RideBriefing › How to share a GPX route with your group

Guide · Sharing

How to share a GPX route with your group

You planned the route, now the group needs it. Dropping the GPX file into WhatsApp looks like the obvious move, but half the group can't open it, and the other half only sees a line on a map. Here's what works better.

Why sending the GPX file doesn't work

• Most phones can't open it. A GPX file arrives as a document attachment. Without a route app installed, tapping it does nothing useful.
• It only answers "where". The file has no start time, no meeting point, no idea how long the ride takes or what the weather will be.
• It gets lost. By Saturday morning the file is buried under forty messages, and someone asks for it again.

Share a link instead

A link opens in any browser, on any phone, and the chat app shows a preview card under the message. With RideBriefing the preview already shows the ride name, date, distance, climbing, riding time and forecast, so most people know enough before they even tap it.

1. Export the GPX from your route planner. See how to get the GPX out of Komoot, Strava and others.
2. Upload it on RideBriefing and set the start time, the group's average speed and the stops.
3. Add a note with the meeting point and where you'll regroup.
4. Create the share link and paste it in the group chat.

Riders who want the route on their bike computer can still download the GPX from the briefing page, and add the ride to their calendar in one tap.

What the group sees when they open it

• Your note at the top, with the meeting point.
• The map, with the forecast at each point for the time the group gets there.
• Every climb, its category, and when you'll reach the top.
• The road surface, so nobody turns up on 23 mm tyres for a gravel section.
• The start time and an estimated return time, including your stops.

See it for yourself on the example briefing.

Which chat apps show the preview

WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, Telegram, Slack, Discord and Messenger all show a preview card for the link. Some apps fetch it once and keep it, so if you change the plan, the link always shows the latest version even when the preview card in the chat is older.

Questions