Garmin Through and Through

We love it when our customers tell us how much they like Garmin by purchasing and outfitting an entire boat with Garmin products.  Especially when they already owned Garmin units to begin with!

This owner of a Sunseeker 47 near Clearwater, Florida liked the Garmin 5212 units so much that he had a new dashboard built to accommodate the screens. He also liked the rugged simplicity and performance of the TR-1/Garmin autopilot and had that installed as well.   

Prior to the new installation, this customer loved his GPSMAP 3010 units, but decided to upgrade because of the 5212's simplified user interface and touchscreen.  With the new units, creating a waypoint and navigating to a destination is as easy as touching the screen.  There's no need to find the waypoint button, because the waypoint button finds YOU when you touch the screen. 

Slipstream has a strong start at Giro d’Italia

The 21-stage Giro d’Italia kicked off Saturday and Garmin-sponsored Team Slipstream/Chipotle is making a fine showing in their first Grand tour. Slipstream won the time trial on Saturday and Christian Vande Velde, featured in Garmin’s latest Edge 705 ad, was presented the pink leader’s jersey. This first race stage was sponsored by Garmin’s U.K. office and we were proud to back the team on the podium. Stage 2 was a tough one with a brutal uphill finish. Christian, one of the team’s top climbers, gave it his all, finishing 10” behind Franco Pellizotti, who took over the pink jersey. David Zabriskie got tangled in a crash, resulting in a compression fracture to a vertebra, but he has suffered no neurological damage. Stages 3 and 4 were also marred with crashes, and the peloton is looking tired, yet Christian has managed to maintain his second place overall standing. Our thoughts are with David Z. as he returns home for recovery and we wish the rest of team safety and great racing in the upcoming stages. Check out Slipstream’s latest Garmin featured ride, in Girona, Spain.

Slipstream GC (following Stage 4)
1. Franco Pellizotti 16:41′26″
2. Christian Vande Velde +1″
3. Danilo Di Luca +7″
4. Morris Possoni +8″
5. Vincenzo Nibali +8″

76. David Millar +2′14″
85. Ryder Hesjedal +2′54″
178. Danny Pate +24′58″
180. Julian Dean +25′44″
184. Magnus Backstedt +27′08″
188. Chris Sutton +31′33″
190. Pat McCarty +31″51″

Wrench 'n' Win Contest: Week 3 finalists

The third week was charmed in the Garmin Garage Wrench ‘n’ Win Contest and we have another group of entries for your enjoyment on the finalist page. The Week 3 finalists thought outside the box - especially the pizza box - and the creativity and artistry impressed us yet again. As you know, we pick the finalists but you get to pick the winner. If you’ve already entered, be sure to let your friends and family know. And we announced it last week, but it's worth repeating: We’ll be awarding one lucky grand prize winner with a brand new nüvi 205! So keep those sketches coming and spread the word about the Wrench ‘n’ Win Contest!

Garmin associate puts Forerunner 405 to the test at Disney

Working here at Garmin is a great experience and has proven to be a lot of fun. Here's a picture of me (in front, far left) and some of my associates following a charity run last summer. I have the opportunity to work with some really great athletes who’ve put some challenges before me and inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. That comfort zone was pretty much playing softball and cycling. Last summer I was encouraged to do a triathlon. Fell in love with the sport except for the running portion. We have a lot of really good runners here who encouraged me to pick up the sport. Now, I’m not great at it, but for not starting until in my late forties, I do okay.

Since I work in technical support for our outdoor/fitness team, I get to try out all the fun GPS units so I can become familiar with them to help our customers. Last January, my niece called and said, “I need to lose some weight and get in shape, there’s a 15K at Disney and was wondering if you’d do it with me?”  I told her I’d think about it for a few days and talk it over with my husband. I’d never done a 15K, but I’d run a 10K, so I knew what it felt like. I decided I’d do it. It sounded like fun and I probably needed another challenge.

Ask Garmin: Add New Vehicles to Your nüvi

Our e-mail this week comes from M. Smith: "I recently purchased a nüvi 260 and know nothing about GPS systems." As proof of the popularity of all of the new vehicles we're adding to the Garmin Garage, topping our e-mailer's to-do list was downloading new vehicle icons. "Can anyone help me?"

Absolutely. Not only is it easy, it's free! We have a cheat sheet for installing new vehicles, and we'll explain the steps in detail later in this post. In less than a minute, you can be cruising in style. For those who spend their days helping others, we have the popular service vehicles bundle. We also cater to outdoor enthusiasts, Elliott Sadler fans, or anyone looking for something sleek or pink or futuristic.

Not seeing your ideal vehicle? Draw your own and enter our Wrench 'n' Win Contest!

Peg’s Posts: Where to buy Forerunner 405

With all the great reviews on the Forerunner 405, some of you are wondering where to go to get your hands on it. The 405 is now available at specialty outdoor retailers and running stores, as well as the Garmin store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. And like the typical type A runner, this watch doesn’t stay in one place for long. At its street debut at the Boston Marathon expo three weeks ago, hundreds of units were sold. We’ll also be doing demos and selling 405s at a couple of upcoming race expos, so watch for us next weekend, May 16-17 at the Bay to Breakers Expo in San Francisco and then May 30-31 at the San Diego Marathon Expo.

Jake's Journal: Recycling my cycling

Next week is Kansas City's "Car-Free Challenge" and commuters across the metro will explore alternative ways to get to work and back home. Always up for a challenge, I joined Garmin's team as we try to defend our title. Last year, Garmin employees logged more than 2,700 miles on foot, bike, bus or carpool. And whether a person's motivation is driven by competition, the environment or their personal budget, the key is to do your part to help.

Here's the catch. I live 22 miles from work. On foot, that's my longest run before a marathon. And I'd have to leave home at 4 a.m. And then I'm stuck at work with sore legs and no way home. By bike, it's still a long haul (for me), but doable. The catch there is steering clear of roads too busy for my amateur status. That's where the Edge 705's mapping will come in handy. The other alternative - and one that I'll likely use at least part of the week - is to bike the 4 miles to catch the shuttle to Garmin. But regardless of how long or often I plan to ride next week, I had one major obstacle: cobwebs.

Shave to Save: Haircuts for a cure

The Garmin family loves to help out the community... even if that means having a bald head for a few weeks! This morning, one of our Engineering team leaders shaved his head to honor and support those touched by cancer during the American Cancer Society's inspiring Shave to Save event. The shavees were joined by friends and family, while a local meteorologist was on hand to host the event. Rick and other community members helped to raise more than $120,000 through this unique and exciting fundraiser. Way to go, Rick!