This is your chance to qualify for the Geocaching Olympics Road Bike competition!
This is a simple WHEREIGO. No questions to answer – in fact once you start the course you don’t even need to look at your GPSr or smart phone – the devices and WHEREIGO will do all the work.
The challenge is basic ride (or run) a little over 5 miles and average 5 MPH. The WHEREIGO has a timer and if you don’t complete the course in time you won’t be given the final cache coordinates (there is a consolation/bonus cache for just completing the ride/walk in any amount of time http://coord.info/GC3T6BH).
So let’s get started. The parking for your Olympic trial is in downtown Loveland (waypoint listed). I’m starting the course near here for one simple reason – in the warmer months there is a bike rental open here (http://www.lovelandbikerental.com/) . The WHEREIGO starting location is a short way south – beyond the heavy traffic in Loveland. Just south of that starting location is where the WHEREIGO cartridge will start the timer. Look for this screen – then you know you are on the clock. (HIT OK to see the normal WHEREIGO screen)
From there, just ride south, stay on the trail. You really don’t have to look at your device – it will do all the work, but it can offer some useful information. If it is sound enabled you will hear a bike bell when you pass through the checkpoint. At each checkpoint your average speed will be listed. Also the device display will show you how much time you have left. (Some times the average speed will not be visible and is only updated when passing through the check point.
If you are keeping your eyes on the trail instead of your device – no problem. You will have completed the course by the time you get to the road congestion in Miamiville. Once you get to the long bridge that crosses the Little Miami River – then you are definitely past the final checkpoint.
If you completed the trial in the time allotted – you will be given the coordinates to the WHEREIGO final AND the bonus cache. If you didn’t finish in time – you will see only the coordinates for the consolation geocache.
You will see a screen like below. Hit OK and write down your final coordinates!
WARNINGS:
The WHEREIGO cannot be saved and restarted (for obvious reasons). That said - you can't do a battery change in the middle of this WIGO - so have fresh batteries! Be prepared to write down the coordinates at the end or you’ll have to keep the final screen active and enter the coordinates into another device. (There are secret code phrases you can memorize if you need to get the coordinates from me.)
Do NOT stray from the trail. There are hidden checkpoints along the way. If your device does not pass through them you will not get the final coordinates.
This first time trial WHEREIGO is about as friendly as I can make it. Parking at both ends, bike rental available, and slow pace. If there seems to be interest in this type of physical challenge - building longer, faster routes will be easy. The final hides are not far from the ends of the route.
If you could can please log what device/platform you used just for my information. This WIGO has been tested with an Oregon an HTC smart phone and is basic enough it should work on all devices well. You can also post your qualifying speed/time if you want to impress others!
DOWNLOAD the Wherigo cartridge here.
A Wherigo capable smartphone or GPS (like a Colorado or Oregon) is required to run the cartridge. See the Wherigo site for details.
Click
HERE for a link to the iPhone Wherigo emulator.
Click
HERE for a link to the Android Wherigo emulator.
Click
HERE for a link to the Blackberry Wherigo emulator.
WHAT IS WHERIGO?
Wherigo is a toolset for creating and playing GPS-enabled adventures in the real world. Use GPS technology to guide you to physical locations and interact with virtual objects and characters.
Learn more...
If this is your First attempt at a Wherigo, try the Tutorial first.