yeah. . .) and ended by terminating his stream of rote responses just before I asked him if he was a DEI hire. The female in the previous chat session was trying a lot harder but couldn't sort out the problem.
One other comment lest ya'll think I'm 100% a malcontent: I've been using Garmin marine and automotive products longer than those techs have been alive (probably) and have witnessed Garmin move away from solid middle-of-the-road products toward extreme high end -- and toys. (This is going to end on a positive note, I promise.) After having three Drive series GPSs and one RV 770, built on Drive hardware and software architecture, fail under warranty, I've come to the conclusion they're all cynical crap. (Here it comes!) I am strongly complimentary of the rugged user-friendly Zumo series, which is what is of interest to us motorcyclists after all.
One other comment lest ya'll think I'm 100% a malcontent: I've been using Garmin marine and automotive products longer than those techs have been alive (probably) and have witnessed Garmin move away from solid middle-of-the-road products toward extreme high end -- and toys. (This is going to end on a positive note, I promise.) After having three Drive series GPSs and one RV 770, built on Drive hardware and software architecture, fail under warranty, I've come to the conclusion they're all cynical crap. (Here it comes!) I am strongly complimentary of the rugged user-friendly Zumo series, which is what is of interest to us motorcyclists after all.
Eric,
Well maybe you are just not a good planner.
The group who tracks the coast to coast records said I had the record, so you don't matter.
Well maybe you are just not a good planner.
The group who tracks the coast to coast records said I had the record, so you don't matter.
Every time someone claims to beat one of these records, there are a handful of others having a nice chuckle. Like the guy riding on a track for 24 hours and claiming a new distance record well under what's been done by some we know. Good job on documenting your record ride! Next time we are chatting in person remind me and we can talk about that.
Simple answer to the question of the thread:
Moved over from MapSource and never looked back.
It took some time and effort to get to know the basics to fill my needs but I'm getting there. I think it is worth my time and energy.
There seems to be more than meets the eye at first glance and I must admit: for the price it's a hell of a program!
I very much like the possibility of changing profiles and databases.
Backups can be saved in the cloud and are thus accessible with different Pc's or Laptops... just saying.
For me, it does the job and I keep discovering new possibilities.
Is it the best routing program? Of course not, but it is also not the worst.
So at the end: I like BaseCamp!
Take care..
Ed.
Moved over from MapSource and never looked back.
It took some time and effort to get to know the basics to fill my needs but I'm getting there. I think it is worth my time and energy.
There seems to be more than meets the eye at first glance and I must admit: for the price it's a hell of a program!
I very much like the possibility of changing profiles and databases.
Backups can be saved in the cloud and are thus accessible with different Pc's or Laptops... just saying.
For me, it does the job and I keep discovering new possibilities.
Is it the best routing program? Of course not, but it is also not the worst.
So at the end: I like BaseCamp!
Take care..
Ed.
What seems obvious now is that the program has to match the rider. BaseCamp and I have had a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility.
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BREAKING NEWS: A container ship took out the Frances Scott Key Bridge over the Baltimore Harbor this morning. See Fox News web page. There's a video via X of it happening.