It’s easy to plan a route on cycle.travel then get it onto a GPS unit.

Using Garmin Connect

If you have a recent Garmin GPS unit, we recommend using Garmin Connect to transfer your routes.

Make sure you have an account on Garmin Connect as well as your cycle.travel account. Download the Garmin Connect app to your phone, and link it to your GPS via Bluetooth.

Then on cycle.travel, when you've planned and saved your route, click the GPS button. You'll see this:

Click Send to Garmin Connect. A new window will appear asking you to log in and grant permission to cycle.travel. (You’ll only have to do this once!)

Once you’ve done this, your route will be transferred to Garmin Connect as a ‘course’. The Garmin Connect app on your phone can then transfer it via Bluetooth to your GPS unit.

Transferring a route manually

You can also download a ‘GPX track’ file, which can be read by all brands of GPS and many apps. This will show the route as a line on your GPS screen. Click Download GPX track, and the file will be downloaded to your computer or phone. You can then copy it manually to your GPS unit.

• Garmin units via a USB lead: For older Garmins, you then need to connect your unit to the computer via USB, and copy the file across to the ‘NewFiles’ folder (cycling Garmin units: instructions) or the ‘GPX’ folder (eTrex units: instructions).
• Garmin units via Bluetooth: For newer Garmins, we’d recommend using Garmin Connect as above, but you can also use the routeCourse app to transfer the route directly from your phone to your Garmin.
• Wahoo: Download the route from cycle.travel onto your phone by choosing More download options from the GPS window, then choose TCX Course. Open the downloaded file in the Wahoo app.

Different types of GPS file

There are lots of different formats of GPS file. You can access these by clicking More download options. GPX tracks are simplest, but you can also choose a ‘TCX course’ which includes turn-by-turn prompts. cycle.travel offers these formats:

• GPX track: This is just the line of your route – no instructions. Practically everything will understand this.
• GPX route: This is an icon for each turn on your route (but no line). It’s good for GPS devices without much memory.
• TCX course: This has both the line and the turns. It’s best for Garmin Edge and Wahoo units.
• TCX activity: This is like a TCX course and is easier to import into Garmin’s Connect software.
• KML: This is the line of your route in a format that Google Earth and Maps.me can read.

If you choose a format with turn icons, you can get cycle.travel to position them slightly ahead of each turn. This means any audible warning from your GPS will sound before you get to the turn. Select ‘TCX course’ or ‘GPX route’, then select ‘Announce turns in advance’.

Naming your file

If you download a route from cycle.travel, it will by default simply appear as ‘cycle.travel’ on most GPS devices. To give it a distinct name, save it on cycle.travel before you download it. The name you choose on cycle.travel will be reflected in your download.

Elevation

You can include elevation data in the downloaded file so that it shows up on your GPS unit. To do this, download from the map page (not your journeys page) and click the elevation button so the graph is showing before you download it. Elevation data can be included in GPX routes and all TCX files.