Short blurb (ride pages, Ride Files, product descriptions)
Not starting in Napa? No problem. Every Two Wheel Touring GPX is a loop that begins and ends at First & Main in downtown Napa, but you don't have to. Join the line wherever it's closest to you, ride any section you like, or flip the whole thing and run it the other way. For step-by-step help in Garmin, REVER, Calimoto, Scenic, Google My Maps, and a free GPX editor, see Riding a route from your own start.
Riding a route from your own start
Our routes are drawn as full loops out of downtown Napa so members and shop downloads all share one clean start/finish. That doesn't lock you into Napa. Treat the file as a painted line on the map: get yourself onto that line, then follow it for as long as you want.
The big picture (any app)
Get to the line first. Zoom the map, find where the route passes nearest to you (a town, a highway junction, a pass), and ride there. Plenty of apps will guide you to that join point; others just show the line while you navigate yourself.
Make sure it's following the track. After you import a GPX, zoom in and compare the calculated magenta/red route to the original track. If the app "helps" by picking the shortest highway instead of our back road, force it to stick to the line (more via points, "follow track / route line," or "save as track") before you leave the driveway.
Ride any section. You can hop on mid-route, bail early, or only do the good part. You don't owe the loop a full lap.
Reverse it. Same roads, different light. Most apps have a reverse or invert option; if yours doesn't, flip the file in gpx.studio first (see below).
Split long days. Multi-day and 300+ mile loops ride better as day sections. Crop or split the GPX, save each day, and load one at a time.
Garmin motorcycle navigators (zūmo XT / XT2)
These units work best when the GPX is a Trip in Trip Planner (not just a passive track on the map).
Import the GPX onto the device (USB/SD, or sync through Garmin Explore / BaseCamp — your usual method).
Open Apps → Trip Planner → Saved Trips, pick the trip, and tap Go!.
You'll get a list of places on the trip. Pick the stop closest to where you want to join, then Start. The unit routes from your current position to that stop, then continues through the rest of the trip in order.
On many XT / XT2 software versions, the same list also includes Closest Entry Point: it aims for the nearest spot on the plotted magenta line (not just a named via), then continues the trip from there. Glance at the preview map before you roll — if U-turns are blocked in settings, it can pick a weird approach.
If you only loaded a track (no turn-by-turn), convert it to a trip on the device so you get voice guidance and rejoin behavior. A track alone can still show a dotted line toward the nearest point when you hit Go!, but it won't talk you through the turns.
Tip: Circular and out-and-back trips can confuse the unit about which half you're on. When in doubt, split the loop into "out" and "back" with a GPX editor before you load it.
Garmin Explore and BaseCamp
Explore (phone / tablet):
Import the `.gpx` into Garmin Explore and add it to a collection.
Sync to your paired Garmin (or navigate from Explore itself if you're using the app as your rider display).
Start navigation on the imported course / track the same way you would any saved Explore course. Ride to where the line passes near you, then follow it.
BaseCamp (desktop):
File → Import the GPX.
To ride it the other way: open the route and choose Invert, or open the track, open its properties, and choose Invert Track.
Send the inverted (or trimmed) file to your device. BaseCamp is also handy for splitting a long track into day sections before it ever hits the bike.
REVER
Prefer the website for import (Import GPX) — it handles bigger files more reliably. On mobile, import accepts one track per file; split multi-track files first.
Open the imported ride under My Activities. Planned rides can be Edited (add / rearrange waypoints). Tracked rides can be Trimmed.
When you start navigation in the app, choose Follow Route Line if you want the painted line (best match to our GPX), or Turn-by-turn if you want spoken directions (REVER's turn-by-turn is limited to about 25 waypoints, so long loops may need day splits).
Reverse Route lives in the app (not the web planner). Open the ride there and reverse it when you want to run the loop the other direction.
If an imported GPX won't let you drag the start the way a REVER-built ride does, edit the file in gpx.studio (below) and re-import.
Calimoto
Import from the app (Rides → Planned → ⋮ → Import GPX on Android; open the file into Calimoto on iOS) or from the website Trip Planner → GPX import.
On the website you can choose completed ride or planned ride. For the closest match to our line: import as a completed ride first (track points win), then convert it to a planned ride. Importing straight as "planned" can recalculate via points and wander off our roads.
Zoom the map after import. If Calimoto rewrote a section, add or move via points onto the roads we meant (long-press / right-click → Set as via point).
During navigation you can Skip next via point from the ride options menu if you're joining mid-route and the unit is still chasing a stop behind you.
For tours over ~400 km, Calimoto itself recommends splitting into shorter day trips before export/import — same advice we give for our longer Sierra loops.
Scenic (iOS)
Import the GPX (Files app, Safari download, share sheet, or a direct `.gpx` URL). Prefer importing the track when both route and track are present.
On import, Scenic draws the original track as a blue dotted line and its calculated route as magenta/red. Zoom and scrub the whole route. If they diverge, add or nudge via points until magenta sits on blue. If it still won't stick (dirt connectors, weird permissions), tap Save blue line as a Track — you'll follow the line visually without turn-by-turn voice.
To reverse: open the route editor and use the Reverse button in the bottom toolbar. Duplicate the route first if you want to keep both directions.
Starting mid-route: with a saved route selected, toggle guidance to the route start off. Scenic says "Go to route"; when you hit the line anywhere, it picks up from there and drops the waypoints behind your join point. On CarPlay you'll get the same choice as a dialog when you start the route.
Google My Maps (view and plan only)
On a computer, open Google My Maps, create or open a map, Add layer → Import, and upload the GPX (GPX is supported; keep files under the size limits Google lists).
Use it to see the line, drop notes, and sketch meeting spots.
Don't expect Google Maps navigation to follow the GPX. The regular Google Maps Go button calculates its own drive between A and B — usually the freeway. For turn-by-turn that honors our track, load the same file into Garmin, REVER, Calimoto, Scenic, or similar.
Trim, split, reverse, or set a new start (gpx.studio)
Free browser editor: https://gpx.studio
Open the GPX.
Crop / split: use the scissors tool. Drag the start/end slider (or select on the elevation profile) to keep only the section you want, or click a split marker / point on the track to break a long day into separate files.
Reverse: open the route-planning tool and hit Reverse so the file runs the other direction.
New start on a loop: when start and finish are close, right-click an anchor and Start loop here.
Download the edited GPX and load that into your navigator.
That's the same tool we recommend if your phone app is being stubborn about start points — fix the file once, then import the clean version everywhere.
Quick checklist before you thumb the starter
[ ] File imported and visible on the map
[ ] Calculated route matches our track (not a highway shortcut)
[ ] You're navigating to a mid-route join, not blindly back to Napa
[ ] Passes, fuel, and daylight still make sense for the section you're riding
[ ] Phone / unit charged, offline maps downloaded if you're headed into thin cell coverage
Questions after you've tried it? Hit us through the contact form and tell us which app you're on — we've ridden these files on the same gear.