Rating:
Reviewed By: Christopher Knight on 4/13/22
I recently purchased the paper maps and GPX files for the Delmarva route, the Transamerican route and the Northern Tier route. My cycling friend, an incredible 70 year old man, left from Delaware on March 30 to ride across country and back. He has had a few head traumas with lasting effects on certain types of problem solving. Navigation and planning, electronic devices, multiple apps, and coordinating with his partner who will meet him very few days at campsites, adds up to some complexity which he will overcome once he gets used to new routines. I got to ride with him from northern Delaware to the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula in VA. It was incredible. I loved the ACA route and the services file was more helpful than I predicted. Now that I am home and back at work, I provide remote support for his trip. I’m glad I got to use the paper and gpx maps for Delmarva myself. Together we are developing a system where I support his tour by managing his gpx files on RideWithGPS in shared private collections that correspond with his paper maps. I preview the route updates and try to predict any challenges. We both use the Wahoo ELEMNT. I find the paper maps, gpx files, and ACA online and personal support to be excellent. I traced routes in RwGPS (automatic) to add the cues and I added the services file to the main routes for each section. Every few days I review the route updates to keep him appropriately informed. He has now switched from Section TA12 to section TA11 and while some of our practices still need to become automatic, he is doing very well. On some days, it is really hard to not be doing this tour with him. However, I am really enjoying my role as support. Who knows, maybe I can connect with him sometime in the summer. Fingers crossed. Considering the complexities of providing route support (especially electronic) that works on multiple platforms and with a variety of user preferences, I believe that my expectations of these product are realistic. ACA has easily surpassed my expectations with their paper and electronic maps, and customer support. They have my highest recommendation.