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.
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″
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.
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.
It’s been nearly two weeks since my trip to Monterey, California, but the beauty of those hills and seascapes are still imprinted on my brain. I’ll be missing the west coast scenery when I hit the roads this weekend, but my Edge 705 has plenty of beauty to behold. The latest in our family of GPS-enabled bike computers, the 705 adds color mapping and a handy click stick, which makes it a breeze to pan the map or select menu options. The 705 also offers a barometric altimeter, wireless heart rate, speed/cadence and options for pairing with a power meter. Check out this activity recorded by Edge 705 and stored at Garmin Connect, or new online community.
Stories keep coming in about finding unactivated, limited-edition Garmin Colorado/Wherigo geocoins in random caches. That's what happens when crafty colleagues leave a little something for casual cachers. You see, we could activate them or announce the coin drop on the cache page, but what fun would that be?
Doris sent us this note just two days after Jake visited: "I just found a Colorado/Wherigo coin in a cache, Man's Best Friend, in Emmaus, PA. It was a very nice surprise." And this post showed up at geocaching.com shortly after Team Garmin was in California for the Sea Otter Classic. "BEAUTIFUL walk to this one! New places are wonderful to find," wrote luvnatuRRRE in the cache log. "Found a Colorado wherigo.com geocoin in this one that appears to not be activated yet."
So keep an eye on those caches. Where Garmin goes, a geocoin may follow.
Whenever I mention geocaching to someone, I get one of two reactions. People have either tried it and enjoyed it, or they've never heard of it. Most of the conversations fall into the first category. But for those of you who are unfamiliar with the activity, here are a few helpful links and recent stories to introduce you to this worldwide phenomenon.
Must-have sport watch meets must-see TV in these brief training clips featuring our own blog editor and running expert, Jake. He’ll show you the hottest features of the new Forerunner 405 and teach you how to use the innovative touch bezel. We’ll be posting a whole series of these videos at this site. Catch a few now, come back for more clips later, including a segment where Jake goes head to head with Forerunner’s digital Virtual Partner. For all our customers who’ve been patiently waiting to get their hands on our newest GPS-enabled sport watch, we’re happy to say the 405 is now in stores, including our Chicago Store on the Magnificent Mile, and it's going like hot cakes.
Slipstream’s Trent Lowe is Best Young Rider at Tour de Georgia
“Tenacious Trent” Lowe of Garmin-sponsored Team Slipstream/Chipotle won the honors of Best Young Rider at the 2008 Tour de Georgia. High honors for an under-25 rider and even more potent since he held the title previously—at the ripe young age of 20. Trent also got podium time yesterday, finishing the Tour second in the overall classification. Teammate Christian Vande Velde finished seventh. Belarusian rider Kanstantin Sivtsov of Team High Road finished first with a slim margin of just 4 seconds. Next up on the Slipstream touring calendar: Giro d’Italia, a 21-stage race beginning May 10, followed by the Tour de France, starting July 5.
Check out the team’s latest Garmin featured ride, recorded using the Edge 705. This 40-miler packs 5,065 ft of total elevation gain. Download the course to your Edge and see how you measure up to the pros!
Wherigo/Colorado geocoin contest heats up in final week
Saving their best for last, our Wherigo Builders finished up our contest in style. Jake and Brad the Engineer were perplexed, not just in sorting out the adventures the competing cartridges took them on, but in choosing a winner. In the end, they let the contest go up in flames.
"The story behind my Wherigo cartridge is based on a true story about a fire that happened down the road from me," wrote John "JDubPooch" about his entry that earned him a limited-edition Garmin geocoin. "The pictures are true pictures from the scene and links to the real videos about the fire."
Wow, John (or should we call you JDub or Pooch?) - that's how you blend the spirit of geocaching with the creativity of Wherigo. And those pictures look awesome on the huge, vibrant screen of the Colorado 400t. Speaking of the Colorado 400t, Jake just checked in from the road and said that he used his Colorado to stash a couple more geocoins at undisclosed caches in Pennsylvania.
For more about John's "Firehouse" cartridge and our two runner-up entries, click on the jump below.
In a post earlier this week, I told you how much I love talking to customers at events like Sea Otter Classic and hearing their tales of adventure, training and competition. Meet a big-time Garmin fan who has guidance by Garmin everywhere and every way he travels. Jerry from San Ramon has owned an Edge 305 and immediately upgraded to the 605 with maps when it hit stores just a few weeks ago. He uses his new 605 with our topo cartography for extra detail to guide his 2-wheeled adventures. He also owns a GPSMAP 60Cx handheld, a nüvi 680 for his vehicle and a Garmin GPSMAP 430S, which is a combo chartplotter and sounder for water-bound excursions. Follow the jump for more customer stories and photos.
After sweeping the team time trial ride yesterday at the Tour de Georgia, Garmin-sponsored Team Slipstream/Chipotle is leading in nearly all of the results categories. Best young rider jersey was passed from Tyler Farrar to teammate Trent Lowe. Tyler continued to move up in the points classification, earning sprint jersey honors, and the Slipstream team leads all others in the overall team classification with 12” over second-place Astana and 18” over team High Road. Team director Jonathan Vaughters dedicated Friday’s race to teammate Timmy Duggan, who was injured in a crash in Wednesday’s race. Since Timmy, an excellent time trialist, couldn’t race, his teammates pulled off a big win in his honor. Our thoughts are with Timmy for his continued recovery and with the rest of the team as they head into 3 more days of racing, finishing with a circuit race in Atlanta on Sunday.
Peg’s Posts: Seen at Sea Otter—racing, Gary Fisher and wild life
Yesterday we wrapped up our fourth day at the Sea Otter Classic cycling show. There was plenty of action around the Laguna Seca Raceway on the final days. I managed to slip away from our booth to get some photos of the men’s short-track cross country race, dual slalom qualifying and the elite women’s road race. Our booth had a steady stream of customers eager for a hands-on trial of the new Edge 605 and 705 bike computers with built-in mapping. The well-traveled Garmin Jeep, decked out with a variety of Garmin units, was a popular destination for show-goers. We also got the thumbs up for our booth banners displaying Garmin’s sponsorship of Slipstream. Best of luck to the team in their performance at Tour of Georgia and congrats to Tyler Farrar, who stands 4th overall after stage 1. Follow the jump for pics from the lighter side of Sea Otter Classic.
One of the greatest parts of my job is attending events like Sea Otter and talking to our customers. Hearing their stories about how they’re using our devices to give their training an edge, pace themselves for their next race or bike their way across the U.S. for a cause. Here’s a look at just a few of the customers I talked to at the show. Cathy visited our booth on the first day of the show. She just came by to tell us how much she loves her Forerunner 305, which she uses for running and cycling. Her husband said she essentially won’t run without it, and when the time came to purchase a GPS for their car, Cathy said she’d settle for nothing less than a Garmin. She also heaped praise on Garmin’s tech support for our online analysis site, MotionBased.
Here’s Matt, from Sacramento, who’ll be racing in today’s single-speed cross country race. He came by to get the course downloaded to his Edge 305. Check out the course maps Garmin created for all of the Sea Otter events, which gives athletes the chance to preview the route and see detailed course metrics online, then download to their Edge or Forerunner for course points and real-time pacing during the event. Next is Lisa, from Redlands who, along with her Edge 305, won the short-track event on Friday. Way to go Linda! Saving the best for last, you’ve gotta hear about Chris from Ventura, California.
All muscles are not created equal. That's the only way that I can explain my showing this morning at Bicycling Magazine's group ride. Well, that and the disclaimer that I'm a recreational runner who enjoys trying new things. Like cross-country skiing. And geocaching. And road biking on the hills of coastal California with some of the industry's best cyclists. Fortunately, I forfeited any inhibitions - and pride - long ago.
Even with the sweet ride I borrowed - a SuperSix from Cannondale (thanks for the loaner, Bill) - my legs weren't what I would have expected. Ask any triathlete or duathlete, and they'll tell you that you use completely different parts of your legs for cycling and running. And that's the logic I'm sticking to after dragging my deadweight up a neverending hill along the 17-mile Drive. And that's another thing, notice the capital "D" on Drive? Somehow our tour of 17-mile Drive resulted in a 30-mile ride. It's equations like that that push kids away from math. All in all, though, it was a wonderful outing. Peg and I had a blast hanging out with - and keeping up with - the group. The Edge 705 charted our progress perfectly, and my Forerunner 405 was the perfect training partner. And a huge thanks goes out to Steve (pictured above) from Bicycling for sticking with a longtime runner and helping him find his way on wheels. Now where was Steve when I tried skiing?
Maybe it's because I spent last weekend driving through snow flurries. Or it might be that I knew I was dodging midwestern hailstorms. Or it could be that I was just giddy in anticipation of my first Sea Otter Classic. Whatever the reason, I was feeling adventurous and generous on a sunny day in California. So Peg and I went geocaching with our colleague Brandi and a Colorado 400t, and we left behind a few surprises: a limited-edition Garmin geocoin and another coin given to me by Brad the Engineer. Happy hunting, and be sure to send us a note if you find the cache and the stash. Also - if you can't view the video below, it can be found here.
As the days get longer and warmer, outdoor enthusiasts are hitting the trails and planning summer adventures. And whether you're hiking, climbing, running, cycling, boating or geocaching, there's a Garmin device perfect for your excursion. The recently released Colorado series has been dominating the discussion lately, but don't forget about the GPSMAP family. Before the Colorado 400t came on the scene, the GPSMAP 60CSx set the standard for excellence in outdoor handhelds.
"As soon as you hold the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx you are aware of the fact that it is a high quality product," writes Dennis Hissink in his review for PMA, an international group of photography experts. "The waterproof and shockproof housing not only feels solid but also has a perfect hand-fit." And if anyone can offer credible praise for the display on the 60CSx, it would be these well-trained eyes: "The large 1.5 inch x 2.2 inch TFT monitor stands out and is a 256 colour high resolution reflective colour monitor."
Next week, Jake and I will be at the Sea Otter Classic cycling extravaganza in beautiful Monterey, California. This show packs 10,000 athletes and 50,000 fans onto the Laguna Seca Raceway venue for four days of nonstop 2-wheeled action. If you’re among the throng of cyclists and fans, stop by the Garmin booth to say hi and check out the new Edge 605 and 705. The 705 is the first bike computer to give cyclists GPS positioning, maps, altitude and wireless speed, cadence, heart rate and optional power—all on one display. We’ll also let you get your hands on the new Forerunner 405 with the sleek touch bezel that lets you select features with just a tap or a scroll. As we’re wrapping up in Monterey, another team from Garmin will be hitting the streets of Beantown for the 405’s debut at the Boston Marathon. Tune in next week for more from Monterey.
TeacherMike continues to impress us with his Wherigo cartridges, and the latest entry from the Week 3 runner-up was awarded the top prize in Week 5. Mike's persistence serves as a lesson for everyone hoping to win a limited-edition Colorado/Wherigo geocoin in the final week of competition. In the spirit of Monday night's NCAA championship thriller, we're expecting everyone to give it their best shot as time expires in our Wherigo contest.
The challenge in "My Dog Goes Where I Go or Help Find Rex" is to help a boy find his lost dog. "This cartridge takes you around the campus of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, IL," Mike says. "This one addes a timer at one point, multiple choice answers, and the use of the inventory."
The Colorado 400t has been receiving a lot of praise lately, but you don't have to take our word for it. Check out what others are saying about this popular portable...
In an in-depth review of the 400t, the crew at GPS Lodge says it's,"rugged enough for the trails, and not a bad choice for my bike touring and riding either, where I want some basic navigation too. The ease of use, and wireless features combined with the ability to get heart rate monitor information makes it a great choice for me as an all around device." If you're still not convinced, check out what the Geeks to Go had to say when they went outside and played with the 400t, and of course you can visit our minisite for an interactive view of the entire Garmin Colorado series.
Ask Garmin: Who’s right? Forerunner or the race course?
A Forerunner customer who recently ran the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago asked us why the distance shown on her Forerunner varied from the official race distance of 5 miles … or 4.9709695379 if you want to be ultra precise. If the distance shown on your Forerunner is slightly more than the official race distance, it just means you weren’t cutting corners—quite literally. According to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) course measurement guidelines (pg. 20), a road race course is defined by the shortest possible route a runner could take without being disqualified. For most races, a certified measurer rides the course on a bike, staying near the curb and taking every available tangent. This ensures that all runners will run at least the declared race distance. After the race, if Forerunner shows that you ran a little farther, this just accounts for extra steps you took to run around others participants, hit a water stop or stay to the middle or outside lane.
Midsole that is. Don’t wait for signs of tread wear before you spring for a new pair of running shoes. Replace your shoes every 350 – 550 miles, depending on your body weight and running surface. Take it from someone who’s been sidelined by stress fractures — you could spend far more on X-rays, orthotics and Ibuprofen than you would for a couple years’ worth of shoes if you don’t take care of your feet. Follow the jump to find out how Forerunner lets you skip the math by logging the miles for you.
We love it when a plan comes together. We hide them. You find them.
Cacher "Rozecki" wrote: "We found a Garmin Colorado/Wherigo Coin today while caching in Yardley, PA. The cache was GC3809. It was that cache owner's first hide and they managed to bring us to a very nice trail complete with large markers identifying the different varieties of trees. As we were leaving the trail a young family and their dog were excitedly starting the trail. Maybe they will be geocachers in the future?"
And "Emmbers" found a coin "at Celeste's Funny Cache (GC18F2Z), while my daughter and I were out geocaching today (in Overland Park, KS). There were two trails in the park she took one, I took the other. I got lucky and had the right trail so I got to the cache first. ... This is the best find ever for me. I'm not sure where I'm going to start it's journey yet, but I bet it will be exciting! Thanks!"
If anyone else finds these coins hidden across the U.S., let us know and we'll post your story.
Maybe it's the "CSI" fan in each of us or a "Forensic Files" overdose, but we do love solving murder mysteries. Especially when they involve elaborate adventures for our inner Sherlock Holmes. Rachael and Kevan, under the caching name USCCouple, are this week's winners of our Wherigo Builder Contest for "Farewell Mr. Pratt." They worked hard to earn their limited-edition Colorado/Wherigo geocoin: "In this game you will be on a search for the killer which will take you all across Columbia, SC. Before you begin, be forewarned, it will not be easy. Ahead of you is over 60 miles of driving, a short hike and some other surprises!" Makes us glad the Colorado 400t has an automotive profile.
Our Week 4 runner-up, "The Treasure of East Sioux Falls," is the first cartridge for Sioux Falls, SD, created by Chuck Henson, aka StaticTank, who says, "It is a short but fun little quest taking place where the City of East Sioux Falls used to be. It is now the Perry Nature Area. I even included a reference to an incident I had with a park employee in the adventure." Intrigued? So were we.
Random things I learned on Mount Washington in New Hampshire: With its GPS-enabled two-way radio, the Garmin Rino 530HCx is a must-have at ski resorts. The grooves on a Nordic trail are the perfect training wheels for a cross-country beginner. A seven-year-old mastered the functionality of the Colorado 400t in mere minutes. Teamwork is the best approach to snow-caching, and even a well-planned cache gets a 5 on the difficulty scale after 6 inches of fresh snow. More than a century ago, while working on "a railway to heaven," workers would descend Mount Washington - racing down more than 3 miles in less than 3 minutes - on a piece of wood dubbed the "Devil's Shingle." I guess they wanted to cover all of their options.
Mary Jo Tarallo, the Director of Education for SnowSports Industries America, attended every one of our GPS sessions and won an eTrex Vista HCx in our raffle. Mary Jo is a huge fan of geocaching and encourages kids to pursue outdoor activities. She was intrigued by the Colorado 400t and the potential of Wherigo in education and recreation, as exemplified by the winners of our Wherigo Builder Contest.
I've posted pictures below, and I'll be adding more to our Flickr account. And blogs such as nj.com are discussing the alpine demos and the snow-caching.
The big news of Team Slipstream’s invitation to the Tour de France came last week and Garmin couldn’t be more proud to sponsor the team, whose riders will train with our new Edge 705. Check out their Garmin featured rides, which you can upload to your Edge and ride the team's favorite routes for yourself. Pick up the May issue of Bicycling magazine and you’ll find plenty of Slipstream’s distinctive argyle. Second spread—Garmin’s ad featuring Christian Vande Velde, one of the team’s top climbers and 3rd rider overall at the Tour of California. Flip a few pages and there’s another two-page spread showcasing Team Slipstream’s podium celebration after claiming first in the overall team classification at Tour of California. Later in the issue is another Slipstream ad by their bike sponsor, Felt. Their beautiful bikes feature a custom argyle paint job—very classy. Along with our congrats to the team for earning a bid to the Tour, we also want to give kudos to Tyler Phinney who rides for Slipstream's Under 23 team as well as their track team. Tyler, a 17-year-old high school senior, just secured a spot to compete in the Olympics this summer in Beijing. Tyler has some great training and genes to back up his early cycling successes. His father, Davis Phinney, was the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist while his mother, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, took gold in the 1984 Olympics road cycling competition.
This week's top two entries in our Wherigo Builder Contest again exemplify the versatility of Wherigo. From entertainment to education, Wherigo is bounded only by your creativity. This week's winner, Laurie Southwick of St. Louis, proves that: "Easter Hunt takes people around a trail in a park seeking out the Easter Bunny. Players make a decision in each zone. If they answer correctly, they get an egg. There are a couple of surprises thrown in. It can be played to completion using the emulator, but the zones are not visible, so it will require clicking along the trail to find them." Thanks, Laurie, a limited-edition geocoin is in the mail!
Coming in a very close second, TeacherMike lives up to his name: "This is a walking tour of Downtown Joliet, IL taking people to famous and historic places in Joliet. Then at the end it takes the player to one of the oldest and most famous places in Joliet with a cache at the end."
Days like this I'm reminded of how many different people in different places (in different climates) turn to Garmin devices to make their lives easier. Last month, I was on a sailboat soaking in the 80-degree breezes of Miami while we were being guided by Garmin chartplotters and other marine products. This week I'm in New Hampshire, where I was greeted by temps in the 40s and mounds of snow. Why? Two reasons: the Rino 530HCx and Colorado 400t, two of our many outdoor handhelds that thrive on the slopes of ski country.
I'm joining snowsports journalists to discuss the many ways GPS technology can lend a hand during winter activities. From keeping track of your friends on the mountain to finding your way back to the lodge, Garmin's high-sensitivity handhelds can keep the focus on having fun and getting some exercise. This week, these snow-goers will see the Rino or Colorado in action, enjoying the Rino's two-way radio and "buddy tracking" functions, or checking out the Colorado's U.S.-wide preloaded topo maps that jump to life amid the snow-capped mountains around us. And at the welcome reception, I heard stories about guests finding the resort with a nüvi or hitting the trails with an eTrex. Warms my heart and almost makes me forget that sailboat. Almost.
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.
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Midsole that is. Don’t wait for signs of tread wear before you spring for a new pair of running shoes. Replace your shoes every 350 – 550 miles, depending on your body weight and running surface. Take it from someone who’s been sidelined by stress fractures — you could spend far more on X-rays, orthotics and Ibuprofen than you would for a couple years’ worth of shoes if you don’t take care of your feet. Follow the jump to find out how 
