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Working with ACA Files

  • Updated

The steps outlined below are only applicable to routes purchased before January 31, 2025. For riders who purchased Adventure Cycling routes after January 31, 2025, please check out our guide on accessing your Digital Routes.

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Download the Ride with GPS mobile app

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A Premium subscription unlocks route planning tools that allow you to combine an ACA route file with the corresponding ACA Services (Points of Interest) file. Once you've finalized your route, download it to your phone for offline use, navigation, and activity recording.

Overview

ACA will provide you with two GPX files. One of these contains Points of Interest (POI) for the route, including lodging and resupply options. This file will have "services" in its name. The other file, under the route name, contains the GPS track of the route. You'll need to combine these into a single route in order to navigate the planned trip in our app while also viewing route POI. Read on for step-by-step instructions.

Upload, Combine, and Trace

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  1. Visit www.ridewithgps.com and sign in to your account.
  2. Click the Route Planner link at the top of your Dashboard. 
  3. Click Import in the left toolbar, and then select the Upload File icon. Select and open the GPX track file from your computer and Add to Planner.
  4. Click Import a second time in the left toolbar. Select the Upload File icon, and select and open the GPX services file from your computer and Add to Planner.
  5. This will combine your track line with your services file, resulting in a route with both the GPS route and the POI provided by the ACA. 
  6. If you want to navigate this route on your mobile phone, you'll next want to trace it in order to populate turn-by-turn directions. Click the Trace button to get started.
  7. Select Auto-Trace for our Route Planner to automatically trace this route, or select Manual Trace if you'd like to manually trace the route yourself. Note that it can take a few moments to complete an auto-trace, especially if your route is several hundred miles long. 
  8. Make sure to Save your hard work and give it a memorable name! 

Pro Tips

  • If your route is more than 250 miles long (about 400 KM), we recommend that you split the route into smaller portions. Routes longer than this can perform poorly on our mobile app and on external GPS devices.
  • You can also import GPX files directly to the Route Planner by dragging and dropping a GPX file onto your map. Learn more in our Route Planner tutorial.
  • We recommend using our app to download your route or routes for offline use so you can find your way, even outside of cell phone range. 
  • If you're syncing an ACA route to your Garmin device, we recommend that you use a USB cord to load the route manually to import all POI to your Garmin. Wireless Garmin syncing options are convenient, but will not download POI data to your GPS device. Wireless Garmin syncing will transfer Waypoint data.
  • Navigate your route on the go with our mobile app!