Why is a Garmin cycle computer worth getting?

[Pedal Wench]

I'm thinking that the most useful aspect of the Garmin would be if I could upload a ride and then print out a cue sheet of it, with street names for each turn and distances between them. Is this possible?

I looked at ridewithgps.com and didn't see an option to generate/print a cue sheet.

The other features seem like they might be interesting, but for my purposes not necessary or worth the added cost.

Well, you can upload a ride, but the Garmin itself will display a cue sheet with street names and the distance until the turn. As you ride, you can cycle (pun!) between a screen with the regular display - speed, time, average speed, whatever you want to customize it with, a map screen with your route highlighted, and the cue sheet.

[ny biker]

Well, you can upload a ride, but the Garmin itself will display a cue sheet with street names and the distance until the turn. As you ride, you can cycle (pun!) between a screen with the regular display - speed, time, average speed, whatever you want to customize it with, a map screen with your route highlighted, and the cue sheet.

I thought it just showed a breadcrumb with no street names. I'm looking at the Edge 500.

Anyway I'm thinking I want a printable cue sheet so I can share the ride easily with others. I tend to take cue sheets from club rides and edit them to meet my distance goals, change the start point, minimize high-traffic roads, etc. Which leaves me with a list of turns but no indication of mileage at each turn. I can work with that, but it's not so helpful if I need to share it with others.

A printout would also work as a backup for the inevitable day when the Garmin is not working...

[OakLeaf]

Printable cue sheets don't come from the device in any case, they come from whatever you use to generate the route.

Mapmyride seems to do it for some routes and not for others - I don't know what makes the difference. I'm surprised ridewithgps doesn't - I do know they have been doing a lot of work on their site, so you might check back. On your desktop, DeLorme Street Atlas will do it, Garmin Base Camp might. If you're a AAA member, I think you can do that on their site, too.

[Pedal Wench]

I thought it just showed a breadcrumb with no street names. I'm looking at the Edge 500.

Oh - the 500 won't, but the 705 or 800's will show true maps. I also like that I can find food or water along the route - sometimes you're on a road that looks remote, but there might be a resource a block away.

I usually use mapmyride, but just discovered ridewithgps - their site definitely generates cue sheets.

To show the cue sheet, click the little arrows (<<) on the upper left of the map. You can even add notes to the cue sheet as you go.

[ny biker]

I'm not seeing anything about printing cue sheets on ridewithgps. So I go to create and account, and there's the answer. You have to pay to use the site.

I'm not paying a boatload of cash for the cycle computer and then paying even more -- a recurring fee, no less -- just to use it.

[Becky]

I haven't figured out the cue sheet thing yet myself, but we've never paid to use ridewithgps.com to upload and download rides to our Garmin. Is there a set of premium features?

[Pedal Wench]

I'm not seeing anything about printing cue sheets on ridewithgps. So I go to create and account, and there's the answer. You have to pay to use the site.

I don't pay. I created a (free) account (so I could save and retrieve mapped rides) and I just made a ride, looked at the cue sheet, clicked on "print" and a printer-friendly page popped up. I'm in a hotel, so didn't actually print it out, but i'm sure it would have printed had one been connected to my computer. If nothing else, do a screen print.

[OakLeaf]

Two different things.

You can upload routes to your bike computer from those sites for free.

Printing cue sheets is something entirely different. The bike computer doesn't print cue sheets!

If you buy Garmin's map DVD rather than buying the chip bundled with the computer, you can use their BaseCamp software on your computer for no additional charge. I hate it myself but DH thinks you can use it to generate cue sheets.

[ny biker]

Revisiting this thread because I think my Polar computer might be on its last legs...

And I apologize for more stupid questions, but the more I read, the more confused I get.

Re: the Edge 500 -- if I plan a route online (with Garmin Connect, MapMyRide, something like that) and download it to the Edge 500, will that mean I can do the ride without needing a printed cue sheet?

Thanks very much.