Peg's Posts: Orienteering with Forerunner 405

For the past 6 weeks, my workouts have been mostly confined to indoor cardio, strength training and anything that puts minimum strain on a cranky Achilles. When the weather warmed enough to tease us and I’d felt some progress on my injury, I was primed for some outdoor exposure. Then came the bait: an offer to do an orienteering race put on by no less than the Possum Trot Orienteering Club of KC. The offer grew tastier with the promise of companionship from three fellow teammates from last summer’s Hood to Coast relay: Amy, Steve and Paul. That sealed the deal. So I dug out my thermal layers, hydration belt and bottle, which hadn’t seen action since late December in my training for Disney marathon and my Forerunner 405, which hadn’t seen much outdoor action since the marathon. Now I was set to trot through unfamiliar terrain in search of scattered points.

Jake's Journal: From the peloton to your PC

Three pro cycling tours - through France, Missouri and California - have provided three totally different experiences as we bring the action of the pro peloton and Team Garmin's highlights to you through the Garmin Blog, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, the most recent being from Dave Zabriskie's Tour of California prologue (click here to see it). We've even helped outfit each video motorbike (left) with a Garmin zūmo so the TV crews can see the path that lies ahead despite the countless distractions and crowded roads. In the end, this stunning footage is hard to top. But read on to see how we strive to bring you the argyle updates that you might otherwise miss - whether we're in a team car, a damp tent, an office chair or a recliner.

Getting Your Fix

At Garmin, we’re always hard at work making sure our customers are able to make the most of their Garmin devices. An example of this commitment is evident with our Mapping Feedback Form. It was created to allow users to submit revisions directly to us. As roads, routes, and points of interest continue to change, we work to manage this always-shifting amount of information. The Mapping Feedback Form allows Garmin users to report missing roads or new points of interest. Once feedback is submitted, a report is sent to our staff cartographers for review. Depending on the request, it’s sent to one of Garmin’s mapping vendors. As you can imagine, we partner with quite a few content providers. Whether it’s a just-opened restaurant in the area or new subdivision across town, we work to ensure the right information is sent to the right people. Our content providers are just as committed as we are. Often, a mapping vendor will assign a driver to visually (and electronically) verify updates. Mile after mile is driven to ensure that the maps are as up-to-date as possible. 

Of course, none of this would even be possible without all of you. So to those of you who have submitted requests in the past and continue to do so today, we thank you for your efforts. Your assistance helps us make a better product for everyone.

Victor's Vectors: FlyGarmin 101

The flyGarmin website is a big improvement to the way Garmin has provided aviation database updates in the past, but we still get calls asking about how to update an aviation handheld's database.  One of our aviation dealers decided to create a YouTube video that I think is worthy of passing on. If you have any other questions that this video did not cover, comment to this post or contact Garmin’s Aviation Support line at 1-866-739-5687 which is open Monday to Friday, 7 am to 7 pm (CT).

Caddy Confidential: Keeping Score with Approach G5

After months of being snowed in at the caddy shack, Mother Nature is finally giving us a few hints of the warm weather to come. And every day we get closer to golf season is also another day we get closer to launching the Approach G5. With that wonderful nugget of news, we’ve posted yet another YouTube video that highlights the Digital Scorecard feature…from indoors…because it was snowing…yet again.

Tune in to see Jake and Dan the Engineer roll through every aspect of the scorecard feature, including how to fire up the scorecard on your computer. If you missed any of the previous Approach YouTube videos, you can click here and here to see more of what the Approach G5 has to offer. As always, keep checking the Garmin blog as we’ll be posting more videos in the coming weeks.

Chicago Store: Gearing up for boating season

It’s almost time to bring the boats back out! With this year’s boating season just right around the corner, Garmin newest marine electronics, the GPSMAP 620, GPSMAP 640, and the GWS 10are boating and sailing essentials! These new units work as a true chartplotter on water, and effortlessly switch into automotive mode when you're ready to pack up and hit the road. Preloaded with US coastal charts and North American street maps, the GPSMAP 640 is also compatible with XM WX satellite weather data andXM NavTraffic for the ultimate in situational awareness. With a 5.2 inch, sunlight readable screen, the transition between water and land navigation is easier than ever. Also available for this spring’s boat launch is the GWS 10, Garmin’s first wind sensor that provides essential wide speed and direction data to those on the water. Curious to see the new devices? We have a wind sail next to the GWS 10 in the front window so you can be one of the first to test it out. Come on by the Garmin Chicago store and try out Garmin’s newest marine electronics as you prepare to get your boat in shape for the water this year!

First 5,000+ golf courses announced for Approach G5

Golfers, take note: The list is out. More than 5,000 golf courses in the U.S. have been mapped in great detail and preloaded onto the Garmin Approach G5, which will hit shelves in just a few weeks. More than 5,000. Preloaded. No annual fees. No subscriptions. Just two AA batteries, and you're ready to tee off with this touchscreen marvel. To put this staggering number of preloaded courses in perspective, you could play a different golf course every day and still need 14 years to cover every course that comes standard with the Approach G5. To see if your favorite course is among the 5,000+, just visit the Approach product page and the course list. If your favorite course isn't on the initial list, fear not, our list is growing and there's room on the Approach for all of your favorites. We've even made it easy for you to request a course.

So be sure to watch Caddy Confidential, where Carl will share tips and tricks (while humbling Jake in the process), and he'll also have more YouTube videos to share, in addition to the Approach overview and the long-drive contest that showcased the measure-distance feature. Start working on your swing, because we're going to keep you busy!

Tour of California: Zabriskie finishes 2nd, Danielson 9th as 2 million cheer

Two million fans watching the Tour of California saw what Jonathan Vaughters promised of his squad: Team Garmin will fight for every victory and be a factor in every race, with a deep enough team to have a different star on any given day. The biggest star power of the week for Team Garmin belonged to Dave Zabriskie, who channeled the superpowers of Captain America in finishing on the podium in the week's two time trials. Those two performances, combined with relentless efforts and tireless teamwork on the road stages, earned Zabriskie second place overall on the final podium (shown here with Waylon), just 36 seconds behind three-time champion Levi Leipheimer.

In a nod to the depth of this team, Tom Danielson (left) joined Zabriskie in the Tour's Top 10 as he finished ninth and was always in the right spot as the race unfolded. Other standout performances included 22-year-old Tom Peterson's Stage 2 win, sprinter Tyler Farrar's two Top-5 stage finishes and Christian Vande Velde's resilience that earned him the jersey as Stage 7's Most Courageous rider. And whether they were being protagonists or protectors, Steve Cozza, Svein Tuft and Trent Lowe helped Team Garmin to the highest team finish of any American squad and third overall in the most impressive field ever to race on U.S. soil. Be sure to check out our Flickr page for scenes from an amazing week of racing.

GRMN's Fourth Quarter Results

Garmin reported its fourth quarter results today.  Click here for the report and join the conference call at 11:00 a.m ET here.

Tour of California: Vande Velde most courageous in breakaway

Today's Tour of California coverage taught Versus viewers about "The Catch" - that moment where the swarming peloton erases any gap that a brave breakaway has tried to establish. Clearly there are 10 professional cyclists - including Team Garmin's Christian Vande Velde - who need a refresher course. Christian joined some of the biggest names in the race from various teams in building a gap of more than 4 minutes as they defied the odds that dictate how and when a breakaway gets caught. And Christian's odds got even steeper when he needed a wheel change. As the rest of his breakaway disappeared down the road, Christian watched Team Garmin mechanic Daimean Shanks switch wheels with lightning speed and precision. In a matter of just a couple seconds, Christian had a new wheel and a little push from Daimo, and it wasn't long before Christian had rejoined the rest of the break. In the end, Christian's persistence paid off as he was honored as the most courageous in Stage 7 and donned that jersey on the podium. Christian finished in ninth place on the day, 7 seconds behind the stage winner, and teammate Dave Zabriskie held on to second place in the overall standings. Zabriskie, who used his stellar performance in Friday's time trial to move up a spot in the GC, trails the overall leader by just 36 seconds with one day of racing left in California. Keep checking the Team Garmin blog for updates throughout the weekend!

Tour of California: Zabriskie 2nd in Time Trial in Solvang

The beauty of an individual time trial is there is always something to grab your attention. Someone rolling out of the start. A teammate crossing the midway checkpoint. A mad sprint to the finish. Changes atop the leaderboard. And such was the case today in Solvang for three hours of racing in staggered starts on the 15-mile course of Stage 6 of the Tour of California. 

Excitement rushed through Team Garmin and its fans when Dave Zabriskie, the last of the argyle armada on the course in the fourth-to-final spot, crossed the intermediate checkpoint in 19'19" - beating the previous best split by 13 seconds. And the exhilaration peaked when Zabriskie crossed the line in 30:48, more than 8 seconds faster than the previous leader. Dave Z, sporting his Captain America speedsuit that comes with being the national time trial champion, withstood the challenges right up to the end. But Levi Leipheimer, the overall race leader and winner of this stage the past two years, capped the day with a time of 30:39. In the end, fans of Team Garmin were proud to see their superhero - the four-time U.S. champion - take the podium for the second time in two time trials.

Be sure to stay tuned to the Team Garmin blog for updates throughout the weekend, especially as the crew in Portugal get ready for an individual time trial of their own, with Danny Pate and David Millar positioned well to make things interesting.

Chad McCumbee heats up the track with Garmin

Catch Garmin on the track during tomorrow's San Bernardino County 200 at the Auto Club Speedway. Truck Series driver, Chad McCumbee, will take to the track tomorrow on Fox at 3 pm in the GPS Store.com/ Garmin #07 truck on Saturday, and is currently 19th in NCWTS points standings. Race fans may remember our sponsorship of Chad's truck last year, and can expect a similar look and feel for this year's truck. Cheer on Chad tomorrow and then again at the end of April where he will be in the Garmin truck at the Kansas Speedway. Good luck, Chad!

Tour of California: Inside the Team Garmin caravan

One goal of our blog team is to bring you behind the scenes - whether we're taking you on a photo shoot, introducing you to a Garmin engineer or sharing tips and tricks about your favorite GPS device. This week at the Tour of California, where Team Garmin helped rein in the Stage 5 breakaway before Tyler Farrar suffered an untimely flat before the field sprint, the argyle armada is getting everyone's attention - from reporters to spectators to the rest of the peloton.

Mark Johnson from VeloNews spent Wednesday's stage in the Team Garmin chase car with mechanic Tom Hopper and team director Matt White.  Johnson says this of Whitey: "Nearly every rider who passes by the Garmin car on their way back up to the peloton gives him a hello, from Belgian grunts to Spanish holas. He often responds with encouraging words." Click here for the entire story and photo gallery. Meanwhile, BikeRadar.com continues its thorough coverage from California by peeking inside Team Garmin's trailer and talking to mechanic Daimean Shanks. Click here to watch as Daimo gives a tour and talks technology. Speaking of technology, CyclingNews took a close look at Christian Vande Velde's gear, from his sleek bike, the Felt F1 SL, to his GPS-enabled Garmin Edge 705. Click here for the full story.

nüvifone: Phones for the Location-Based Life

Today is the last day of Mobile World Congress and it's been a whirlwind.  From meetings with carriers to press interviews, the Garmin-Asus booth has been a beehive of activity. One of the great things about the show this year is that it's the first time the public has had a chance to press buttons on a nüvifone and see how we integrate location-based information compared to others. From the beginning we've said the nüvifone series would integrate location in a new way, but "integrate" is an overused word in marketing-speak and therefore makes it difficult to describe the nüvifone experience until actually trying the phone. For example, if you open a contact's name on a nüvifone, you'll have three primary options: call, text and go.  The call and text choices are traditional options found on most phones, but if you press "go" it launches the navigation screen and you'll be navigating to the contact's address.  Another example is having the nüvifone's location integrated with the calendar. You can find an event in the area via the "upcoming events" option, then add it to the calendar with the click of a button. When it's time to attend the event, your calendar will prompt you of the event and then you can navigate to the event by touching a button on the calendar page. The nüvifone product line is reinventing how phones do navigation and they truly are phones for the location-based life.

Garmin Connect news: Forerunner 405 and 50 are now Mac compatible

We recently released software that will allow Mac users to upload their fitness activities recorded with the Forerunner 405 or 50 to Garmin Connect via the wireless USB ANT Stick. The software is called ANT Agent for Mac users. You can also send goals to your device when uploading your history/activities.

Soon you’ll be able to update your device software and GPS chipset to keep your device up to date. With future releases you’ll be able to send workouts and courses to the Forerunner 405 from Training Center and Garmin Connect, and independently send goals to the Forerunner 405 from Garmin Connect.  Future releases will also enable you to update your Forerunner 405’s device software and GPS chipset.

Team Garmin: Frischkorn king for (at least) a day, Solid sprint for Farrar

While most of the cycling world focused on California, Team Garmin was making its mark at the Volta au Algarve in Portugal. Hans Dekkers (left) finished a close 4th in the sprint to cap Stage 1, and Will Frischkorn (right) is atop the King of the Mountain standings after taking 1st and 2nd in the day's two climbs. Will earned enough time bonuses to move into 6th place overall, just 8 seconds off the lead, and Hans is 2 seconds behind in 8th. Keep checking the Team Garmin blog for updates from Portugal.

And hopping back to the States, the Tour of California finally enjoyed some sunshine today in the hilly trek from Modesto to Clovis. For the second day in a row, the stage ended in a field sprint. Team Garmin did a lion's share of the work in bringing back the breakaway so that speedy Tyler Farrar would be right among the other top sprinters. Farrar didn't disappoint, finishing in the top 5 of the field sprint for a second consecutive day. And if you haven't been reading Steve Cozza's blog entries from California, you're missing out. His Stage 3 recap was classic, describing how he totes food and water. "I had four musette bags to carry. Musettes are like purses for cyclists," Cozza wrote. "Each bag has two water bottles and other goodies. So I was carrying eight bottles plus the two on my bike and food. My guess is an extra 15 pounds."

Ben has the Edge while training in Hawaii

Garmin-sponsored triathlete Ben Collins shares his training and racing experiences with the Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 405.

Over the weekend I set off for a three hour tour of Oahu. My plan was to meet up with a local training group called Boca, but unfortunately I found my front tire was flat before I even left. I changed it as quickly as I could, but ended up missing the group by about 5 minutes. I was a little nervous because the tube I used to change my flat was my only spare, and if I was going to ride alone, I was certainly taking a risk. Luckily, I had my Garmin 705 and a cell phone, so I could see a map of where I was and call a friend if something happened. Had I still been in Brazil, I likely would have ridden the trainer rather than risking a 15-mile walk home in bike shoes.

Victor's Vectors: Increasing base map detail

Over the last couple of months I have been hearing a lot of good stories from customers about their GPSMAP 696 or 695. The GPS is getting used in applications that I wouldn’t have initially dreamed of; everything from being used in Alaska and Canada for bush flying, throughout the Midwest for pipe line patrols, and in helicopters fighting California forest fires and providing EMS. In several of these calls one question normally pops up that I would like to answer for everyone. The question is, “how do I increase the detail of the base map?” It’s a good question for those customers that are using these units for, let’s say, a non standard operations. The answer is that you can increase the level of detail using a MapSource mapping product. The 696 and 695 are compatible with the topographical mapping products like US Topo, and Topo 24K. Both of these mapping products can be loaded to a SD card then loaded onto the GPS through the SD card slot on the side of the unit. The 696 and 695 can support up to 3500 map sets which give you a fairly large area of mapping. Topo mapping not only gives the lines of elevation, hiking trails, and more detail on rivers, lakes, and streams but it also gives street detail. Topo also comes in four coverage areas: US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. So if you are flying just for fun or for a more unusual reason, Garmin has you covered.

Garmin Garage: Nomad

Get your motor runnin’.  Head out on the highway.  And let Nomad lead the way to two-wheeled fun. At least that’s how the song goes, right? Anyway - since we swung the shop doors open on the Garmin Garage, we’ve heard from motorcycle riders far and wide. Everyone has wanted a few more bikes in the line up and we finally had time to add one to the list. It’s a good thing, too. We’re quickly approaching riding season and with our recently launched zumo 660 available soon, we wanted to make sure Nomad was all polished up and ready to release into the wild. Of course, you don’t need to ride a motorcycle to download Nomad. In fact, you don’t even need to drive. All you need is a compatible nüvi, zumo, or Street Pilot and you’re ready to go. And if you think about it, this free vehicle download may be one of the easiest (and cheapest) bikes you can own. So grab Nomad today and feel the virtual wind in your face as you travel down the road in style. Stay safe out there and remember to keep the shiny side up!

Tour of California: From Dr. Allen Lim's perspective

We've been talking a lot about Twitter as a way to track the Tour of California from different perspectives. Tuesday's stage from San Jose to Modesto offered a glimpse at the insight, expertise and humor that can be found on Twitter, this time courtesy of Team Garmin physiologist Allen Lim (@allencolim). At the end of the day, it was Thor Hushovd winning the sprint to the finish, but our focus was on Allen, riding in a team car with director Chann McRae, providing the best commentary along the way. Below are his stream-of-consciousness updates, with slashes setting each Tweet apart. Have fun reliving Stage 3 in Lim-tastic fashion:

Whitey, Daimo, and Dr. Sovndal (Shan Man) our team doc are in car 1. Neutral laps. Huge crowds. Chann has already started on the chips. // Heading up sierra now. Break has 45 second. Louder bmc, bauke from rabo, brad white ouch, brian vandborg from liquigas // Crowds are awesome on sierra despite rain. Thanks san jose. // Two riders are chasing. Mancebo from rock and matt wilson from type 1. 30 second down. Field gaining. // Chasers caught. Break down to 20 second. Done. 3 km from top of sierra. Brutal out there. // Chann just offered me some gum. He's chewing with great joy and blowing bubbles. So pro!

Jake's Journal: My cure for rainy days and Mondays

For the fifth day in California, I'm looking out my window at rain. Rain that's making headlines nationally and last night flooded the team hotel. In a day where you don't even want to get in the car, the cyclists in the Tour of California will get on their bikes (again) and ride more than 100 miles (again) in a relentless deluge (again). And yet, Team Garmin's spirits couldn't be higher coming off of Stage 2, a day in which Tom Peterson escaped in a key break, bridged to catch the race leader, followed the defending champ and passed him for Monday's stage victory. All at only 22 years old. Bonnie Ford tells us more about Tom and his Tour thus far in yet another great profile on ESPN.com.

Names that are more familiar to Team Garmin fans - Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson (Tom's pictured here with wife Steph before the Valentine's Day prologue) - are still high on the leaderboard as they continue to put themselves exactly where they need to be heading into Friday's time trial in Solvang. Zabriskie's current third-place standing overall is a product of his amazing prologue in Sacramento during the only four hours of sunshine I can remember this week - and more important, an exhilirating four minutes that I will remember for years. I had been standing at the finish line, where I had seen Svein Tuft post the early time to beat, when Slipstream President Matt Johnson asked if I wanted to follow one of our guys in a team car. I don't think I've ever been so eager to mooch a ride. First it was going to be Tyler Farrar, as I told the hundreds of people following my Tour updates on Twitter, then Tyler's car filled up before I arrived. Tyler's a great guy - and a stellar time trialist - but I couldn't believe it when I found out that the fallback plan was to trail Zabriskie.

Team Garmin: JV reflects on Peterson's win

One of the unique benefits of being in Team Garmin's Argyle Club - in addition to getting team apparel and free burritos - is hearing behind-the-scenes insight from Jonathan Vaughters and the team itself. Normally saved for club members, this note was too good not to share. To learn more about joining the Argyle Club and getting these notes in your own inbox, visit slipstreamsports.com/argyleclub.

Argyle club members,

Presidents day was a big day for Garmin-Slipstream. Tom Peterson took the stage win in Santa Cruz from the main breakaway of the day. Here's JV's take on Tom's breakthrough win:

I have to say I was getting a bit teary when Tom Peterson won yesterday. Tom is a rider I've worked with since 2005, and personally coached all along. He's grown a lot as a person and as a rider over the past 4 years, which has been immensely rewarding to see.

It's funny, because I can still remember in the fall of 2005 when Doug (Ellis) and I went to watch the team race at the Univest Classic in Souderton, Penn. I told Doug I was also there to watch a certain young man race and to meet him to see what sort of person he was. So, after the race, Doug and I took Tom out to a fine Chinese dinner. Tom did not say one word. We had to pry anything out of him, as he just didn't really feel comfortable talking. Tom was very shy to start out with, very. I think Doug thought I was nuts when I told him I thought Tom was the best talent in the USA for his age group. Perhaps he didn't want to socialize while eating Chinese, but he certainly was willing to talk with his legs, and for that reason I brought him on to the team.

He's already had his ups and downs in his short career, but he's making steady progress. Hopefully, this year, Tom will race his first Grand Tour, and someday, I think he will be one of the big stars of the three-week Tours.

JV

Jonathan Vaughters, Jedi Master

Tour of California: Peterson prevails in Stage 2

Team Garmin CEO and Director Sportif Jonathan Vaughters has often been called a visionary. For starting a team based on clean racing. For choosing top-tier training and technology over shortcuts to success. For identifying young cyclists who are capable of great things. And, today at least, for accurately foreseeing the future.

Just 40 miles into Stage 2 of the Tour of California, JV made a prediction on Twitter: "Tom Peterson is a special kind of diesel engine. We may see the Little Engine That Could come out in force today. JV" Now, granted, Vaughters has insider information and knows each of his cyclists like family. But he really called his shot on Monday as the peloton made its way from Sausalito to Santa Cruz.

About three hours later, team physiologist Allen Lim was succinct in recapping the stage: "Peterson wins. Break all day with (Garmin teammate Steve) Cozza doing most of the work. Riding his own climb... Holdin on to Levi. Takin the sprint" Essentially, Peterson (left) was in the right spot - doing the right thing - at all of the right times as he was part of a 10-man escape, bridged to catch the leader in the mountains and then stuck with defending two-time ToC champion Levi Leipheimer long enough to pass him in the final meters for the stage win. Close behind, Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson finished with the pack to hold on to 3rd and 13th places, respectively, in the overall GC. After two stages of nonstop bone-chilling rain, Peterson and Team Garmin warmed the hearts of their fans.

Creating nuvifone Chaos in Catalonia

We’re here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the nüvifones have been a huge hit.  Since the G60 and M20 are two of the most anticipated products at the show, the booth has been busy all day as people stop by to test them.  Also new to the show is our co-branded Garmin-Asus booth.  This is the first time we’ve exhibited together and as the pictures will show, our booth is bright and colorful. If you’re not able to attend the show, you can visit our online press kit here and make sure you stop back by the blog because we’ll be giving updates all week.

Making a splash in Miami

Today wraps up one of the biggest boat shows in the world - the Miami International Boat Show- where the Garmin booths have been busy since the show doors opened! In one aisle of the convention center, pleasure boaters, captains, fishermen, yachtsmen and more, stopped by to see Garmin's revolutionary 15", 12" and 8" touchscreen chartplotter displays, high-definition radar capabilities and stand-alone combo units. Two aisles over, the GHP 10 Autopilot with its patented Shadow Drive technology was on display alongside the newest portable plotter for land and sea - the GPSMAP 640, and newly announced VHF radios. Garmin gear could also be spotted on display from boat manufacturers such as EdgeWater, Scout and Zodiac just to name a few. From the first VHF 100 install on the new EdgeWater 33' Express, to a sea trial with the autopilot and more, take a look below for a taste of the show.

  

Tour of California: Captain America Zabriskie takes podium

Sacramento's week of rain paused just long enough for the 136 cyclists in the Tour of California to speed through the 3.9km prologue. The argyle armada was led by two national time trial champions as tens of thousands of fans packed the state capital. Svein Tuft, sporting his Canadian speedsuit, was the first out of the chute for Team Garmin - and he set the bar high for everyone who followed. His 4:37.06 stood up to numerous challenges before finally falling, but it was still fast enough to land Svein in ninth place overall. Then it was time for the star to shine.

We're talking, of course, about the giant star on the chest of U.S. champion Dave Zabriskie's red, white and blue speedsuit, which would make Captain America proud. Zabriskie tore through downtown - we know because Jake was following in the team car, and we hope to put his video on our YouTube channel - and finished in 4:35.56, faster than anyone up to that point. When the day was done, Zabriskie's time held up for a third-place spot on the podium. Teammate Tyler Farrar finished 14th in 4:39.42, and proud new papa Christian Vande Velde was 22nd in 4:41.55. Steve Cozza, Tom Danielson, Trent Lowe and Tom Peterson round out the team whose next task is to go from Davis to Santa Rosa tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll try to get Jake calmed down enough from chasing Zabriskie to recap the thrill ride.

Jake's Journal: Tracking ToC on Twitter

My first 48 hours in California have been brisk, both in pace and temperature. Day 1 started with the Tour of California press conference, which saw Team Garmin's Christian Vande Velde on an all-star panel representing "the strongest lineup to ever compete on U.S. soil." I knew these guys were fast, but I could hardly keep up as I shared updates on Twitter. Among the best quotes, the cyclists talking about following their press ("Christian, I know you Google yourself."), Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson vowing to ride this weekend ("But I'm not wearing those tight shorts.") and defending two-time ToC champ Levi Leipheimer picking his favorites: "This guy to my left." Christian, sitting next to Levi, raised his hand to clarify for the crowd of reporters and photographers.

Day 2 started bright and early, as I picked up NorCal resident Steve Cozza for a live interview on Sacramento's NBC morning news. At the same time, the local FOX crew was interviewing other Team Garmin cyclists and staff, so there was no time for sleeping in. In the green room, Steve and I watched footage of Team Garmin's previous day's training ride, which also landed the argyle armada on the front page of the Sacramento Bee. When Steve had his three minutes in the spotlight, he did a great job discussing the race and giving viewers a break from the coverage of the surprising snowfall in the area. My day wrapped up with meetings in rainy San Francisco. 

The prologue begins just minutes from now, and the 2.4-mile time trial is expected to bring 100,000 fans to the streets of Sacramento. I'll be among them, sharing Twitter updates while monitoring results and reading everyone else's Tour Tweets. To track the Tour from your phone or PC, click "Follow" on the Twitter page for Jake's Journal and Team Garmin-Slipstream. You can search for other Tweets using #ATOC. And be sure to visit our Flickr page and the Team Garmin blog as the week goes on to see the action for yourself.

Garmin Garage: Be Mine

Love is in the air around the Garmin Garage. Well, actually, it’s either love or exhaust fumes from Tiny. But at this point, it doesn’t make too much of a difference – we’re mere hours away from Valentine’s Day and we thought we’d get our newest creation out the door for all of you last-minute Romeos and Juliets who are looking to put a little love in your nüvi - so to speak.  So it’s with great pleasure that we introduce Be Mine to all of you. Swing by the Garmin Garage and grab Be Mine when you get a chance. It’s the perfect vehicle icon if you’re planning a trip to Lover’s Lane this weekend. Or any weekend for that matter.  Have a great weekend everyone!   

Caddy Confidential: California dreaming

Imagine yourself stuck indoors tasked with typing brilliant prose about the best, newest golf GPS product, Approach G5. Outside, a nightmarish rain/hail/snow concoction is dumping down on Garmin headquarters closing every area golf course for the foreseeable future. Sure, there is the odd 60-plus degree day where you can sneak out of the office to slap a few Titleists around. But for those sorry souls like your humble author, the long winter slog can tear apart dreams of golfing grandeur one salty snowplow at a time.

Thankfully, the Approach has one very cool feature that allows golfers living north of the Mason-Dixon line to live vicariously through PGA players, and that’s the “Preview” page. This week, your shivering author will be flipping through the Pebble Beach Preview page, hole by hole, as the pros play it. Not only is it a cool way to see courses you might (hopefully) play one day, it’s also fun to see the distances the pros have for each shot. In between sips of hot cocoa, yours truly will be using the Touch-Targeting feature to see just how far JB Holmes hit his drive, or how far Mickelson needs to hit it to carry the bunkers on #17.

Ben shows great early season fitness in Santos, Brazil

Garmin-sponsored triathlete Ben Collins shares his training and racing experiences with the Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 405.

I had a strong race at my first Santos International Triathlon. The swim was a beach start with two 750m laps, requiring us to come out of the water and to go back in twice. Beach starts are not my forte, and I ended up spending the entire swim trying to regain the positions I had lost while running into the water. Regardless, I came out of the water in front of all but the two that had broken away, Benjamin Sanson and Paulo Miyashiro of France and Brazil, respectively.

Peg’s Posts: Follow your heart with Forerunner.

With tomorrow being V-day, I thought it’d be timely to talk about matters of the heart. More specifically, how Forerunner can help you follow yours. For those who’ve never trained with heart rate, the big question is “why would I need to?” Essentially, it’s so you can see whether you’re training too hard or not hard enough. Relying on pace or speed data isn’t enough, because heart rate can be a better indicator of how hard your body is working. Heard the expression “the heart never lies”? It’s especially true when it comes to sports like running and cycling. Your exertion level can vary depending on factors such as level of fitness, outside factors like weather and temperature and even how you feel on a particular day. Stress, fatigue and sickness can elevate your heart rate, so a workout under these conditions may feel “hard” even when you back off on your speed or distance. So, listen to your heart and adjust your workout as needed on those days.

See the Garmin-Asus nüvifone M20 and G60 in Barcelona

We're just a few days away from the world's largest cell phone show, Mobile World Congress, and today Garmin-Asus unveiled the products that will be on display. The brand new nüvifone M20 and newly renamed nüvifone G60 will take center stage at the Garmin-Asus booth, Hall 7 #7C37.  If you're wondering what sets the Garmin-Asus nüvifone series apart from other smartphones on today's market, you'll discover the difference as soon as you stop by our booth and test a M20 or G60.  The nüvifone series has LBS at its core and location information is added to everyday applications including email, SMS, photo sharing, social networking and more in order to enhance applications and share location information with others. Check out the new Garmin-Asus site for more info, or even better yet, come visit the Garmin-Asus booth at MWC!

Victor's Vectors: Sirius XM Update

We've received several calls from customers telling us that they've noticed some press rumors of Sirius XM filing for bankruptcy. These customers have asked what this could mean for their Garmin products with weather capability, like the GPSMAP 396, 496, and 696. At this time, Garmin is watching these rumors and any other related activities closely.  While we understand that there are concerns about the potential of Sirius XM discontinuing weather data services for the aviation community, we would like to reassure our customers that maintaining this service is a high priority.  As more information becomes available, we will be providing updates via our website to help keep our valued customers informed. As always, feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about your Garmin aviation products.

Team Garmin: Ricardo rolls, NYT touts tough Tuft

Team Garmin - spread out over (at least) three continents - is spreading the love as different teammates make headlines at the Tour de Langkawi, Tour Med and Tour of California. Ricardo van der Velde turned heads in Stage 3 of Tour de Langkawi, winning three time bonus sprints in his three-man breakaway and moving up to 4th overall. Two spots ahead of him in the GC is Chris "CJ" Sutton, who finished 5 cm off the stage winner. With Christian Meier joining CJ and Ricardo in the top 10, Team Garmin sits in third place as a team after three stages. CJ told CyclingNews the team is looking forward to Stage 5's 1,679m Genting climb: "Cameron Meyer is here for me at the moment, but the other four guys can absolutely fly up the climbs. ... Christian [Meier], Timmy [Duggan] and Lucas [Euser] – they’re all going good.”

Ramping up for the Tour of California, Canadian newcomer Svein Tuft took time to talk to Juliet Macur of the New York Times, and her profile of Tuft has been making the rounds - including a great post at Sporting News' blog - thanks to great excerpts such as, "All of those wonderful adventurous stories of riding his bike to Alaska, the railroad-car jumping, yes, those are all true,” his mother said. And Jonathan Vaughters has this memory of Svein (pronounced Swayne), who had ridden his bike from Canada to a 2003 training camp near LA: "He had this really long beard, and he smelled very bad." Well, now Tuft is back in California with his new Garmin teammates and they're ready to pick up where the team left off last year in Missouri. Tuft joins Christian Vande Velde (who told CycleTo about his best and worst days), Steve Cozza, Tom Danielson, Tyler Farrar, Trent Lowe, Danny Pate and Dave Zabriskie when the race kicks off Saturday in Sacramento. Garmin blogger Jake will be there as well, sharing sights and sounds from behind the scenes.

Search and rescue with Garmin

We all know that Garmin devices can be used to have plenty of fun - road trips, day hikes, bike rides, golf outings, fishing excursions, etc. - but a recent video we posted on our YouTube channel reminds us of our serious side. Testimonials pour in from the military about how our GPS devices helped maximize a mission. We're reminded by search teams about how our Rino two-way radios and Astro dog-trackers, both GPS-enabled, make their jobs more efficient. Even a random geocache came in handy last year when two climbers who were lost on Mount Hood used the GPS coordinates to help rescuers. So grab your Garmin, get out there and have a good time - with added peace of mind.

Ask Garmin: Downloading maps down the road

This week's Ask Garmin question comes from Stanley, who like many of the blog readers, has a questionabout downloading additional mapping to a Garmin device. "We will be purchasing a Garmin in the very near future (the nüvi 750 looks promising), but I'm wondering if I may download European, Asian and or Australian maps to the nüvi 750 at a later date?"  While it's true that many of our devices, like the nüvi 775T, do come pre-loaded with transatlantic mapping, if your Garmin isn't preloaded with mapping for North America and Europe, additional mapping can be purchased and added to the device. Garmin users can purchase detailed street maps, including millions of points of interest for many regions including Mexico, Australia, Middle East, Brazil, China and Russia just to name a few. A full list of available regions can be found here. And if you're interested in additional mapping for on the trail or on the water, we have those too! So when you're planning your next vacation, rest assured that Garmin's got you covered.

Jake's Journal: Magnus works magic as mentor

The first time I saw Magnus Backstedt - I mean really saw him, who he is and the impact he has - was the Stage 4 time trial last summer in Cholet. Sure I'd been with Team Garmin's cyclists and staff for nearly a week at that point, but one scene summed up what I now truly appreciate about the 6'4" Swedish national champ. Under the watchful eye of his father - who may be the only person able to refer to him as "Little Maggy" - Magnus talked to, laughed with and signed autographs for a group of fans. All in grade school. The kids looked up to him - and up at him - in awe. And the smile on his face spoke volumes. 

Since then, I've had several chances to get to know Maggy - most notably in the basement of a Boulder pub where his bald head brushed the ceiling as we talked - and so it's with more than a twinge of sadness that I now write about his exit from pro cycling's top tier. Effective immediately, Magnus is stepping down from the sport's highest level. It's hard to blame him. His huge frame has been taking a beating for 13 years, during which he won multiple Swedish national titles, conquered the cobbles for the Paris-Roubaix victory in 2004 and captured Stage 19 in France in 1998. But just as he did that day in Cholet, he's turning his attention to the next generations of cyclists. He's going to stay on board as a consultant with Garmin-Slipstream while developing a young Swedish team that he founded, Cyclesport.se-MagnusMaximusCoffee.com.  

Gift of argyle: Team Garmin gear now for sale!

From the moment we announced Garmin's sponsorship of Slipstream's pro cycling team, the most frequently asked question has been, "Where can I buy a team kit?" (The next most common queries are about what Zabriskie is like in person or the current state of Cozza's facial hair.) Well, we're excited to announce that Team Garmin-Slipstream apparel and equipment is now available for purchase through our online store at shopslipstreamsports.com. In addition to accessories and casual wear, you can get Pearl Izumi jerseys and bib shorts that replicate what our pro cyclists wear at races around the world.

So stop by the online store and start shopping today. And whether you're on a neighborhood ride or at a professional event, keep an eye out for the growing argyle armada!

Ben's race report: Team USA Takes Second in Brazil

Garmin-sponsored triathlete Ben Collins shares his training and racing experiences with the Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 405.

This weekend I started off the 2009 season with one of the most fun races in Triathlon. It was the 2009 Fast Triathlon in Brazil. The field consists of six three-man teams, each from separate countries. The countries invited were Brazil, France, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Our US Team of Victor Plata, Matt Chrabot and myself moved up one podium step from last year, claiming second, just 20 points behind the winning Brazilian Team.

The format of this race is unique. It consists of three individual triathlons, each with a 250m swim, 4km bike, and 1300m run. Each round took approximately 10 to 12 minutes, and we were given about equal rest between rounds. The Fast Triathlon is a huge spectator event in Brazil, and is broadcast live on national television. Before the race the media conducted interviews of the athletes, and for the past two days we have seen ourselves on television during the commercial breaks. It’s amazing to be treated like a star with fans asking for an autograph, pictures, or any kind of proof that they indeed stood next to us. I drew the line when I was begged for one of my K-Swiss water bottles. “No, I need those!” 

You can see my Garmin Connect race activity here, and more details from the race on the jump.

Victor's Vectors: GDU 370/375 for the LSA cockpit

In case you haven’t heard, Garmin recently announced a break through product for experimental and light sport aircraft retrofits.  The GDU 370 and GDU 375 are non-certified panel mounted GPS’s and multi-function displays based off of the GPSMAP 696.  The two Garmin Display Units (GDU) can bring amazing utility to an aircraft for a comparable low cost.  I wish I had the time and space to tell you all about the capabilities of these new products but it would end up being a novel.  To give you a taste, these units give you all the advanced features of the GPSMAP 696, plus additional components can be added to transform the Multi-Function Display into a dedicated Primary Flight Display, or a PFD/ MFD on a single screen!  When PFD capabilities are added, the system will be known as the G3X.  With two or more of these displays, the G3X will even have reversionary capability.  The GDU 370 and GDU 375 have the heritage of the G1000 and G600 mixed with the ease of a GPSMAP 696.  That is a winning combination. 

Tour of Qatar: Maaskant 7th in Stage 4 sprint

Here's the latest from Qatar, courtesy of the Team Garmin blog: Our man-on-the-scene, Mike Friedman, kicked off today’s fun with an attack just 15 km in to stage 4. Taking seven others with him, his escape was short lived in a brutal headwind that kept the average pace to under 35 kph.

The intense north wind knocked the weary riders around and resulted in a number of crashes. Huub Duyn and Hans Dekkers went down in one of the many pile-ups, but both finished in fine form. Young Martijn Maaskant had a front row seat for the hotly contested sprint finale and finished 7th in today’s stage with Mike just a few seconds behind.

Be sure to check Garmin's Flickr page for Graham Watson's pictures from Qatar, as well as scenes from Tour Down Under and highlights from 2008, with more to come!

Garmin-Asus Launches New Era in Location-Based Smartphones

It's an historic day here at Garmin.  Today, we've formally aligned ourselves with ASUSTeK to design, manufacture, and market a wide range of location-centric nuvifones.  We made the announcement in Taiwan, and you can read the full press release here, and see our brand-spanking new website here.  We'll also host a webcast at 11am ET with Garmin's COO, Cliff Pemble, and CFO, Kevin Rauckman. 

  We'll be exhibiting as Garmin-Asus at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, which begins on February 16.  Stay tuned for many more exciting developments!

Chicago Store: Love is in the store

Who said the best way to say “I love you” was with flowers and chocolates? This is a new age; it’s time to give the gift that will not melt or wilt away within a week - nüvi is the gift to remember this Valentine’s Day! Now in “his and her” colors of sleek piano black and stunning white, the nüvi 205 adds even more class to GPS navigation. The nüvi 205 offers a built-in map of the Continental US as well as Puerto Rico and Hawaii with spoken turn-by-turn directions. So this year, on the day of love, black and white become the new pink and red. Give a gift that really shows you care and stop by the Garmin Chicago Store to pick up a black or white nüvi 205 with a matching carrying case for even more pizzazz. Happy Valentine’s Day from Garmin Chicago!

Tour of Qatar: Team Garmin, Wiggins begin with a win

The 2009 roster of Team Garmin-Slipstream has been hailed as one of the strongest team time trial squads on paper. When the Tour of Qatar began, the argyle armada proved it by being the strongest team time trial squad on the road. "We are 1 for 1 in TTTs," team director Jonathan Vaughers said via Twitter. "So, 1 down, 3 more to go this year." Heralded British newcomer Bradley Wiggins, who won gold in Beijing, led the way as Team Garmin took to the podium after winning the opening stage by less than a second. "Gotta love Wiggo," JV said. "Gotta love anyone that can ride 60kph on a road bike for 3kms."

Wiggins walked away from day one with the race leader's gold jersey and Holland's Huub Duyn (left) took the early honors as best young rider. "We made some real good preparation in Girona [Spain] for this," Wiggins told CyclingNews.com. "We wanted to put some details into it, even though we did not have the super big-guns here – Dave Z[abriske], [David] Millar, [Christian] Vande Velde and all those guys – but we still wanted to keep up the reputation that we are a good team time trial squad." Good, indeed.